Just as the people who have left us will always be alive as long as there is someone who remembers them, the life of things lasts as long as there is someone who values them. Determining the true value of those pieces that once witnessed our passage through this world is too complicated, especially for those who feel a special attachment to the objects that remind us of loved ones or moments that will never be repeated. But nowadays neither the spaces, nor the customs, nor the needs of our society are the same as fifty, sixty, or a hundred years ago.
Stepping into the space La Nave, in Santa Úrsula, is like going through a time tunnel to remember those times gone by. More than an antique shop, it is a history museum with furniture, decoration items, lamps, jewellery, tableware, clothes, and a wide collection of vintage cameras, technological devices, and appliances. For the youngest, who have not experienced or known those customs, more than entering a time tunnel, it is an adventure and a discovery to guess how ancient pieces were used, such as a simple bakelite telephone, musical instruments, or an analogue camera.
Jorge Sosa, Abel de León, and Erik L’hostis met through the street vending of antiques in the flea markets they frequently participated in. One day, six years ago, they decided to open to the public what was initially a warehouse to store all that furniture and belongings. Over time, they have become a reference on the Island to find unique pieces that they sometimes restore or repair themselves to recover their original condition.
The concept of this place is also coworking since the owners occasionally lend the space for other people to sell there, as is the case on the second Sunday of each month, when they hold an open day called The unpacking of the ship where you can find very interesting pieces and spend a different Sunday morning.
The ship of memories / Marta Casanova
Jorge Sosa is a graduate in Fine Arts and handles the more technological part. “It is curious how many young people come looking for compact plastic cameras from just 18 or 20 years ago. The so-called millennials were born in the digital age, and they find that operation curious. Each generation is marked by different events, but also by the technology that surrounds them, the style of music, the jewellery, clothes, or furniture, and here that part is well represented.”
Regarding the most demanded styles, Jorge tells us that there are trends. While a few years ago, older people were demanding Empire-style furniture and decoration, more classic, nowadays the style of the 50s and everything vintage is sought after, even plastic, common in furniture and household items from those years.
All kinds of merchandise from all corners of the Archipelago arrive at this large ship. “The spaces we live in are getting smaller, and people do not want to accumulate things. What we do in places like this is to bet on the circular economy, giving new life to pieces that already come with a history. It is a bet on sustainability because while the market is saturated with low-quality products that may seem cheap to us, in the end, the cheap always comes expensive for someone who is exploited in that chain of mass production. The furniture we have here is highly durable, carefully made, with woods that are no longer used in many cases.”
The ship of memories / Marta Casanova
Research work
The research work they sometimes have to carry out to learn the history of certain pieces before putting them up for sale is fascinating. In this regard, Jorge tells us how he once received glass negatives from the early 20th century and finally managed to find out that they were photos of families taken at home by a photographer from Arico. Among armchairs, tables, and shelves with old books, vinyl records, or tableware, we find curious elements such as a large wine bellows from a blacksmith shop in Germany or a large Viennese glass cabinet from the 1920s very well preserved that had been in La Palma for forty years before being moved to this place. We can also find a part of the counter from Casa Reid in Puerto de la Cruz.
But undoubtedly, the collection of early 20th-century hand vibrators and wooden, jade, and methacrylate dildos are the most curious elements I found in the visit to La Nave. Another partner, Abel de León, tells me how he acquired them from an eighty-year-old lady who told him they belonged to her mother, diagnosed with female hysteria in the Victorian era. At that time, patients diagnosed with this condition received a genital stimulation treatment, hence the therapeutic use considered with this apparatus. Today, I often lend them for exhibitions, and even a midwife displays them in her training sessions.
Abel has specialized in the jewellery part and emphasizes that when choosing the jewellery he acquires, he values the design because “not
We buy by weight to melt, but we sell whole pieces ». Before meeting Erik, his partner for 18 years, he worked in restoration as a waiter in a family business and acknowledges that he has learned everything through interest and self-taught training.
The ship of memories / Marta Casanova
Erik L’hostis is French although, due to family circumstances, he was born in Gabon. He arrived in Tenerife 23 years ago from Limoges, famous for its porcelain factories. He recalls how he was passionate about decoration from a young age “when I turned eighteen, instead of asking for a motorcycle, I insisted on a Louis XVI desk that cost my parents 1,200 euros”. After the death of his father, he decided to leave France and his profession as a nurse to pursue his passion in a store in the area of Las Galletas, in the south of Tenerife. At that time, he was successful and had the exclusive rights for the Canary Islands of French brands such as Luneville, La René or St Medart de Noblat, but eventually had to close because “the foreigners who spent the winter here at that time did not invest in decorating their apartments”. It was then that he started doing street vending and met his partners. In Europe, street vending and the second-hand market are better viewed than here. During the years I was in the flea market, I experienced situations of distrust from people who did not believe in the authenticity of the product, but our professional trajectory support us.
Another business opportunity has come from the positioning of Tenerife as a set for audiovisual productions, which has been a good way to facilitate the rental of furniture and props. During this time, they have worked with numerous production companies, carrying out many shootings in different locations on the island. From vintage radios, lamps, furniture, to 80s telephones, are the most demanded pieces.
I continue my journey through this enigmatic place and find numerous paintings with black and white photographs of people who are no longer here. I wonder if those men and women ever thought that their image could end up stacked for eternity on one of these shelves. An old acquaintance used to say that he did not want a portrait done because it would end up, at best, on the walls of a restaurant watching others gorge themselves while he was being eaten by worms, and he was not wrong. Jorge believes that “better here than in a dumpster”. “After all, these images are a historical document that speaks to us of our past, of how we dressed, of what our environment was like”. There are people who come to sell us things they find in the trash because there are many people who do not have the knowledge or the mindset to distinguish valuable pieces from those that are not,” he explains.
The ship of memories / Marta Casanova
Jorge lived in Amsterdam for twelve years and worked at the Dzwaan auction house. It was there that he really learned to know the true value of the pieces because “very valuable items passed through my hands”. “But the same thing happens with buildings, you just have to look at Puerto de la Cruz or corners of Santa Cruz that were completely lost in the name of modernity and economic performance,” adds Jorge. “Apart from buildings with special protection, most homes continue to be demolished or remodeled because, ultimately, there is no citizen awareness of respect and sensitivity towards the old,” he concludes.
The pricing dilemma
The dilemma when setting a price is another of the most complicated issues that the three partners face when acquiring merchandise because on the one hand there is the emotional value of things and on the other hand the sentimental value which is undoubtedly incalculable. “Many times an expectation is created that is not real,” says Erik. The relocation sale is another service they offer to customers, which consists of going to the property that needs to be emptied, referencing all its contents, and then opening it to the public for sale. They usually do this on practically all the islands and it is becoming more and more common. As an anecdote, Abel tells us of a case of a lady who bought an armchair from her deceased neighbor’s house because they always sat there to chat, and it was a way to keep her memory alive.
I leave La Nave with a different way of looking at the objects around us. After all, most of us have some memory of these elements that were part of our childhood, and it doesn’t hurt to look back occasionally to see how far we have come, but also how far we have regressed. Just like the taste of a madeleine dipped in tea that Marcel Proust recreates in his work In Search of Lost Time, a record player or an old hairdryer can instantly bring back that lost childhood.
[–>
Objects sold by La Nave and its managers, Jorge Sosa, Abel de León, and Erik L’hostis. Below, on the right, a collection of vibrators from the early 20th century and wooden, jade, and methacrylate dildos.
