We are Jesús and Pancho, two passionate plant collectors and founders of Casa Protea Plant Collectors Studio. This project was prompted by our shared enthusiasm for botany and the link it creates between us and the space we inhabit.

 

Although our educational background -in art and architecture- seems to be far away from the vegetal world, we both have a common heritage: the passion of our grandmothers, who have been keen gardeners and collectors of a huge variety of species. To them we owe our understanding of the lengthy and extraordinary growth track of a cactus, from seed to flower, or the importance of cuttings for propagation. Casa Protea put down its first roots in a tiny apartment in Santiago de Chile, where we managed to accommodate more than 200 species.

 

Casa Protea Plant Collectors Studio opened its doors in Barcelona -Barri de Gràcia- in August 2017 as a meeting place for plant lovers. We work with a wide variety of species, tropical plants, cactI, succulents and air plants being most prominent. In selecting each specimen we look at properties such as age, unique shape or rarity.

 

We use the word “Casa” because rather than as a shop it has been conceived as a gathering place for the transfer of information, the exchange of knowledge and the sharing of our interests with others.

 

Casa Protea works on various creative projects which are invariably rooted in passion and fascination with botany. We offer services such as interior design with plants; advisory and plant care services; creation and maintenance of gardens or floral decoration. Each project is an extension of our daily activity, of what we like to do, and a reflection of how we live enjoying life’s simple pleasures.

 

Portrait by ALMA GÜELL (SLOWKIND)