Maria Andrés: "We entered a house and, suddenly, they showed us a horse-drawn carriage"

BarcelonaFollowing a personal experience – the arduous task of getting rid of some of your belongings when you move house – Maria Andrés, 27, and her family launched Pompina Home Reborn, a company with which they aim to redefine what it means to empty a home. After a long inventory process, for three days, they organize markets open to the public within the property itself, offering the opportunity to buy furniture or items that the owner of the apartment does not want or cannot take with them. Andrés explains that in the process of emptying apartments, they have found items they didn't even know what they were, such as an antique stereoscope, an optical instrument that became very popular in the late 19th century and allows viewing flat photographs in three dimensions.

How did you come up with the idea of creating markets to empty apartments?

— Just before the pandemic, my family and I sold our house and created a mini-market with friends. Since we couldn't take everything with us, we thought we'd try to give our things a second life. It kind of emerged like that. But, separately, we saw that here, in Catalonia, these things weren't done, the most typical way to empty a house is to hire someone, who comes, takes everything, and you don't know where things end up. We investigated a bit and found that this market thing was only done in Madrid. It's also very typical of the United States. We thought about finding a way to give objects a second life and that, in the end, the owner benefits, who will know that their things won't be thrown away, and also the person who buys, who sometimes takes a little gem for their home.

Many times, when it's time to empty a flat, people turn to online platforms like Wallapop, which is a very tiring process.

— In fact, with our place, I went through this process of uploading each item to Wallapop and Vinted. Now a lamp, now I don't know what. You have to negotiate everything, then have them come pick it up or send it... It's a hassle and, besides, it can go wrong.

People who have to empty an apartment or a house often find themselves in a vulnerable moment. Have you encountered this?

— We have encountered all sorts of situations. People who are no longer here, because they have moved to a residence or have moved elsewhere. The emotional process of the owner having to empty their home, which is often where they grew up and where all their memories are, is very hard. In this regard, we do not have this emotional bond with things. We have had owners who have told us that they did not want to enter the market. In fact, whenever we organize a market, we recommend that they are not present. Emotionally, it is extremely hard to let go of a whole life to start the next stage.

In this sense, having empathy must be important.

— We accompany you throughout the entire process. Many times, when you enter a house, you find photos, documents. All of this, obviously, you keep. They are objects that have a lot of history. For example, sometimes you sell a photo frame and inside there is still a photo. Also board games with family initials. There are people who come to buy and tell us: "Oh, I would like to know more about the history of the people who lived here." On Instagram, the other day a gentleman asked us to explain more about the history of the people whose objects we sell. I told him that just by going to the markets you can get a little idea of what their life might have been like. In one of the last ones we organized, the lady loved to sew very much and it was full of sewing articles.

Should we imagine 'markets' as if they were a 'flea market'?

— No, it's like you enter someone's house and see everything they have. We don't arrange things as if it were a shop window. It's not a shop, it's an experience. Personally, I really like walking down the street and seeing the houses lit up and hearing them a little from inside. Seeing someone's house is really cool.

Every home is a world, what is the most curious object you have found since you launched the project?

— This weekend we are doing a market in Sabadell. We entered the house and the gentleman says to us "wait until I show you the horse-drawn carriages". I imagined a small figure of a carriage and, suddenly, he pulls out a horse-drawn carriage as if we were in Bridgerton. With the headlights, the seats to sit facing each other. I was amazed. In his house, everyone has what they have.

What kind of customers come to 'markets'?

— Of all kinds. I am 27 years old and when we started I thought young people would come, because in the end it's the stage of becoming independent. You look for a well-priced sofa, a table or curtains. All of this is very expensive. But literally people of all ages come, old people but also very young ones. Many foreigners, because they value the issue of sustainability a lot. The prices we set are fair prices or below what they should be because, in the end, the goal is to empty the house.

Now it feels like the decoration of all houses is the same, that they have all gone through the IKEA sieve. Do you think this makes finding unique or original pieces more valuable?

— Each market is a world, they all have different things. Right now, just like when we get dressed, where it seems like we all dress the same, everyone wants minimalist things. But then, at the markets, clients come and, for example, they take an antique mirror, which gives their home a different touch. Before, things were made with better quality and you notice it. Of course, you have to like it, especially if there are antiques.

Has it ever happened to you that you haven't managed to sell everything?

— Selling 100% of things is very complicated. On the last day, we offer a discount so people can take as much as they can. When we can't sell any more, we contact second-hand dealers who can take a significant portion for X price. The next step would be to contact NGOs. The last resort would be the landfill, because we want to give things a second life. We have never been to the landfill yet.

What is the hardest thing to sell?

— The most difficult thing is furniture. Normally, older people already live in their homes and already have their furniture, and for young people who have just moved, the most common thing is that they are in a small apartment or sharing, so it's complicated for them to take an old and large piece of furniture. To sell furniture, you have to encounter specific situations, such as a lady who was renovating a farmhouse to make a rural house. Art is also complicated, because it's a very personal thing. On the other hand, what sells best is tableware, glassware, and sometimes clothing, when it's good and well-maintained.

Has esta experience made you lose the desire to accumulate things at home?

— I've lost the desire to have figurines. You realize that you accumulate everything you've lived in a lifetime.

Have you encountered people competing to get something?

— In one of the first markets there was a man who was walking around and looking at things. When he came back to the spot where what he wanted was, it was gone and he was surprised. Normally, there are two or three star products that everyone wants. And these are the first ones that appear. Then, if you wait until Sunday, it's no longer there. We clear out your house in three days, from Friday to Sunday at noon. Now, on Fridays, we have people book an appointment to have more control. People can stay for half an hour. Saturday and Sunday is free entry and they can stay longer, because the apartment is already emptier and they have more time to look.

How do you find the apartments and houses that you empty?

— There is a bit of everything, but right now it's basically people who know us and write to us "I want to empty my apartment, how can we do it?". The owner doesn't have to pay us anything, we take a percentage of what we sell.

Have you ever fallen in love with some of the objects that were in some of the apartments?

— Of many, but you can't keep it all to yourself. I, personally, fell in love with a plant, even though all plants die on me. On one of the floors there were some very nice artificial plants. If I keep something, I wait a while and if it hasn't been sold, I reserve it and buy it. But sometimes they've taken it from me, huh? It happened to me with a bowl that I loved. We don't have priority. When you publish the market on Instagram [the profile has more than 16,000 followers], there are people who come for some specific things. The reservations to come are almost like The Hunger Games, the first four hours to enter usually sell out in thirty seconds.