#3 There’s a Reason Local Artisans Still Exist

In Mallorca, many buildings have been standing for a long time.
They’ve settled. Moved. Adapted to seasons, humidity, and years of use.
And the people who work on them have done the same.

Local artisans and suppliers are not surviving out of nostalgia.
They exist because they know what they are doing.
Their methods have been shaped by this island - its climate, its materials, its way of building.
What works here is not always what works elsewhere.

Many of these workshops could have outsourced long ago.
To the mainland or beyond.
To cheaper production. To faster systems.

They haven’t.
Not because they can’t.
Because they choose not to.

Because they understand that quality, here, is tied to process.
To materials that behave in a certain way.
To techniques developed over time, not optimised overnight.

Recently, we visited a workshop with a client.
Three generations have worked there. Knowledge passed down and refined over time.
We selected a fabric and asked when it would be ready.
Nine months.
Not due to delay - because the person responsible for that pattern is retiring - and is teaching the next generation how to do it properly.

There was no apology.
Just quiet certainty.

The same applies when working with older buildings.
They don’t respond well to being rushed.
Walls reveal surprises. Materials react. Timelines shift.
Trying to force speed - or impose outside methods - usually creates more problems than it solves.

We’ve learned to trust the people who understand this place.
To listen when they say something will take time.
To adapt when they tell us something won’t work.

Not out of politeness.
Because they’re usually right.

Respecting local knowledge isn’t about preserving tradition.
It’s about achieving a better result.