Furniture

Worldly thinking, Downtown Living

Veronica Vallarino in her showroom on Calle 50.

Walking into the entrance of Downtown Living on Calle 50 in Panama City, one immediately knows that this is not your regular furniture store.

There are no over-stuffed, leather sofas or cushy recliners cluttering the showrooms floor, instead there are sleek, wooden chairs covered in blindingly white pillows, ornate hanging light fixtures and vivid pillows decorated with pictures of parrots or collages of tropical colors.

A Gallery
“The store is more of a furniture gallery then it is a store. I wanted to attract customers who can love, feel and taste the energy of the store,” said Veronica Vallarino, the owner of Downtown Living.

The look and feel of the furniture is closely linked with the countries they come from and the ethics behind the companies. The idea is not just to sell furniture but also to have an environmental and social conscience as well, Vallarino said.

One way to do that is to buy from designers that use organic materials and produce their products in their home countries. The Philippines is one of the largest producers of furniture for Downtown Living," she said.

“We began representing designers from the Philippines who are part of something called Movement 8, which is a group of designers who studied in the U.S., live in the Philippines and are committed making furniture using organic, raw materials,” Vallarino said.

Downtown Living showroom.

Big Contracts
Aside from selling furniture to her walk-in clientele she also does a fair amount of business with designers and architects of the many new hotel and apartment buildings in various parts of the country.

For the future, Vallarino hopes to open more stores, both in Panama and internationally, and is now in discussions with investors from Europe. However the main goal is still to promote the idea of organic furniture.

New bar

Panama’s buses inspire a bar

The bar features a bus inside.

Named after Panama City’s famous buses, the Red Devil Bar is a new nightspot that recently opened on Via Porras. The main feature of the nightspot is a full size bus parked inside that functions as a fully stocked bar.

The bar also has five rooms, all with different ambiances to suit anyone’s mood. The red room features dancing and DJs, the black room is a more relaxed place to hang out with friends and the purple room has billiards, Nintendo Wii and other games.

Pool at Red Devil Bar.

With outdoor seating and a restaurant the Red Devil is also a great place to start the night as well as end it.

For more information on the bar visit www.reddevilbarpty.com.