Shopping in Barcelona

The more you walk, the more opportunities you shall find. I am not trying to be glib, just highlighting finding quality leather goods is a rich environment within Barcelona. For over 21 years we have made leather purchases within Barcelona and offer the following comments:

1) please ask for proof the product is actually from Spain (interior branding and/or tags). In recent years there has been a proliferation of non-Spain products being represented as being from Spain.
2) RIBA is a specialty product from Spain offering rich colors and soft textures.
3) Pay attention to the stitching, especially at points of "stress" where the leather should be "overlapped" and double stitching to strengthen the area. Also closely examine the quality of the hardware attached to the product.
4) Don't buy first time around as you mentioned having several days to shop. Suggest you start with a tour of El Corte Ingles in their main store located at Plaza Catalunya (BTW toilets are on top floor and the basement offers a great grocery store). Their leather goods shop has a wonderful array of Spain made products. Glance around to get the feel for opportunities of purchase and then street shop seeking similar quality products. Over the years we have found fewer family operated creators of leather products in Barcelona, but more in Madrid.
5) Never buy from a street vendor offering "goods on a sheet" as you are feeding an illegal system which only offers fake goods.

Marbleskies,

Thank you for the excellent response; exactly what we were hoping for.

Harold & Marly

Watch for cheap imports from China. These are ubiquitous all over Europe these days. As recommended above (point 3), check for quality, Hey, note though this is not to say all leather products coming from China are c*ap, and equally, not all local manufacturers have quality products either. Be smart and check details for quality.

Important, point 5, firstly these are all knockoffs, and, secondiy, current City Hall regulations include fines for both street sellers of counterfeit goods but also buyers (50€).

Besides large shops that you'll find across the city and in which you can find fine leather goods, from Misako to Bosanova to El Corte Inglés among others, there are also several small artisan shops scattered (mostly) in Ciutat Vella and Gracia districts. You need to walk those areas and you'll eventually stumble upon them, many are in unassuming street holes :) (=very small shops). Note some artisans don't have a street shop, they work from their workshops and sell their products either on travelling street markets or online. Also, in smaller towns you'd still find some ol'fashion artisan workshops, but not in the City anymore.

In Barcelona, some artisans you might want to have a look at:

• Terra i Pell (https://terraipell.com/?lang=en) in the neighbourhood of Sant Pere, Santa Caterina i la Ribera, in the Old City,
• Francesca Anastasio in l'Eixample (https://www.francescaanastasio.com/), not a shop but an artisan atelier, so no walking-in without reservation.
  
• Sañudo in Poble Espanyol in Montjuïc (https://www.sanudo.cat/en/), in fact, in Poble Espanyol you have a collection of artisans of all sorts: https://www.artesansdelpoble.cat/qui-som/. Poble Espanyol is a complex located on the hill of Montjuïc in Barcelona.

Enjoy!

Enric,

Thank you very much. Excellent reply. I have printed your response.

Harold & Marly