LaNave: Santa Úrsula's Vintage Hub Connects Past and Present.
Santa Úrsula's LaNave, an eight-year-old vintage and antique shop, thrives by offering a diverse range of nostalgic items through a unique vendor-stall model and special events, helping customers emotionally reconnect with their past.
LaNave, a shop in Santa Úrsula, is a clear example of how businesses can tap into nostalgia and the value of the past. After eight years in business, it has become a popular destination for vintage items and antiques. The shop offers a wide range of products, including various furniture pieces, analog cameras, sound equipment, postcards, historical photographs, video games and related items, typewriters, decorative pieces, clothing, footwear, laboratory tools, and jewelry.
The idea for LaNave came from Abel Estévez de León, Jorge Sosa Campos, and Eric L’Hostis, who had previously sold goods on the street. Their business model allows vendors to rent stalls from the partners to sell their products. The partners also buy individual items directly and sell others on behalf of their owners through a consignment system. One of the founders describes this setup as a form of "coworking," which helps them offer a wide and diverse selection of items.
LaNave attracts a diverse clientele, from tourists to regular visitors who come several times a month, including a younger crowd drawn to retro styles. In addition to its regular hours from Wednesday to Saturday, the shop hosts a special event called 'El desembalaje' (The Unpacking) every second Sunday of the month. This event, which in March will be held on the 8th, transforms the exterior of the premises into a bustling flea market where new items are displayed and discounts are offered, attracting visitors even from other islands.
LaNave's appeal goes beyond just selling objects; it connects with customers on an emotional level. Jorge Sosa Campos shared an example of how they helped a client from Gran Canaria view Super 8 slides again. Using a projector, the client was able to recover images of great personal value. This kind of experience highlights how old items are not only fashionable but also help people reconnect with their past. While LaNave does not perform on-site repairs, it provides contacts for restoring obsolete electronic equipment, such as music players, televisions, or VHS video players, and clearly states the functional condition of each item for sale.
A special section within LaNave is 'Nostalgia eterna' (Eternal Nostalgia), managed by Eduardo Palancares. This corner specializes in video games, consoles, and technology from the nineties and early two thousands. Eduardo, who recently moved from Santa Cruz de Tenerife, sees LaNave as a "physical eBay." It's a place where video game collecting thrives and where customers seek not just an object, but a way to bring back past memories and feelings. Palancares himself admits the deep emotion he feels from the startup sound of a PlayStation 2 console, linking it to moments shared with his family.
In conclusion, LaNave acts as a catalyst for memories. Buying a vintage object there becomes the purchase of an experience, a fragment of a past that, for many, represents a better era.