Globe Shopping..20th Century design

We came across this beautiful shop in a back copy The World of Interiors magazine in a great article by Isabel de Estrada about its owner Pancho Salomons whose passion for discovering treasures in abandoned buildings inspired him to open a  shop dedicated to the best of retro chic. Set up in a converted railway warehouse in Buenos Aires and specialising in early mid 20th century pieces La Pasionaria is a treasured local secret in the Palermo district of Buenos Aires. Pancho Salomons is himself a sculptor, clothes designer and fabric maker who is inspired by Mis Van der Rohe, Jaques-Emile Ruhlman,Josef Hoffman among others.The History of the district goes that when a yellow fever epidemic broke out in 1871 the Argentines left Avenida de Mayo for the north of the city, leaving huge empty Rationalist and Art Nouveau buildings empty which became family dwellings for a large immigrant population, mainly Spanish and Italian, bars and theaters popped up and it became the bohemian area and inspiration for writers and artist. Along with the immigrants came European brands filling the city with Galle and Muro glassware, Liberty fabrics, Bohemian glassware, Limoges porcelain and Biedermeier chairs.However by the 1980s little of the Bohemian area remained bar a lot of old unwanted treasures in the attics of these old buildings. The bars and cafes began to close and sell off their old fixtures and fittings..(sounds like a dream)This is when Salomons began collecting his objects, firstly for himself and for inspiration until they became so many that when he found the old railway warehouse, he swiftly moved in and opened his shop, La Pasionaria..

Ref: World of Interiors October 2007, Isabel de Estrada

Some pictures from *DIED* travelBlog