The Low Down № 76 – Meat of the Every Day in Spain
The STMT Kit x Spain sourcing trip was one amazing nonstop ride from the moment I arrived to wavin’ bye-bye from the sky. From hangin’ with locals to a major vintage office supplies score to another RAH20PP artist and so much more! But never in my wildest dreams did I expect to lose my shit over a mom-and-pop stand selling one thing – RUBBER BANDS!! The massive haul of vintage pencils with mad Franco history was a close second. BUT M’THR F’IN RUBBER BANDS!! Are you kiddin’ me?!
I swung through El Rastro, a popular open-air flea market in Madrid. It’s massive and chock full of the usual suspects – the heavies hawkin’ a mix of inexpensive second-hand goods and vintage treasures, the independent designers sellin’ their own creations, the nomads pushin’ Nag Champa incenses and hammer pants. I wasn’t expecting much ‘cause lately flea markets have been more busts than scores.
Hands flyin’, gangs of people crowdin’ an older husband-wife duo running a small stand. I was expecting them to be turnin’ card tricks or hawkin’ fidget spinners. It was straight outta a Hollywood action flick. The only thing that could have made the scene more crackin’ was an on-foot chase. Where was Keanu Reeves chasin’ a Ronald Reagan-masked robber?
It’s like an entire city descending on one stand but why? I got closer, and that’s when I realized I discovered gold, rubber M’THR F’IN gold! Rubber bands drippin’ – amber, green, and yellow. Drunk in love ‘cause of a poppin’ rubber band stand?! Heart racin’, I didn’t skip a beat. Spied ginormous white rubber bands... BOUGHT. THEM. ALL.
I never knew so many people wanted rubber bands. MY PEOPLE!! Like how the M’THR F’IN way does this stand exist? I spy rubber bands in every shop I hit for office supplies. We’re big on rubber bands – we use ‘em for our pencil packs and Rad Bags packaging, we use ‘em to make Instagrips for pencils. Did you nab a Morocco Kit featurin’ our DIY including rubber bands? I wanted all their bands, but they rarely inspire an STMT Kit. Do RAHstrs really want an entire kit of rubber bands?
Rubber bands are super lo-fi. They’re exactly the kind of goods that make me fall hard. They’re often overlooked and rarely get any love. Ever geek down about rubber bands? I love me some twine but it’s not always the most practical or easiest for keepin’ stuff together. But rubber bands? A huge step up from twine, yet totally lo-fi to the core.
Simple things in life hold shit together – the hard shit, the heavy shit, the smiles, and hi-fives. Designs so essential we take ‘em for granted. But they’re there – they’re the meat of the every day. Seeing the couple sell rubbers bands out of their crackin’ stand was beautiful. ‘Cause no matter how advanced shit becomes, we still need mom-and-pop shops of the world holdin’ court. Rubber bands? They be poppin’.
oxxo, Hen
