Does the light need to be warm or cool?

BarcelonaThe day when we can illuminate large spaces without needing a single electrical outlet isn't so far off. In fact, it's already quite possible. LED lights with built-in magnets or adhesive strips are easy to place and have a built-in rechargeable battery. They're selling incredibly well because they solve previously complicated situations where there were no outlets or you had to resort to those annoying extension cords. It's one of the products that has seen a surge in sales at Monsó y Benet. Isabel Benet Monsó, the current owner along with her husband Xavier and her cousin Jordi, tells us about it. She represents the third generation of this staunch lighting company in Barcelona, ​​which occupies almost the entire corner of Muntaner and Consell de Cent. The fourth generation, Anna, Isabel and Xavier's daughter, is also involved. They're in the thick of the Christmas sales campaign, and the company's ten employees are working overtime. What's the star product of the season? Oh, there are several. Generally speaking, it's all the Christmas lights. From those placed on the tree, in the nativity scene, or on the entryway table, to the curtains of light that adorn shop windows, separate restaurant spaces, or welcome visitors to the office.

They provide a great service to the restaurant industry—bars and restaurants—"Now that there are so many!"—for their lighting and interior design needs, as well as to decorators immersed in projects, and above all, to individuals for their homes or workplaces. And of course, they also serve the general public, the customer who needs a new switch, a new cable, or a rusty lamp nut replaced. Until a few years ago, they sold wholesale, but this segment has been steadily shrinking because lighting stores like Monsó and Benet are becoming increasingly rare. They've all been closing down. Even in cities and towns across the country.

Online sales and large retailers are taking over. Even the small shops. "The vast majority of our customers want good advice, professional guidance," Isabel emphasizes. "Going to a bazaar is easy, but it's unlikely they'll be able to satisfy your specific needs." For example, if you want lighting for the bedroom or living room. Whether it has the right tone and intensity for when, say, you're putting on makeup or when you want to read for a while before going to sleep. Or if you need to get out of bed in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. "Many people come in desperate because they don't know where to find a particular item they need." "If they don't have it at Monsó y Benet, you probably won't find it anywhere else," is a common refrain that guides the desperate to this century-old shop in the heart of the Eixample district.

It opened in the early 1910s thanks to the entrepreneurial spirit of Amparo Monsó and Vicente Monsó, Isabel's grandparents, who had come from Valencia with their plumbing skills well mastered. They first set up shop on Mallorca Street and later moved to its current location. There's a delightful story related to the early years of the business. Since they were also plumbers in addition to offering lighting services, they set up a bathroom in the shop window. At night, they would draw the curtain and take the opportunity to shower.

The second generation consisted of Montserrat Monsó and Joan Monsó, who continued the business. In fact, Montserrat, Isabel's mother, was still seen at the shop until shortly before her death this past August at the age of 98. This second generation clearly saw the need to expand the business into wholesale. And they created their own line of electrical supplies, which led them to travel throughout Spain. Years of sacrifice bore fruit and brought times of prosperity. Until now, when in-house manufacturing is no longer profitable due to fierce competition from imports from the East. Luckily, plugs, dimmers, nuts, rings, eyelets, flexible lamps, shades, power strips, wall lights... are still needed. There are still old lights inherited from parents or grandparents that you're excited to update.

Light bulbs, of course, are now mandatory low-energy. The same goes for fans and heaters. Now is the season for the latter. And they're not immune to the plague of customers who say, "Can I take a picture and come back?" This customer probably won't return. After all the advice they received in the store, they'll buy what they need from Amazon. "Soon there won't be any shops left in the neighborhoods," laments Isabel. But at Monsó y Benet, for now, business continues unabated. "Do you want the light warm or cool, bright or reddish?"