The oldest paint shop still running in Barcelona (Catalonia): Pintures Jordi, since 1923.
They sell modern paint and don't lack in technology (like the credit card payment terminal or paint-mixing machines and catalogues), but at the same time their shelves are 110 years old and their cash register machine is 160 years old.
The shop only has one worker, its owner Joan Jordi Romeu, third generation running this shop since it was founded by his grandfather Joan Jordi Ferrer. The shop was founded in 1923 and bought by Joan Jordi Ferrer in 1928. Back then, his grandfather sold varnishes and paint, but also hand-made perfume and detergent, and some food items. With the passage of time, they specialized in making and selling paint, at first always hand-made, and later with machinery.
The shop is located in the city centre, in Antic Esquerra de l'Eixample neighbourhood. The survival of old family-owned businesses is particularly hard in areas like this. As a result of gentrification and touristic massification, most neighbours have felt forced to sell their independent businesses to multi-nationals.
Photographer: Jordi Borràs Abelló. Published in La Mira.
