1 week Ago By Toni Vall
Trilla Square will be a celebration. Yes, on June 28th, the Arco Iris shirt shop in Plaza Gracia will be celebrating its 100th anniversary. And these things are well worth celebrating as they deserve.
With the collaboration of the Círculo de Gracia, an ever-present ally, the square will be filled with music. A neighborhood show with a choir and band that promises to live up to such festive circumstances. Joana Candell and Josep Capdevila, besides being married, have, so to speak, dedicated their entire lives to shirtmaking; an example of resilience but also of enthusiasm within a type of commerce, the traditional, family-run neighborhood business that still preserves irreducible menhirs.
Selling clothes is a demanding and rewarding profession. Sacrificial? Also. You must enjoy interacting with the public; you must master the most intricate and unpredictable nuances of empathy, of connecting with people.
Memorize their tastes and quirks, also the sizes, colors, and fabrics they prefer. This is how you cultivate the values that allow you to express what "long-time customers" are so excited about. Josep Riera and Joana Obre, Joana's grandparents, opened a stocking and sock shop in 1925 right in front of the current Fontana metro station.
A few years later, in the early 1930s, they moved up the street to their current location. The name has a beautiful history. During the Primo de Rivera dictatorship, they took the name from a fairly popular magazine of the time.
When, with the arrival of the Republic, they were able to change the name to Catalan, they opted for Arco Iris instead of Arco Iris, as some suggested. The reason? Well, the origin isn't in the meteorological phenomenon but in the journalistic publication. After the always gallant period of the Civil War ended, a fourteen-year-old boy named Francesc Candell started working as an apprentice in the store and ended up marrying the owners' daughter, Montserrat Riera.
They were Joana's parents, of course. "My parents explained to me that my grandparents always said that during the Civil War, despite all the obstacles, they never closed the store, something that we did have to do during the terrible pandemic," Joana explains. The business has been growing and evolving over the years, always specializing in men's clothing: "The normal suit, the quiet casual, the clàssic", the nomenclature of the house is flexible and supportive.
With the initial mitjons, they will be incorporated in a very natural way into the shirts, the defining piece of Arc Iris. "The pair was camiser and the shirts were made to measure", recalls Joana. The variety of brands and sizes is an important senyal d'identitat of the Dresses, pajamas, ties, belts, barrets, suspenders, bats, hats.
.. There are clients who come to Arc Iris and know that they can come with everything they need.
l'altra. In 1981, they encouraged the opening of a branch specializing in food stealing and a large variety of artisanal gifts. It will work very well, with a fantastic arrangement in the neighborhood, a duet of complementary businesses.
Heading towards retirement Today, Joana and Josep are heading toward retirement, but they still have plenty of life and two very dedicated assistants. The imminent continuity is not up for discussion. "Don't close it, okay!" they are often told by those who believe the centenary celebration means jeopardizing the store.
"It's demanding work, punishing hours, small, family-run businesses don't get much support, and franchises are thriving," Josep argues. The clientele is varied, but mainly from the northern part of Gràcia, Carmel, Vallcarca, and Vall d'Hebron. And a curious phenomenon occurs.
Grandfather and father are customers, but the 18-year-old son opts for other clothing options, and when he turns 30, he is recruited again for the Rainbow cause. Josep, with the tape measure hanging around his neck, prepares to serve the first customers of the day. Now is a special time of year: "Just think, last week, on the same day, they ordered a swimsuit and a scarf!".
