A lifetime
making chairs.
More than a century of continuous work has shaped a journey rooted in craftsmanship. What began as a small family workshop evolved generation after generation, always preserving a deep respect for the material, the process and in-house manufacturing. A story of continuity, commitment and loyalty to a way of doing things that has endured over time.
Ten square metres
and a craft.
The story begins in the early 20th century, on Carrer Escultor Benlliure. In a family home, within a space of barely ten square metres, Vicente Albiñana García established the first manufacturing workshop.
A small working environment integrated into domestic life, where production was carried out manually and with limited resources. The first pieces were made in that initial space, entirely by hand.
The project did not originate from an industrial plan, but from the gradual development of a craft practised continuously over time.
Bulrush from the Guadalquivir
in the homes of the village.
As activity increased during the 1960s, production moved to Calle Maestro Giner—formerly Calle de la Cigarra—where a three-storey building was established entirely for manufacturing and storage.
Manufacturing took place on the ground floor. The upper floors were used to store the pieces, while the top floor housed the bulrush brought from the Guadalquivir.
The chair was not made in a single production space, but through the shared effort of many hands and knowledge distributed across an entire community. During this period, the brothers Juan Albiñana Micó and Vicente, sons of Vicente Albiñana García, took over, working mainly with poplar wood and bulrush seats.
As the industry changed,
the family chose to remain.
During those years, Juan Albiñana Micó took responsibility for continuing the work. Over time, new family members joined: Juan in the 1970s, followed by José, Rafael and Ángel in the 1980s.
In the late 1980s, the company began working with Galician pine, while continuing to use traditionally woven bulrush seats. At the same time, the industry began to change, as other manufacturers introduced imported bulrush chairs, particularly from China.
By the late 1970s, a plot of approximately 19,000 square metres had been acquired in the Tossal area, now Camino Aielo. It was a serious commitment to the future and a way of preparing for the next step without abandoning the natural pace of the craft. The first manufacturing facility would be built there in the early 1990s.
Sillas Jualmi S.L.
The grandfather's name, the surname of the craft.
In 1995, the family's journey took legal form with the incorporation of the limited company under the name Sillas Jualmi S.L., chosen in honour of their grandfather—Juan Albiñana Micó—and as a synthesis of the path travelled up to that point.
The company continued working mainly with pine until 2011. From then on, a new material evolution began with the introduction of beech wood, together with more advanced upholstery and finishing processes. The materials and techniques changed, but not the way the work was understood.
Three partners sustain the present.
The fourth generation is already emerging.
Today, the company is led by three partners: Ángel, José and Juan, who represent the direct continuity of the family legacy and a commitment to the working methods passed down through generations.
While they sustain the present, the fourth generation is already beginning to emerge, growing up close to the workshop, the material and the craft, just as those before them did.
A name passed down,
like the craft itself.
Because before we were a company, we were always a craft.
And before we were an industry, we were always hands.