The shop that sells sun-dried tomatoes grown in the Aran Valley as a unique design object

BarcelonaIf you enter Mundana (c. Aribau, 34) for the first time, after crossing a shop window where you will find sardine cans, shoes, and a bottle of cologne that smells like pencil, you will find everything you need to have a vermouth or an aperitif with the best brands from Catalan artisans and from other towns. And whoever says aperitif and vermouth, also says knives from the Pallarès brand from Solsona. If hunger can wait, at Mundana you might find that artisan, Catalan-brand piece of clothing that suits your taste: take note of the sweaters from the IAIOS brand, from Granollers, by designer Gemma Barbany Arimany. And if you are interested in the cologne you saw in the shop window, know that it was created by Barcelona designer Oriol Montañés. And that the scent is cedar, that is, the one that makes the freshly sharpened pencil: sweet, dry, and warm at the same time.Behind the store that sells everything design-related in food, clothing, and decorative objects are siblings Anna (Barcelona, 1964) and Jaume Colomer (Barcelona, 1979). One, a molecular biologist by training, specialized in cancer studies; the other, an industrial designer, specialized in industrial creativity. One day they decided to reinvent themselves and six years ago opened their dream, which was to illuminate what local designers create. After having been in the Gràcia neighborhood, they have been installed for two years on Aribau street, near the restaurants Mont bar (with two Michelin stars), Mediamanga, and the indispensable La Valenciana.

With the origins explained, we go on to explain the consumables they sell, intended for ingestion, drinking, and observation. "We think that the sofa and blanket moment can be a great moment, and that's why we have a very good blanket, a Corpinnat sparkling wine, and a very good Montsant wine." The Colomer brothers emphasize exclusivity through their products, "which does not necessarily have to be linked to money, but rather to the intensity of well-being it produces in the person." Therefore, do not look for trends in Mundana, but for permanences. Do not look for kimchis but for Lágrimas de Canigó extra virgin olive oil. Or better, Encantaran sun-dried tomatoes in extra virgin olive oil, from a producer in the Vall d’Aran, who has managed to become known in the country for the quality of the product. At the Làctium fair in Vic, the creator of the Encantaran brand set up a stall there, and sold cheeses also preserved in olive oil. But it is probably the sun-dried tomato that generates the most enthusiasm. "Encantaran sun-dried tomatoes are good for a salad or for preparing a red pesto," says Anna.All cuts from the Pallarès house

In Mundana, next to the sun-dried tomatoes, you will also find cans of sardines or horse mackerel with wrappers so attractive that you'll feel bad opening and eating them. They are the kind of cans you place on a shelf and they look nice. In fact, the Colomer brothers themselves have them displayed near the shop window. In this case, they are from Portugal, from the house of José Gourmet. "The focus is on local products, but the mustards, for example, we get from France, because they are of the highest quality, and the same goes for our canned fish," they comment. Alongside the preserves, the pallareses, as the knives from the Solsona brand are popularly called. "From the Pallarès house, we also have household scissors, nail scissors, pruning shears, pliers; the brand is very good for anything that cuts, they even make them for shearing sheep," they say.If we have cut the sun-dried tomatoes with a pallarès, we can pair them with a glass of wine or sparkling wine. "We are not a winery, so we don't have an extraordinary variety, but we do have a small, selected variety from Catalan and other designations of origin." You will find wines from Costers del Segre, Empordà, Montsant, Penedès, and sparkling wines from Corpinnat. And among these references, a good curiosity: they have a sake made in Catalonia, made in the Ebro Delta.Regarding the extra virgin olive oil they sell, Lágrimas del Canigó, the brothers explain that they chose it because one day they saw it was the oil used by Motel Empordá. "We thought that if Motel had it, we wanted it too." Additionally, they also noticed that the oil had won an award in the competition organized by the Department of Agriculture of the Generalitat de Catalunya. And having talked about oils, we must move on to the jams of a thousand and one flavors they sell, made in Torrent, in Empordà, by the Museu de la Confitura. Or the Sanmartí pastas, made in Caldes de Montbui. "They are extraordinary because they are made with the water from Caldes de Montbui, which has always been highly regarded," they comment. It is a one hundred percent Catalan product, from the old days, dating back to 1700. And among the edibles, they have general kitchen utensils. Apart from the knives, the Aguadé ceramic dishes and the designer utensils from the Italian brand Alessi. And above all, well-placed, the Corpus of Catalan Cuisine, which by itself, as they display it, is a definition of principles.Mundana sells everything that aims to make the daily world better. "We know that mundane is an adjective, and we like it because it refers to everyday life, which we can elevate daily with our choices." In other words: "We sell Catalan basics that have their exceptionality," and this is true for both food, which is what we have described, and for clothing and accessories, which we are not covering, as that would be another story.