Living Museums

The little wicker shop in Villa de Vallecas

22 April 2022

“This building was completed in 1970, that’s around when my father moved his workshop in,” explains Alberto Crespo Gutiérrez, who owns a small wicker workshop in Villa de Vallecas.

Alongside magazine cutouts of designs Alberto finds interesting – his real-life Pinterest board – there are photographs of his father weaving wicker. He tells me that the collection of wicker bull heads are his favourite pieces by his dad. “The wicker came from Cuenca and Valencia, and we still grow a lot of it here in Spain”.

Alberto worked alongside his father from a young age. “He taught me everything I know about wicker, repairs, design and business. He passed away quite a few years ago now, which is when I took over and made this place my own. Today though, there’s not much business in wicker furniture anymore. You can’t make much money in it, so I mostly focus on repairs.”

Alberto showed me some things he’s working on at the moment: two vintage chairs and a wicker handbag, and one of his proudest works: the wicker cot on the top shelf above his dad’s wicker bull heads.

Location: Artesanía de Mimbre y Caña de Crespo. Calle de la Sierra Vieja, 35, Villa de Vallecas

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