Impossible Project Barcelona

Since I love photography, the shop Impossible Project is one my favourite ones in Barcelona. Actually, I had in mind writing about it since we began the blog more than a year ago.

But what’s The Impossible Project? For those of you who have never heard of it, you can read the description on their website: “In October 2008 The Impossible Project saved the last Polaroid production plant for integral instant film in Enschede (The Netherlands) and started to invent and produce totally new instant film materials for traditional Polaroid cameras. In 2010 Impossible saved analog instant photography from extinction by releasing various, brand new and unique instant films.”

So, yes, this is the place for polaroid lovers! There are shops in many cities of the world: Vienna, Berlin, Tokio, New York City, Buenos Aires, Paris, Beijing, London, Sydney, etc.

In the case of Barcelona, the magnificent shop is located in “El Born”, one of the trendiest neighbourhoods of the city. It’s a white space with stone-walls painted in white colour, filled only with vintage wood furniture. The lights make the atmosphere even brighter.

In the shop, you can find from instant cameras and film to books about this kind of photography. There are bags for your Polaroid, some albums, frames… There’s a wide range of products specially created by Impossible Project, such as a kit to take care of your Polaroids so they last longer. There’s also the Poladarium designed by the German studio Magma Brand Design. Naturally, you can walk and take a look at everything while the music sounds. You can touch the cameras, take a look at the books, etc.

 

When I was in the shop last week, there was a wonderful exposition called “American Way of Life”. I had the chance to see with one of the people who had organised it, our friend Carla Cascales. That was great because she could explain me how they had come up with the idea and how they had collected all these pictures.

This is a collection of pictures from the 70s and 80s that include old ladies with crazy hair showing us their great belongings or people from the black community that finally fitted in this American society.

Luckily, if you like any of the photos, you can think of buying it. In the beginning, there was a selection of a hundred pictures, but unfortunately they run out of space. That’s why there are just 60 exposed. Even though, the amount of photos is large enough to understand the whole idea.

To sum up, if you happen to be in Barcelona and you like photography, don’t hesitate to visit this shop. When you go, there’ll probably be another exposition. You might also like to know that the owners have another cool shop called Chandal, where you can find very special objects from stationery, Lomography cameras, notebooks, vinyls, books, etc. Don’t hesitate to visit that one neither!