Pep's grandfather set up a saddlery with his brothers, which was later inherited by his father and then himself, in Carrer de Bonjesús, in Manacor. Over time, the family workshop stopped producing chairs and specialized in the creation of Mallorcan rocking chairs. Today, Pep and his father, two generations who share the same passion and respect for delicate and careful cabinetmaking, are the ones who recall the history of this family business, sitting in their own creations.
Surrounded by tools, wood and many rockers, in a workshop that breathes the essence of yesteryear, we listen attentively. "My mother rescued a rocker from my grandmother and my father took out the templates," says Pep's father. At that time, he continues, "it was just my father and me, and he proposed to me to make only rockers. Fifty-five years ago now. After the grandfather fell ill, a brother joined the family business and they both took over the reins.
Pep grew up among sawdust and fabrics. Most of his childhood memories, in fact, have this workshop as a setting. "I remember playing here and watching my mother upholster every rocker. I've lived it since I was a child and for me learning the process was natural," he says. So organic that when he took over, he opted for "catching up and making himself visible" but, as he assures, "the way each rocker is made has hardly changed".
"Many cabinetmakers nowadays are more computer scientists than cabinetmakers".
In this path focused on updating, the third generation of Balancins Gelabert has taken on the challenge of facing a rebranding, has launched a website and has incorporated some auxiliary machines that, of course, did not exist when the grandfather worked. However, the method is exactly the same as it was decades ago: a truck unloads the firewood in the workshop and Pep selects and separates the wood he is interested in according to the grain so that the result is harmonious. Then, he explains, he marks each piece in pencil and starts sawing the wood. Although the wood had always been Mallorcan pine, finally, after some problems with suppliers, they decided to use French wood, which is more robust.
Pep invests an intense and long working day in shaping a single rocker, from working on the structure to upholstering it. The whole process passes through his hands. His great allies to achieve a genuine result are the three brands of roba de llengües that remain on the island. Three historical ones that continue, today, weaving on the loom according to the millenary technique of the ikat: Teixits Riera, in Lloseta; Teixits Vicenç, in Pollença, and Teixits Bujosa, in Santa Maria. Between the three of them, they have a collection of three hundred fabrics, with all kinds of patterns and an almost infinite color palette.
In this way, each rocker is unique and customized to the customer's taste. Available in two sizes, for adults and for children, what they all have in common is the inverted curve, a model patented by Balancins Gelabert for the back to rest in a healthy, comfortable and natural way. They have researched greatly to achieve it, "testing and innovating to improve, but always in a traditional way".
After all, "a rocker has a characteristic that a chair does not have: the chair sits, but a rocker rocks. If it's not well made, it won't last a lifetime." And an object like this must last. To do this, Pep says, it is essential to "work at your own pace, without pressure", something he praises in his work, in his way of earning a living.
Craftsmanship is a mantra in this workshop because, half jokingly, half seriously, a man who has spent his life among wood reflects on how his profession has evolved: "Many cabinetmakers today are more computer scientists than cabinetmakers," he ironically remarks.
"A rocker has to be well made and here nothing is done by itself ".
Friendly and welcoming people, craftsmanship runs through the veins of the Gelabert family. Perhaps that is why they remember with nostalgia those times when in every street, there was at least one workshop. "In Manacor, when I was fifteen years old, there were four hundred and thirty workshops. In this street there were six and two upholstery shops. Now we are the only ones left," recalls Pep's father. It is the portrait of the Mallorca of another time.
So many decades working in the same workshop have generated so many stories and anecdotes with local customers, but also foreigners with second homes on the island who come to Bonjesús street to customize their rocking chair. Even, we are told, a president of the Government of the Balearic Islands has passed through here.
This year, Pep has received the carnet de primater d'obra fina, a distinction that only fusters who work in the old way receive. And the fact is that there are still many people who value this way of producing and understanding the creation of unique pieces because of their process, but also, in this case, because of the fabrics used for upholstery.
Balancins Gelabert's workshop is a humble, simple and authentic place that remains true to its values: craftsmanship with an eye always on quality. In line with this vision, Pep has not deviated one iota from what his grandfather taught his father and his father taught him: "a seesaw has to be well made and here nothing is done by itself. Everything is done by hand.
