Gnomo—essential objects for contemporary survival in Valencia

There are countless reasons to embrace small businesses, especially during the current global pandemic. But in the month of November, there’s one extra reason: Small Business Day on November 30. At N26, we want to join in this global celebration all month long by shining a light on the creative, caring small businesses around us.

Today we’re visiting Gnomo, a quirky shop located in the neighborhood of Ruzafa in the center of Valencia that has everything you need to help you survive another lockdown. It might take less time to tell you what you can’t find at Gnomo, as their inventory is expansive and extremely diverse. They pack their shelves with books, journals, mugs, flowerpots, prints, decorations, fans, costume jewelry, and that 2020 essential accessory: masks. 

All the masks that Gnomo sells are produced locally and meet health regulations in terms of materials and quality. Real artists create the designs, patterns, and illustrations that adorn each mask. You can even browse through their mask selection online at Fet a València.

Every product Gnomo carries is tinged with creativity and humor. These traits are also characteristic of Esther Martín and Álvaro Zarzuela, the shop’s owners. Martín and Zarzuela opened Gnomo in 2010 with the goal of providing “essentials for contemporary survival.” They’ve scoured the globe in search of just the right whimsical products to line Gnomo’s shelves. Recently, Sarah Laveda and Adán Menchón joined the Gnomo team to help them bring even more amazing products to their international clientele.

We caught up with Esther and Álvaro to find out what takes places behind the scenes at Gnomo, and how they’ve had to adapt to the new challenges that come with owning a small business in 2020.

When and why did you decide to start your own business?

We started Gnomo 10 years ago, as the result of our sudden romantic infatuation with one another, and our common point of view about what we wanted to build. We talked on the phone for a long time—there was no WhatsApp at the time and we talked on the phone a lot. Since then, Gnomo has fallen into its own rhythm and continues to grow and evolve.

How has the coronavirus affected your activity?

This year has been a roller coaster of emotions. The first two months of lockdown we had to close and couldn’t even make shipments. When we finally reopened, the neighborhood was so excited. Now there’s this Christmas-y feeling in the air, since everything is accelerating before the end of the year. We’ve adapted to living in an emotional maelstrom. There have been terrible moments, but we also want to think that many changes have been for the better.

For instance, we’ve expanded the team, and are now offering new services to our customers. We’ve brought in a lot of new products, like our collection of illustrated masks—a project we’re really proud of. The masks are produced locally and are made according to the current health regulations. It’s given us the chance to collaborate with a lot of illustrators we really admire. We launched that in April and it’s received an incredible welcome from our customers.

How have you adapted to the new situation?

We’ve adapted our product selection, of course. But to be honest, we have always been constantly adapting what we offer! Gnomo is a selective project, and has always been very eclectic, so we have seamlessly introduced flour, masks, plants, and so on. And always based on quality design and creativity. Because you can be creative in all fields.

We have also expanded our online presence, but we were already at full capacity online before the pandemic. There are still those who identify online sales with giant companies, but it’s not like that. Neighborhood stores are also on the internet, offering our products to the whole world with online stores as good as the ones you can find on the street.

We never do promotional discounts and marketing offers. We didn’t do it during confinement, and we’re not doing it now. It doesn’t matter if it’s Black Friday, Singles Day, Cyber ​​Monday, or World Striped Meerkats Day. In Gnomo, the prices are always the same and they are always fair. Fair and set, in fact. Since we don’t increase them, we can’t decrease them, either. During confinement we did donate 10% of sales to the Red Cross, and we’re working on more actions of this type. But our clients can be sure that our prices are always the same.

What do you think is an advantage that small businesses have over large companies?

When we buy from small and local businesses, we are not only helping the local economy to flourish, but we’re also purchasing quality, innovative, and more sustainable products. These days, the idea of consuming locally is gaining popularity. It is becoming a very powerful trend that is great for small businesses, local production, and local products.

The pandemic has also changed our closest relationships—with our city, with our work, with our circles of friends, with our family. Whether we realize it or not, we are reimagining ourselves in society on a more human and local scale. We are changing the way we relate. We’d like this change to also happen economically, moving towards a model that puts more weight on local consumption.

If you’re in Valencia, you can stop by Gnomo from Monday to Saturday, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., to get a taste of the unique atmosphere they’ve created. You can also visit their online shop or follow them on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.