This book is an ode to the beauty of nature

This book is an ode to the beauty of nature

Text: Christine Holmes Photos: Lur Garden
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Iñigo Segurola’s book Lur Garden looks back at the genesis of his “garden of gardens” that he has been shaping for ten years in the Oiartzun valley.

But since a garden is nothing without its gardener, the Basque landscape designer also reveals a lot about himself. It is the story of a man in search of order and beauty in the heart of a free and indomitable nature.

As a child, Iñigo Segurola was one of those children who picked flowers on every school outing. He used to say that when he grew up, he would write “books about trees”. Already passionate about plants, he tells how moved he was when, in science class, the seeds he had placed in damp cotton finally germinated.

Fifty years later, he has created a garden that is unique in the Basque Country, an “oddity” in the local landscape. Above all, he has published Lur Garden, the “book about trees” he had dreamed of.

“I always say that this garden was like adopting quintuplets: when one sleeps, the other cries, another becomes uncontrollable, and so on,” – Iñigo Segurola

Lur Garden, the 10-year genesis of a book
Lur Garden is a collection of 16 themed gardens; a “garden of gardens” spread over two hectares in the heart of a small valley in Oiartzun. Some would say it is the Garden of Eden. However, when Iñigo Segurola and his partner Juan Iriarte found this land ten years ago, it was just a meadow where a few cows grazed, bordered by the Sarobe stream.

At the head of Lur Paisajistak since 1994, the visionary landscape architects of Gipuzkoa fell in love with the place and decided to acquire it in order to experiment with their art without constraints.

As the pages turn, Segurola reveals the stages of the project. We learn that the idea of creating a succession of round, rather than straight-lined, gardens emerged from Juan Iriarte’s sketch of a fried egg. Inspired by metal rings found on the site, Iriarte sketched a garden conceived not as an extension of a building, but as islands in the middle of nature.

The photographs, by Segurola himself and by Clair Takacs, Marta Etxebarria and Unai Bellami, offer a visual journey through these contrasting spaces. We meander from the garden of mirrors, soberly organised around a stretch of water devoid of aquatic plants, to the multi-coloured and luxuriant garden of extravagance.

Segurola opens the doors to his inner garden
Lur Garden is organised in two parts: the gardener and then the garden. For Segurola, the relationship between the two is visceral. “I always say that this garden was like adopting quintuplets: when one sleeps, the other cries, another becomes uncontrollable, and so on,” he says. The first eight years of this creation were like an obsessive relationship, in which he admits to having forgotten himself to the point of “hitting rock bottom”. He compares the garden to a child forever dependent on its parent.

Only yoga and meditation freed him from this interdependence and enabled him to rebuild himself. Rather than a Creator, he then took the place of an Observer in these gardens full of plants and animals, which in the end were not so dependent on him.

You can buy the book here!

Sancheski, the first skate in Europe

SANCHESKI

Text: Christine Holmes / Photos: Mito
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The Basque skateboard, Sancheski, has never had any reason to be jealous of its counterparts across the pond. Thanks to an Irun family who have been able to ride the new wave of urban sliding sports.

In 1964, when surfboards were sweeping over waves off the Basque coast, another type of board landed at Biarritz airport. The “roll-surf” or “pavement surfboard” arrived from California and took up residence in the region’s urban spaces. A day without waves no longer meant a day without sliding. A minor revolution had hit the streets.

From snow to asphalt
The event did not pass unnoticed by one particular family in Irun. At the helm of the ski and sports equipment manufacturing company, Sancheski, founded in 1934, the Sanchez family was struggling to sell its products in the face of growing competition from French and Austrian brands. In 1966, the head of the family decided to diversify the company’s business activity. In addition to catering for the snowy slopes, Sancheski adapted its machinery to create boards intended for hurtling along the streets.

All that remained was to promote this new sports activity, which was only at its beginnings in Europe. The Sanchez brothers created the Sancheski Team and travelled across Spain and France to provide skateboard demonstrations at schools and any other places that were willing to welcome them.

Trailblazer in Europe
The first European brand of skateboard had been rolled out. Different models were made from the same set of materials: a solid wood deck mounted on trucks with roller skate wheels. Then came bent plywood, fibreglass and, finally, polyethylene for the “Top Naranja” model, which quickly became the yardstick model at the beginning of the 1970s. It was renamed the “El Sancheski”.

Skateboard demonstration by the Sancheski team in Madrid – 1978

“The continent’s first skatepark was constructed in Erromardie (Saint-Jean-de-Luz) in 1977.”

Surging renown
Technical improvements were soon made to the deck and the urethane wheels, rolled out in 1973, were a veritable revolution. These wheels were longer lasting and held the road better; they triggered an explosion in the skateboarding phenomenon worldwide. Indeed, enthusiasm for this sport crossed the borders of the Basque Country and spread throughout Europe. The continent’s first skatepark was constructed in Erromardie (Saint-Jean-de-Luz) in 1977. Others followed in the towns of Getxo, Gernika and many towns installed ramps in order to attract riders.

