Published On 22 Dec 2022
Wearing a white laboratory coat, a screwdriver in hand, Antonio Martinez Rivas analyzes a remote-controlled automobile at his workshop in Madrid, a “toy medical facility” that will close its doors after 50 years of repair work.
His bespectacled eyes concentrated on the job in hand, this 70- year-old toy professional, who will retire on December 31, is stooped over his “running table” simply days prior to his workshop’s last Christmas.
” Now, it’s me they are going to fix,” he informs a consumer in his gravelly voice, mentioning his continuing fight with cancer.
Lit by a neon light and surrounded by tools and extra parts, his workbench remains in the corner of a genuine Aladdin’s cavern, with countless vibrant toys loading racks that reach from flooring to ceiling.
Among them are dolls, teddy bears, parlor game, wood horses and more, all sent out in by consumers from Spain, France, the United Kingdom, Portugal and even as far as Uruguay.
” We are the only ones dealing with every kind of toy” in Spain, stated Rivas, a Madrid local who gained from his dad how to fix toys.
Most consumers are “grownups who are classic about something they had as a kid”, he stated.
” Some inform me: ‘Don’t alter it’. And if you wish to put brand-new stuffing in, they inform you to leave what’s currently there since that’s part of the toy’s essence,” he discussed.
David Hinojal, 40, has actually concerned get a cuddly monkey that squeaks when its stomach is squeezed.
” I purchased him as a present for my mother-in-law years earlier and, after she passed away, we kept him due to the fact that we’re really keen on him,” smiled Hinojal, who operates in tourist.
Rivas’s dad opened a little store of handcrafted toys in 1945 prior to turning progressively to repair work following the mass increase of plastic toys in the 1950 s and ’60 s. He took control of the workshop from his dad in the 1970 s and, working alone, needed to handle the arrival of computer game, which triggered interest in standard toys to fall.
” After numerous years, you feel a great deal of unhappiness [at closing] due to the fact that there are a lot of consumers who have actually ended up being good friends,” he confesses, his head bowed.
As a homage, his pals have actually set up an indication behind the counter that checks out: “Almost whatever for sale– the one in charge would not let us put a cost on him.”