On the outskirts of Murcia, hidden behind an industrial warehouse, Juan Bohajar keeps more than 800,000 pieces of glassware, earthenware, and household items that his family has collected over decades.

Glasses, plates, jugs, ashtrays, wine glasses, decorative figurines, and objects whose purpose is sometimes not even obvious. All of them are new, even though the layer of dust covering them might suggest otherwise. Many are still in their original packaging. Now Juan is in charge of cleaning them, cataloging them, and selling them through Cristal Antiguo.

A few months ago, we worked with him to select 125 cups for a limited edition by NOMAD.
We wanted to understand where those pieces came from. So we headed down to Murcia to have coffee at his house and spend a day with him at Cristal Antiguo.

While we’re having breakfast, Juan gives us some background.
It all began long before he was born. His grandfather started working in glassware shops and warehouses when he was practically a child. Over time, he opened his own store, La Casa del Cristal, and for more than sixty years he traveled to factories throughout Spain buying merchandise, clearing out warehouses, and building up inventory. Without even meaning to, he built something much greater than just a business.

When his grandfather died, it was Juan’s father, Juan Antonio Bohajar, who took over. Years later, when the historic Casa del Cristal closed its doors, he moved all that stock to a warehouse on the outskirts of Murcia. There, he tried to give it a second life by creating Cristal Antiguo, an online store through which he began cataloging and selling thousands of items accumulated over the years. The project was put on hold for a while, until Juan, somewhat by chance, decided to revive it two years ago.

For a long time, Juan felt that this was more a part of his family’s history than his own. He had grown up surrounded by that world, but he never imagined he’d end up dedicating himself to it. Until one day, he walked back into the ship with his father. “I came across all this and was blown away. You walk in here and say, ‘What on earth is this?’”

For Juan, the warehouse functions almost like a time capsule. Each shelf holds a small piece of how we used to live. How we ate. How we entertained guests. How we decorated our homes. “Being here is like taking a stroll through sixty years of middle-class Spanish homes.” There are glasses for drinks that hardly exist anymore. Kitchen items that have disappeared. Pieces made by companies that closed decades ago, and artisanal and manufacturing processes that are now extinct.

Unlike a collector, Juan isn’t looking to add new pieces. He works exclusively with what was already here. “I rely on the stock they left me, and if it ever runs out, the Cristal Antiguo project will disappear along with it. My sole purpose is to bring this family’s story full circle with these household items. My grandfather started the project when he opened the store and bought all these pieces; selling everything would be a way of honoring his work and my father’s.”

With a laugh, he adds, “Although, looking at it in perspective, I think I’m going to die, and there will still be things here.” Surrounded by shelves that reach the ceiling and thousands of still-unopened boxes, it’s hard to imagine otherwise.

All of Juan’s household items are made of vintage glass; the cup he uses for his first coffee of the morning was made in 1970. And he’s particularly fond of it. It was one of the first cups he found in the warehouse and decided to keep.
He always uses the same one. And it’s always espresso.

Juan always uses the same mug. We always make the coffee.

Subscribe to Nomad Home