Category: clothing

El Mercadillo Inglés

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mercado inglesWhenever I wander down Calle Acetres on my way home I remember the time I had to find an old glass shop when years ago one of my windowpanes broke and my landlord wouldn’t replace it. Well today I passed by the old shop only to discover it was no longer there and the delightful high ceilinged space had been recently taken over by a colourful and chaotic emporium called El Mercadillo Inglés (so-called because a lot of its stock comes from the UK). I can’t even begin to list the variety of things you can find here, both first and second hand, but I think it’s safe to say there something for everybody.

I had a nice chat with co-owner Marta Nuñez, a Sevillana who used to live in England and who now runs the shop along with partners Patricia Toscano and Santiago Toscano. They also have a section offering fabrics from their other local business Entretelas. If you’re looking for a one-of-a-kind Christmas gift this looks like a good bet.

El Mercadillo Inglés
Acetres 8
Sevilla

Pasión Flamenca

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pasion flamenca

[click on image to enlarge]

Passing by the Fontecruz Hotel last night with my Flamenco & Tapas Tour clients we couldn’t help but notice a long red carpet out front. It turned out that there was a one-night-only exhibit called “Pasión Flamenca” going on inside, a homage to the Andalusian traje de flamenca featuring 12 designers from Sevilla and Cádiz, each of whom had created a red flamenco dress for the occasion. We were invited to come in and have a look around and it ended up being quite a fitting “extra” for our evening of flamenco and tapas.

The designers: Amparo Macia, Angeles Verano, Aurora Gaviño, Cañavate, Lina, Manolo Giraldo, Nuevo Montecarlo, Pepa Garrido, Pilar Vera, Pitusa Gassull, Pol Núñez and Rosalía Zahíno. Accessories by Sabina.

Wabi Sabi Vintage Market

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This afternoon I stopped into Wabi Sabi Shop & Gallery to check out their Sunday Vintage Market, an exclusive one-day-only event that they were hosting with Mary Jo Torres from Mulita Couture. I was told that this is just the start of regular “every-other-Sunday” events, which will include poetry readings and wine tastings, along with fashion, furniture and art workshops.

Owner María Lopez Vergera opened her bright new space just off the Plaza Encarnación in part to help make people feel less intimidated about walking into an “Art Gallery”, which I think she mostly does by just being herself.  I love the mix of art and fashion, retro furniture and cool chachkas on display, but it’s the friendly and open welcome you get from María and Manolo that really makes you feel at home.  Seriously my kind of place.

Wabi Sabi Shop & Gallery

Viriato 9
Tel. 954 214 065

Soho Benita

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Have I told you lately how much I love my new barrio? I’m actually situated between two barrios. On the Plaza Alfalfa side there are supermarkets, bakeries, fish markets, a gourmet butcher, florist, “euro shop”, convenience store, pharmacy, fruit & veg shop, a “calentaria” for churros, and great non-touristy tapas bars. On the plaza Encarnación side there’s the fabulous farmer’s market under “the Setas”.

And in between the two plazas are some of the most interesting little boutiques in town.

I’m a great admirer of the entrepreneurial spirit and so I was particularly pleased when I came across Soho Benita on Twitter the other day and saw that the shop owners in my barrio – on calles Pérez Galdós and Don Alonso el Sabio – have formed a collective venture to help promote their shops and the area.  According to Penélope from Le Voilà, the basic idea is to create a neighbourhood feel with its own identity in these streets. Through collective activities they hope to create a shopping & cultural alternative to traditional commerical trade.

The first obvious difference I saw when I went out yesterday was that the Soho Benita shops all had pretty white pointsetta arrangements in their windows and doorways, a visual continuity that created a nice community feeling. I also like how they are using social media, specifically Twitter, to connect with the public.


If you are looking for unique style and great personal service check out the new Soho Benita area. Some of the shops are shown in the collage above, and below is a list with links to blogs and websites.