Sancheski has inspired numerous other local skateboard brands, but the company’s pioneering spirit continues with the next generation of the Sanchez family and their offering of skateboards, which are increasingly high-performance and innovative. The latest to be rolled out is the Surfskate, created in 2016 to celebrate the brand’s fiftieth anniversary. It has a more flexible truck that enables the rider to carve the streets using similar manoeuvres to surfing. The beach… on the pavement!

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Orbea: from canons to bicycles

 

ORBEA

Text: Christine Holmes / Photos: Orbea
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Founded in 1840 in Eibar, Orbea Hermanos, a company specialising in armaments, embodies the golden age of this industry in the region.

The original Orbea Hermanos emblem, which combined the initials of the company, is engraved on a multitude of weapons around the world.

A two-wheeler turn
In 1926, the company made a radical change: gun barrels became bicycle frames. Eibar, the historic heart of the gunsmith’s business, was transformed into the nerve centre of bicycle manufacturing. Orbea joined companies such as BH, which had begun this transition in 1923. The company divided its activities: Orbea y Compañia, based in Eibar, concentrated on bicycles, while Hijos de Orbea, in Vitoria/Gasteiz, continued to produce cartridges.

This period also saw the rise of cycling in the region. In 1910, Eibar organised its first race, Eibar-Elgoibar-Eibar, 25 years before the Tour of Spain was created.

A two-wheeler turn
In 1926, the company made a radical change: gun barrels became bicycle frames. Eibar, the historic heart of the gunsmith’s business, was transformed into the nerve centre of bicycle manufacturing. Orbea joined companies such as BH, which had begun this transition in 1923. The company divided its activities: Orbea y Compañia, based in Eibar, concentrated on bicycles, while Hijos de Orbea, in Vitoria/Gasteiz, continued to produce cartridges.

This period also saw the rise of cycling in the region. In 1910, Eibar organised its first race, Eibar-Elgoibar-Eibar, 25 years before the Tour of Spain was created.

“This period also saw the rise of cycling in the region.”

The cooperative, a new start
Despite its initial success, Orbea went through a crisis in the 1960s. In 1969, on the verge of bankruptcy, the company was taken over by its employees in the form of a cooperative. This new corporate model enabled the company to bounce back. In 1975, the factory moved to Malaria, reinforcing its commitment to professional cycling with its own professional team.

A brand at the cutting edge of innovation
Orbea is constantly innovating and expanding. Today, the brand offers a varied range of racing, mountain, triathlon, city and electric bikes, as well as helmets and accessories. In each discipline, it offers customisable models, like the Orca, an ultra-light road bike with integrated cabling and a frame weighing just 833g. This model perfectly embodies the balance between aesthetics and technical features.

Riding tall in the saddle
With subsidiaries all over the world (USA, France, Germany, Australia, etc.), Orbea is a key player in the bicycle industry. Still based in Mallabia, Orbea combines long-established expertise with innovation, powering the company forward to conquer new summits.

Hemendik liburua: Euskal Herriko 50 objektu ikonikoren istorioak

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Loreak Mendian gabardine: the desire for great summits

LOREAK MENDIAN

Text: Naia Zubeldia / Photos: Loreak Mendian
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In 1992, Xabi Zirikiain, who had just graduated in mechanical engineering, returned to Donostia-San Sebastián after a sabbatical year marked by an Atlantic crossing and a trip to India.

Inspired by his experiences, he began producing flocked T-shirts bearing the slogan “Loreak Mendian” (mountain flowers). In 1995, with his friend Victor Serna, he opened a small shop in the port of Donostia. Xabi designed the clothes, Victor sold them. Their offering: an urban style reflecting a closeness to nature.

Original shop at San Sebastian harbour

The brand has carved out its path
Loreak Mendian quickly became a fixture on the local fashion scene. Its floral sweatshirts attracted a young and varied clientele in both the south and north of the Basque Country. True to its values, from the outset the brand offered unisex clothing inspired by cultural and social trends. In 2011, it employed sixty people and ran twelve shops.

A stylistic shift
From 2015, Loreak Mendian abandoned its initial positioning between surfwear and streetwear for more sophisticated collections. The style became graphic and chic, while remaining true to the brand’s identity encompassing creativity, territorial roots and universality. This move towards a more mature aesthetic is embodied in the Ura (water) gabardine raincoat.

“Available in neutral or electric shades, Ura quickly became one of the brand’s flagship products”

Ura: an emblematic item
Inspired by the Basque Country’s rainy weather, this gabardine coat combines minimalist elegance with technical sophistication. Made from a waterproof British woven cotton fabric, it provides protection from the rain without the shiny finish of an oilskin. Available in neutral or electric shades, Ura quickly became one of the brand’s flagship products.

An endless horizon
Today, Loreak Mendian is making a name for itself in international markets and is turning its attention to major retailers. In 2019, the brand merged with the Ternua Group, which specialises in textiles and sports equipment, and is committed to an ecological approach. Present in 50 countries, Loreak Mendian continues to broaden its branches without ever abandoning its roots.

The Hemendik book: The History of 50 Iconic Objects from the Basque Country

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