When Octavi Barnils launched Mercantic thirty years ago, nobody used the word vintage. To open the unique "village" of antiques and brocanter in Sant Cugat del Vallès, he was inspired by the captivating French town of L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue in Provence, full of merchants from the sector, grouped in various informal settings, with much charm. The old family factory Cerámica Barnils, where they produced the Catalan terracotta tile, had become obsolete. And it occurred to Octavi that 8,000 m2 of warehouses, plus as many patios, went a long way: his goal was to bring the universe of antiques and second-hand objects closer to the general public, in a more relaxed and open way, taking distance of the classic and elitist antiquarian, and accompany it with other spaces and leisure activities.
What has changed in three decades? Almost everything says Octavi Barnils. The price of antiques has plummeted. And now the most sought after furniture from the fifties and sixties of the twentieth century. “Before, people had knowledge of the time and style of the furniture,” he says. Now this has been lost. The important thing is if it enters your eyes, but not as seniority value. Today among young people there is not so much culture, but they have the tool, the internet, to obtain information about the pieces”.
It was going through the new millennium and beginning to resonate here and there that vintage that has not ceased to be an upward trend. His impulse began by revisiting certain decades and countries. And today it is already in its eighties and includes multiple sources: Nordic countries, Italy, France, but also Spain, in a rediscovery of small treasures. Like the lamps that José Antonio Coderch or Miguel Milá designed in the fifties and sixties. Although there were those who thought that vintage referred to 20th century furniture, the word alludes to the world of wine and its quality vintages. And today it is already on everyone's lips.
“The word vintage has become a mixed bag and it's terrible,” says Barnils. Well, the new with a certain appearance is also called that. The authentic vintage is the furniture and objects of a certain era, and not the copies made now or in the style of”.
Although Octavi Barnils recognizes himself more from the time of antiquity and brocanter, this is not the case of his 21-year-old son Pep, fully identified with vintage, of which he declares himself an unconditional enthusiast. Already incorporated into Mercantic, he has created his own shop, Ruim.design, also distributed through Instagram, whose genre goes from the fifties to the eighties. “The sixties were very groundbreaking in shapes and colors. The Bauhaus was also a great innovation, with very interesting characters like Mies van der Rohe or Marcel Breuer”, says Pep Barnils. And he clarifies that part of his appeal lies in being pieces with history, which those manufactured today suffer from.
Today vintage seduces several generations, from baby boomers to the glass generation. The latter – born after 2000, creative and sensitive but also fragile – looks for references and finds roots in that past lived by her parents. Vintage also reaffirms them in a sustainable consumption of personal property, where it is reused and recycled.
“We want to promote the authentic piece. Defend quality, rediscover pieces with history”, says Octavi Barnils. At Mercantic, trades are also vindicated, integrating upholstery, stained glass or furniture restoration workshops, such as the veteran Fernando Vallet Palau, who has been present since the opening of the place.
Over the years the Mercantic was transformed into a lively village. It went from the initial eleven merchants to over one hundred today, and a large gastronomic offer of restaurants and bars with terraces in the courtyards of the enclosure. Although one of the most characteristic features is its concert hall, with a stable program, initially associated with jazz and today dedicated to all kinds of live music.
Another of the magical spaces of the enclosure is undoubtedly the old bookstore. When the legendary Canuda bookstore, next to the Ateneu Barcelonès, closed its doors in Barcelona, Barnils acquired the entire collection, more than 150,000 books, which he housed at Mercantic. A self-taught interior designer from a very young age, he himself has been configuring a large part of the village's scenery. Thus, some splendid shelves recovered from a textile factory in Sabadell or the counter and balconies of an old haberdashery that closed in the Gràcia neighborhood, make up the theatrical El Siglo bookstore and concert hall. Here all kinds of seats coexist like a collage, enjoying a second life.
Meeting Point is among Mercantic's most recent offerings. Every second Saturday of the month they hold a fair dedicated specifically to wristwatches, vintage and collector's watches, whose success has exceeded all expectations. In collaboration with Premium Wacthes BCN, it is the first high-end collection watch fair in Spain where you can find renowned brands such as Lotus, Rolex or Patek Philippe.
