NEW STAGE FOR A RENOWNED DESIGN STORE IN BARCELONA

Matèria offers a new perspective on the everyday, renews a legacy and reaffirms a conviction: design can be a form of culture and coexistence

Founded by Beatrice Askanazy in 2009, Matèria has always been a benchmark for design and decoration in Barcelona. Located in the elegant Galvany neighbourhood, the store now passes into the hands of Nina Ordeig, Marta Salvadó, Jara Varela and Dasha Vaimberg, four women who are professionals in the fields of design, architecture, communication and visual culture, and who take on the challenge of giving continuity — and new life — to this project.

The new stage arises from the sum of four trajectories that balance technique and beauty. It is a complementary team: architects Marta Salvadó and Dasha Vaimberg, founders of the studio VaimbergSalvadó (2012), bring a professional and technical vision that enables Matèria to offer a comprehensive service both to private clients and to architecture and interior design studios. Photographer and creative director Jara Varela, with a portfolio that includes brands such as Santa&Cole, Artek and Lemaire, brings visual character and aesthetic criteria. Nina Ordeig, communication and marketing specialist, former communications director at Santa & Cole and nanimarquina, contributes a strategic perspective and aesthetic sensibility, as well as her knowledge of the design sector.

Matèria offers a new perspective on the everyday, renews a legacy and reaffirms a conviction: design can be a form of culture and coexistence. It is a store with a soul, where objects speak of those who create them and those who live with them, combining sensitivity and rigour, the domestic and the sophisticated. What matters is what works, what moves, and what improves daily life. Their proposal arises from their curiosity for culture and design, without pretension and with a touch of humour.

The new project is reflected in a renovation of the space — located at Rector Ubach Street, 43 — and in an expansion of the catalogue. The transition took shape in June 2024, when they learned that Beatrice Askanazy was retiring: “We agreed that Matèria was a necessary store in Barcelona.” We saw the opportunity to continue her legacy and, at the same time, create something of our own: a space for the products, brands and artists we liked and that we could not find elsewhere in the city. We thought: if no one does it, we will do it. In our own way.”

In addition to its service to private customers, Matèria offers a service aimed at professionals in the sector. The team provides advice on the prescription, specification and supply of furniture, lighting and textiles, up to installation and assembly, for residential, hospitality, commercial and institutional spaces. A service that combines aesthetic criteria, technical knowledge and support throughout all phases of the project. “Over the past year, we have begun to collaborate with major studios in Barcelona, advising them on the selection and prescription of products for their projects,” the owners explain.

Matèria brings together products selected for their functionality, aesthetics and history, pieces that champion a way of understanding design based on respect for processes, materials and people.
“We prefer not to box ourselves into a single style. We like what moves us, what brings warmth, what accompanies without disturbing, and we also enjoy stepping out from time to time from what is most established or conventional,” they point out.

In its 180 m² of exhibition space, Matèria presents a carefully curated selection that includes lighting, furniture, textiles and everyday objects. Among the represented brands are local names such as Bd Barcelona, Marset, Isist Atelier, Santa & Cole and Trenat, alongside Nordic firms like Carl Hansen, Fredericia, Hay, J.L. Møller, Louis Poulsen, Montana, &Tradition and Wästberg, and international classics such as Alessi, Astep, Artek, Capellini, Lumina, Magis, Nemo Lighting, Objekto, Oluce, Rex Kralj and Thonet.

It also incorporates lesser-known or rarely represented proposals in the city, such as Campeggi, Frama, Hollands Licht, Lenhi, Lk Hjelle, Ny Chair, Rexite, Rye Beds, Pierre Chapo, Plus Halle, Sammode and Tecta.

Especially recognised for its work with textiles, Matèria offers an extensive selection of rugs, curtains and other fabrics from brands such as Cotlin, CMO, C&C, Baina, Charvet, Decopur, Dolz, Francisco Cumellas, Grupo Lamadrid, Kenkawai, Kieffer, Kvadrat, Loro Piana, Magnibert, Mark Alexander, Mikmax, Nanimarquina, Pierre Frey, Rubelli, Ruckstull, Sette, Teixidors, Tekla and Wallace Sewell.

Art also occupies a place in Matèria, where works by Mark Bohle, Xavier Mañosa and Joan Mañosa are currently on display, and it will soon begin a collaboration with the Belmonte gallery in Madrid, which will bring to Barcelona a selection of its artists. Every quarter, they exclusively present products by Estudios Bolivia, composed of designers Júlia Esqué, Marc Morro and Jaume Ramirez.