Babalaria

I have enormous respect for it. A sense of wonder. People who create with their hands, their minds. Sometimes I'm a bit jealous.

Recently, during a trip to Barcelona, we came across a special little shop during a walk. After a glimpse through the door, we were drawn in by our curiosity.

We were approached by David, the owner of 'Babalaria'. He was an artist, sculptor, a man who combined both art and craft.

We were immediately captivated by his displayed sculptures. You could feel that there was a lot of energy, passion and love in them. For our family, he created a composition on the spot from several of his works.

I asked him where the name 'Babalaria' came from. He answered me in English: "It is the act of randomly creating something". Only one word went through my mind: fascinating.

He invited me into his studio, the place where all the magic happened. No clean desk, nothing neatly organized, but creative chaos. A place where work was done, where he got his hands dirty. Amazing, right? I got a detailed explanation of how he made his sculptures: a mix of iron and papier-mâché, among other things. Again: fascinating.

Afterwards I looked up the word 'Babalaria', thinking it was derived from Catalan or Spanish, but couldn't find anything about it anywhere. How cool is it to invent something yourself that fits you, as a person, as a maker, as the way you work. How wonderful is it to make something that people can fall in love with.

In my job I also make things with my hands, but digitally, in the virtual world. Is this also a craft then? It certainly feels different from tangible, physical creating.