Trimmer : Shopping in Bilbao

Trimmer is the long-delayed arrival of shops now common in places like the States—the store that combines food and fashion in a quirky environment. Normally, here in Spain, this is enough to send me running in the other direction, dodging Pinterest bullets all the while. The difference with Trimmer, though, is the execution.

Details are quirky, based around the Sofia and Francisco’s impeccable taste. The couple’s one-off, craft-before- ethos guided the design of the shop. Both the shop’s products and the design details are like Bilbao: sturdy and practical. Decor is dominated by repurposed, vintage objects, like the salvaged tiles on the café side, recovered from an abandoned apartment on Bilbao’s Gran Via.

Quality is what makes Trimmer stand out in a crowd of wannabe boutiques, and on the boutique side, this means a roster of star designers that keeps shoppers coming. Jewelry by Ines Susaeta, which has me absolutely obsessed, Zubi bags, clothes from Masscob, designers based out of La Coruña, scarves from Suturno, accessories from Steve Mono, originally from Bilbao, and traditional yet totally modern stripy coastal tops from the original creator, Armor Lux….the list goes on, and the legitness is thanks to both owners’ background in the fashion industry.

The café is a dream come true, a veritable celebration of all things hip with the underlying qualification that they must be of the best quality. Organic eggs, Morro Fi vermouth on tap, single-origins coffee from Right Side pulled from a Marzocco machine.

Columns from the original real estate agent’s office, wooden tables custom-made in England and stainless steel diner-style bar tops set the design bar high. You can often catch the designer of the space, Guillermo Balzola, there enjoying a coffee in one of the seats next to the iron window frames, specially crafted for Trimmer to mimic old Spanish frames common in the first half of the 20th century.

Since their opening in 2014, Trimmer has met with nothing but glowing reviews. I discovered them while working on the upcoming 2016 Wallpaper* City Guide by Phaidon…and now it’s a mandatory stop for me when visiting Bilbao.

Trimmer Bilbao
Colón de Larreátegui, 35
48009 Bilbao
+34 946 941 135