“We need to celebrate the fact that a lot of people have blazed a trail so we can be ourselves”

Adrián Salvador. Self-portrait.

Designer, world traveller, contributor for AD magazine... Adrián Salvador has many titles and much to say. We visited his home to speak with him about what makes him tick: his career, his role models, his city and, of course, Pride Day. He answered our questions while preparing one of those special recipes that take him back to his happiest times; the summers of his childhood.

Design as a problem-solver

My first memory of the world of design is a Verner Panton exhibition that my mother took me to see on a trip to Copenhagen when I was 13 years old. It showed me there were people who dedicated their work to making the lives of others more pleasant, better, or solving problems. So I went to study in London and Barcelona, and then to work in New York and Ubrique before returning to Valencia.

When I was 21, my partner Lucas Zaragosí and I launched our ESTUDIO SAVAGE project. Lucas is my best friend and partner, and I always say that he is the bedrock of the studio. There are a lot of very good creative people in Spain, but far fewer who know how to manage and understand creative companies. Lucas and I launched our project 12 years ago now, and we are still working on what we like most about the city we were born in: Valencia.

Pride as an endless path

There is a lot to celebrate but still even more to protest against. Homosexuality is still persecuted and punished by death in some countries. The trans community is still one of the communities most poorly treated by society and, although it might seem incredible, there are still people in the world who do not understand homosexuality.

Pride Day is an important date, we need to celebrate the fact that a lot of people have blazed a trail so we can be ourselves and to make society empathise with the freedom of wanting to be whoever you want to be and wanting to love whomever you want to love.

Inspiration as a driving force

I take inspiration from a series of songs, food, places, trips and people. From the craftwork products of friends and teachers in the master’s programme in Contemporary Craftsmanship that I run at Barreira Arte & Diseño, such as Canoa Lab, Nati de Kabuki, contemporary craftsmanship, Aldanondoyfdez, Idoia Cuesta, Isalda, Carlota Barrera… But music as well. I have been hooked on the latest album by Guitarricadelafuente for a while now. Gastronomy is something else that inspires me; hospitality spaces that range from Bar X owned by Ricard Camarena, Nozomi or the bar at Central Bar in the Central Market.

Work viewed as a story

I split my time between studying and teaching at the university. At the studio, our job is to run creative projects for brands. We provide consultancy on more responsible consumption and sustainable productions, brand creation or the creation of marketable concepts. At the school, I am a teacher and, alongside my partner, co-director of the first master’s programme in Contemporary Craftsmanship. Our projects always revolve around local producers, more sustainable productions and reinventing craftsmanship. It is a way of looking back to find fragments that had already been forgotten but fill a gap nowadays, creating a new discourse or simply rescuing them and giving them new life or meaning.

Gastronomy as the centre of everything

AD magazine approached me more than two years ago, during the first lockdown, to create a section on gastronomy and design. I have been creating recipes ever since with creators and craftwork presentations and objects ever since. I believe that gastronomy is the best way to bring all these different disciplines together. Everything revolves around food. Everything is better around a table with food, right?

Valencia as the perfect city

I was born in Valencia, and my parents and grandparents are from here too. Although I have studied and worked elsewhere, I always knew I wanted to return to Valencia eventually. Valencia is a fantastic city to live in; the perfect size, well connected and with an amazing offer of entertainment options and cultural diversity. The mountains, the sea, the city, the countryside... I have everything here.

“I believe that gastronomy is the best way to bring all these different disciplines together. Everything revolves around food. Everything is better around a table with food, right?”