Cuban flair
DROP IN: PERFUME, ART, JEWELLERY SHOPS AMID HISTORIC BUILDINGS
Cuban designer Idania Del Rio, 37, opened her store a few years ago on a street bustling with tourists to offer stylish souvenirs. The items sold here have flair, like the burlap and cotton totes printed with catchy logos in bright colours.
There are also pouches, pillowcases, aprons and T-shirts. Paintings by modern Cuban artists decorate the walls of this sprawling gallery, once a public bathhouse, but not only art is for sale. Statement jewellery made by local designers, such as the silver necklace with a large pendant, was recently for sale. There are also knickknacks like humidors crafted from Cuban cedar wood. Creative decorative objects, crafted by Cuban artisans from repurposed items such as ink wells, oil lamps and bottles, are the lure of this store and coffee shop.
A lamp with a Canada Dry ginger ale bottle as its base was one Instagram-worthy find among the the array of unique goods. Evoking a perfumery from a past century, this charming shop, a former 18th century mansion, specialises in custom-blending fragrances for men and women. But the real treat is smelling the scents popular in colonial Cuba, such as sandalwood, tobacco, jasmine and rose. Local artists crafted the extensive collection of bottles. This boutique hotel in a stately centuries-old building houses a shop selling accessories from the fashion label Eulalia de Lucia. The goods are produced by artisans from around the world, but inspired by Havana. A standout were bright cotton scarves with whimsical patterns. The espadrilles and totes are tempting, too.