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DomésticoShop

New Design Showroom

By Brian Gallagher 16.07.13

Located on a corner site at the intersection of Almogàvars and Zamora in the Poblenou neighbourhood of Barcelona this latest addition to the city’s design showrooms is an impressive space dedicated to the optimum display of carefully selected furniture, lighting and design pieces representing the passionate and savvy criterion of owner Octavio Muñoz Dopico – 700 sq.m. of showroom, 300 sq.m. office space on the ground floor with an equivalent area on a basement level within a refurbished car showroom. High ceilings, abundant natural light and uninterrupted perimeter shop windows make this an ideal space for conveying the transformative possibilities of design. Organised around themes and individual brands DomésticoShop is a treasure trove for anyone remotely interested in contemporary design.

Local manufacturers like Mobles 114, Nanimarquina, B.D Barcelona, Santa & Cole, Lobster’s Day and Marset are well represented along side other iconic Spanish brands like Punt Mobles, Sancal, Gandia Blasco and an impressive selection of international firms; Fritz Hansen, Tom Dixon, Ingo Maurer and Cappellini. DomésticoShop also promotes young and upcoming brands like Case, Made In Design and &Tradition.

  • An act of blind optimism or a shrewd business opportunity? This is undoubtedly a time of flux within the Barcelona design sector, with well established showrooms closing and a third Ikea store recently opening in the greater metropolitan area. One of the secrets behind the success of DomésticoShop is its use of its website, in fact there are more employees dedicated to its maintenance than there are on the shop floor. All the stock is organised and scheduled in a clear and concise manner with prices and key information provided. The successful exploitation of the web is nowadays a pre-requisite as is social media together with events and presentations which DomésticoShop has understood. Curiously Octavio does not have a personal facebook page himself however the DomésticoShop website receives over 3,000 visitors daily.

  • Octavio became involved with design tangentially through his work with production companies and set decoration, which he still maintains as a parallel business activity DomésticoRent. Native of the Andalusian town of Jerez de la Frontera (where today one of the DomesticoShop retail spaces is located, there are three in total) Octavio is a trained photographer he embarked on Domésticoshop eight years ago, his first shop located within one of the most charming squares of the Ribera, Sant Agustí Vell (founded in 2009) established a reputation for its mid range careful selection of design furniture and excellent customer service.

  • Although undeniably there is a potential local clientele within the new Domésticoshop’s hinterland (Poblenou and @22) providing as it does an emerging market the new retail space will be looking beyond the neighbourhood to attract fans of design from elsewhere. In fact customers spending more than 500 Euros get free delivery anywhere in Europe. Hence the importance of the web, for many visitors to Barcelona design and architecture are high on their list of things to do and see.

  • The facade of the new showroom, DomésticoShop Poble Nou

  • A careful selection of furniture, lamps and design objetcs