Ruim Design: The design of the past in relation to the future

We arrived at Mercantic on a Monday morning when the market was closed. The first warehouse was completely empty and the silence made the place feel different. There were no visitors, no noise of stalls opening, just the furniture waiting.

As soon as we entered, we met Pep.

Mercantic occupies an old ceramics factory in Sant Cugat del Vallès, and walking through it without people, the place is somewhat reminiscent of the antique section of the Paris flea market. But here there are not only antique furniture and brocantes. As we go along, unexpected spaces appear: a bookstore, a concert hall that looks straight out of New Orleans, small workshops and galleries hidden among the warehouses.

Pep nos va guiando por el lugar como quien enseña su propia casa. Y en cierto modo lo es. Su abuelo fue el propietario de la fábrica y tanto él como su padre crecieron rodeados de antigüedades, objetos y muebles que pasaban de unas manos a otras. “He jugado entre muebles toda la vida”, nos dice mientras avanzamos hacia el espacio donde expone las piezas de RUIM, el proyecto que hoy dirige.

Es entonces cuando la historia empieza a cobrar sentido.

RUIM , que significa espacio en neerlandés, nace precisamente de esa relación tan cercana con los objetos y con el tiempo que contienen. Entre muebles con décadas de historia, la conversación con Pep acaba derivando en algo más amplio: qué significa realmente diseñar hoy, por qué seguimos volviendo a las piezas del pasado y qué hace que algunos objetos sigan teniendo sentido con el paso del tiempo.

Vintage: More Than Sustainability

The rise of vintage furniture is often associated with sustainability, but for Pep, the phenomenon is more complex.

“Obviously, all of this goes hand in hand with climate awareness. It's absurd to produce at these levels and for everything to move so fast. But I'm not doing this just because of climate change.”

For him, the true value lies in what the pieces represent.

“The interesting thing about vintage design is not just the aesthetic, but everything behind it: who designed it, how it was made, the materials used.”

In a context where trends are constantly changing, objects with history offer something different.

“We are very disturbed by trends. Everything goes so fast that when you see a chair from the 1920s, we understand the work behind it, the idea, the personality. It has a lived quality.”

What defines a good space

The very name RUIM “space” inevitably leads us to talk about interiors. What makes a space work?

For Pep, the answer is clear: light.

“Lighting is the most important thing in a space. You can have the most beautiful place in the world, but if you turn on the typical white ceiling light, you ruin the entire space.”

On the other hand, small changes can completely transform an atmosphere.

“If you work with light points, well-chosen lamps or warm lighting, the space changes completely. Light can destroy a place or give it beauty.”

The genius of simplicity

When asked to pick an iconic piece of design, Pep doesn't mention anything spectacular or exclusive.

His choice is much simpler: Alvar Aalto's Stool 60.

“It's a very simple, unpretentious, but brilliant design. I love how Aalto worked with the material, the curves, the functionality of it being stackable.”

The key lies precisely in that simplicity.

“It's an object that works anywhere. That's the genius of the design: that something so simple has so much utility and impact.”

Designing with the past to envision the future

Ultimately, the conversation always returns to the same idea: design does not advance by denying the past.

“It's a mistake to want to be only ultramodern. You can't create without considering what has come before.”

Innovation, according to Pep, arises precisely from that mix.

“The interesting thing is to mix the old with the current. If you take the past and combine it with what is happening now, new things appear.”

It's a way of understanding design that distances itself from both nostalgia and the obsession with novelty.

And he reminds us that the objects that truly matter, those that survive over time, always have something in common: design has always been driven by functionality and use, and that the coexistence between vintage and contemporary is essential for progress.

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