New York's Fifth Avenue in Oviedo

I stopped dead. I was walking with Nole at night, after closing, to freshen up a bit and I saw her. I got that surprised face typical of Japanese cartoons: eyes wide open and mouth in the shape of “OH”. Ipso facto I smiled, from ear to ear. I dragged my boy to the other side of the street to stand in front of the façade and exclaimed: “How beautiful!”, still not getting rid of that animated doll face that cannot and does not want to hide its happiness. The reason for my astonishment was none other than Botanical Matter, a wonderful space created by Dani Pando on the street Fruela, number 1, which offers plants, flowers, pots, trees, Christmas decorations, Easter flowers, candles, notebooks and a thousand wonderful details related to the plant world. I touched the moss-covered façade, admired the enormous garland that covers the entrance, poked my nose through the door to discover an imposing, wonderful golden mirror inside, on the left, and an antique wooden cabinet on the right. , which covers the entire wall and displays exquisite objects. “I love it!” I said to Nole again. He laughed, knowing my admiration for beauty, for the different, for the novel and for the brave. And that's how Materia Botánica seems to me, a magnificent project that returns to the city that cosmopolitan air and quality commerce that it had lost after the crisis, a space, in Oviedo, worthy of the Fifth Avenue in New York.

I took a few photos. To show it, to show it to people, to share my enthusiasm. Talk about Botanical Matter and I sent some friends to see the space. But I was dying to go, to enter, to meet the people who lived there and to welcome them to the neighborhood. And I showed up there last week. I told them about The old Iriarte, I congratulated them on their beautiful project and suggested a collaboration between businesses, since I firmly believe in synergies and mutual support, And that's how I met Dani Pando, the master florist and promoter of Materia Botánica (who has been working in the sector for more than 10 years from Llanera), to his wife, Covadonga, who curiously works at the old Botica del Carmen, the pharmacy on the corner of our street, now her mother and his mother-in-law, who was the one who introduced them, as they told me, with fun. I also met Ana, another member of the team. What nice, close and friendly people. They showed me the store. Stairs dotted with exotic and wonderful plants lead to the loft, where they have set up a charming little room to show their clients their floral decoration projects or for couples to choose every last ornamental detail for their wedding. Hundreds of plants have been hung from the ceiling and the effect is to take you into a jungle of exotic and enormous species. We agreed to do a photo session among the flowers when the spring dresses arrive at El Antiguo Iriarte. What you want!

My enthusiasm for Botanical Matter It is due not only to the wonderful nature of this space, but also to the fact that a new business has opened in the neighborhood, and in the city. I'm tired of closed and dirty basements, of stores that close shortly after opening, of the same franchises in all cities, of sad streets and dark cities. Opening a beautiful and different business is hope, enthusiasm, growth, courage and the desire to move forward. It is light in the street, it is beauty and it is neighborhood life.

Therefore, you are welcome Dani Pando. Welcome your family and your subject.