4 cool design places off the beaten path in Barcelona

1. Vinçon -- a design store similar to an Ikea but 847530528 Xs better. We got a tour by the current owner (son of the original founder/owner) of the two-story store located on the prestigious Passeig de Gracias (next to a Coco Chanel and Louis Vuitton store). They sell anything from moleskins notebooks...

to cool lamps to vintage toys to sick bathroom fixtures to mod furniture.
And barets of course :)

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2. NaniMarquina – a designer carpet store. (Her father invented the vingerera, a device that dispends olive oil or balsamic vinegar at the perfect rate. No more mishaps of drenching your bread or salad with too much!)

However, not only are her carpets amazing, unique, and full of texture, but she let us draw on her wall!

I had to share my favorite carpet—a polar bear on an iceberg in a sea of blue…

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3. Palo Alto – artist/architect/designer studio factory. A secret garden-esque, old factory where Javier Mariscal’s studio is located, a long with other renowned interior designers, photographers, sculptors, painters, and architects. Mariscal is a famous designer who know does anything from shopping bags for H&M to cutlery to Cobi, the mascot for the Barcelona Olympic games.

We ended up having lunch at a restaurant where Mariscal is a regular. That’s him in the back left with the halo effect! :) I know you can't really see him, but we sat at the same long table!

And I just like this candid courtesy of Sean Wittmeyer

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4. Park next to Herzog and de Mueron’s Forum building – The building kind of sucks. It only looks good in photographs, and some of its materials up close are cool to touch and look at, but the park next to it is baller! Forget the safe-I-don’t-want-my-kids-to-get-hurt parks in the U.S. This place tests your balance, mobility, and dexterity.
That circle things spins in case it's hard to tell in the photo...

There was also a spider web like contraption/slide! Best thing ever!