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Porcelana Irabia: Tradition and quality in Spanish porcelain tableware
From 1957 Porcelana Irabia tableware ranges are uniquely designed to bring a sensational added dimension to the dining experience. Created to explore everything that dining has to offer, the ranges draw on all the senses to help the diner fully appreciate chefs creations. Porcelana Irabia has dedicated all his efforts to offer a porcelain of the maximum quality, able to meet the needs of the professionals from hotels and catering business sector. Supporting this mission of service to the professionals, the commitment in design, quality of raw materials and mastercraft are key factors.
A selection of raw materials of maximum quality, modern state-of-the-art machinery, glazes that award the best resistance and contaminant-free from heavy metals, boiling to high temperatures (over 1390°C) and the later processes of quality control of the finished product, this can only become a porcelain that satisfies and overcomes the expectations of any professional.
Besides and not less importantly, always looked that the whole process is eco-friendly!
Masters of Spanish guitars
Felipe Conde is a third-generation luthier, heir to a century old family tradition established by the celebrated Spanish guitar builder Domingo Esteso in 1915 and passed on by his father and uncle, known worldwide as the Conde Hermanos. Felipe’s small workshop located at 4 Arrieta Street, in central Madrid opposite the Royal Theatre is exclusively dedicated to hand crafting only the finest classical and flamenco guitars. The artisanal techniques employed by Felipe Conde today, have been refined and preserved by the family over the last century singling out the Conde guitars as some of the finest and most sought after by the most celebrated music professionals all over the globe. Felipe lavishes great care upon every detail of the guitar building process, beginning from the selection of the finest wood all the way to the finishing touches.
Wood employed to build his guitars are naturally aged and dried during at least thirty years and especially selected for their sonorant qualities and beauty. The finest German spruce or red Canadian cedar is used for the harmonic tops, Spanish cypress or a variety of fine rosewoods for the back and sides, Honduran cedar for the neck and ebony for the fret board. Apart from building the guitars, Felipe dedicates most of his time today to teaching the trade to his son and daughter Felipe Jr. and María which have been apprenticing at their father’s workshop for several years now, assuring the continuation of the family tradition into the future. Over the past century the Conde guitars have become an important part of the history of the instrument and their characteristic sound familiar the world over through the hands of some of the most iconic musicians of our time such as Paco de Lucía or Leonard Cohen.
AYA: Shotgun & rifle makers since 1915
The AYA legend begins in the early days of the twentieth century, when Miguel Aguirre and Nicolas Aranzabal, two young gunsmiths from Eibar, the center of Spanish gunmaking, decided to perfect their skills under the tutelage of Eduardo Schilling, a German immigrant who had set up his business in Barcelona and had soon acquired a reputation for himself equal to that of the best London gun makers. In 1915, Miguel and Nicolas returned to Eibar and jointly founded “Aguirre y Aranzabal, AYA”. They make double barrelled shotguns in both side-by-side and over-and-under versions, in boxlock and sidelock versions, as well a double rifles, and all models share a common denominator: their exceptional quality.
AYA espouses an ethic based on excellence in craftsmanship, where guns are made and assembled by hand in a way which elevates each fine gun into a masterpiece. AYA is returning to its roots as leader in gun making in Eibar. By judicious investment in machinery and technology, AYA has not only become self-sufficient in the manufacture of parts for its own requirements, but it has also become the main supplier to the other firms in the area.
In this way, AYA is not only continuing a long tradition of gun making excellence, but it is also working to ensure that the whole of the Basque gun making industry can flourish in the future. Since 1945, AYA has produced more than 600,000 shotguns of different types and grades. At the present time, more than 100 years after its creation, AYA is positioning itself to face the challenges of the 21st century.
Blockchain and Spanish products
To continue their positive GDP growth rate trend from the last three years, Spain has been investing in new technologies and Blockchain is of particular interest to Spaniards, for its application in both the public sector as well as the private sector. Spanish and EU officials believe that this technology and other technologies using distributed ledger technology can be used to increase the efficiency of many business processes as well as provide increased traceability, transparency and liability.
In the private sector, Blockchain has already been used by some Spanish banks and is even being applied in agriculture. The Spanish bank BBVA made a transaction of 75 million EUR and successfully reduced the time spent on the transaction from days to hours. On December 14th they reported that another multimillion-dollar loan between the bank and Porsche Holding Salzburg, Europe’s largest car distributor, was to help the Volkswagen subsidiary make strategic acquisitions in their Europe and Asia retail distribution markets.
Olivacoin, a Spanish startup, has been able to implement the technology in their supply chain management and sale of olive oil. By using Blockchain technology, they have been able to assure the quality, correct labeling, and timely arrival of olive oil products. As new legislation is formed, it can be expected that more companies will begin to use the new technology in controlled experimental phases.
Txakoli Getaria: Basque Country senses
Whatever the style or DO, Txakolis are all Atlantic wines, some more than others. Many vines have their toes practically in the ocean in Basque Country and this is not an easy place to grow grapes. As a result the wines are fresh, some of them tartly so, and most of them have low or moderate alcohol. In that respect they are in tune with a current trend for lighter, fresher wines.
Some producers are making the traditional styles, others are working with lees; a few are maturing wines in oak or concrete eggs, and many focus on parcel selection in their vineyards. Some are also bringing in consultant winemakers. Occasionally these are investors and new entrants to Txakoli. Export is an interesting issue and Txakoli de Getaria, clustered around San Sebastián, is the largest, and home to the style of spritzy freshness that has defined Txakoli.
For a long time, few Txakolis were exported and, in general, many international markets still see the entry-level of a brand rather than the more interesting special selections. However, with such diversity, there’s so much more reason to look beyond the ‘regulars’.
Mixer&Pack: Making essences
Currently, Mixer&Pack has become the major partner of Perfumes and Cosmetics for the most prestigious brands, both Spanish and international. It is a clear reference in the sector and projects itself as one of the most cutting edge companies in its production chain by offering every one of its clients an ad-hoc service, which delivers and adapts to each and every individual requirement.
Their maximum optimization of development and process, Intensive staff training, as well as continuous improvements to their facilities and equipment, allows Mixer&Pack to achieve its main objective to all completed projects: Product perfection, client satisfaction and consumer loyalty.
The business journey of Mixer&Pack is tightly united to a passion for the world of Cosmetics and Perfumes by the co-founders of Mixer&Pack – Rodolfo Gómez de Vargas and Gregoria Loeches Antolín – who envisaged the world of essences and fragrances somewhat differently from the established fashion and decided to break the rules. They realized that all the requirements in the perfume and cosmetic manufacturing arena were simply not being delivered.
Mixer&Pack applies the latest tendencies such as smell, design and packaging to adapt to the new habits and behaviour of today´s consumer. The client receives a personalized service as far as essences and aromas are concerned with a view to creating a successful product. This will activate the scent branding of your product by uniting the concept, image and emotions you wish to convey.