Made in Mallorca: Typical products & shopping tips

Mallorca has more to offer than sun-soaked beaches and tapas bars: the island is full of small workshops, family businesses and typical foods that are hard to find elsewhere. I have lived here for years and keep buying the same things: Majorica pearls from Manacor as gifts, fresh olive oil from the Pla i Llevant, and in winter a crate of oranges from Sóller. In the villages you still meet the old craftsmen – in Alaró Tony Mora’s shoe workshop is almost legendary, in Inca leather bags and hand-stitched shoes pile up, and in Pòrtol the pottery clatters all day long. If you want to shop sustainably, look for the small shops or visit a bodega or a salt farm. Seasonal products like the almond blossom or dried apricots from Porreres are not only tasty, but tell a story. My advice: ask, taste, and feel free to take a card or phone number. Often you get better prices if you ask – and an invitation to a tasting is never out of the question. In short: buy local, enjoy, and take a piece of Mallorca home with you.

Manacor pearls and jewelry workshops

Manacor has an unexpectedly long history with pearls – and no, not real oyster pearls, but the classic Majorica imitations that have been made here since the early 20th century. I have often strolled down the small factory street in Manacor: chains with a warm sheen flash in the shop windows, hands check pearl by pearl, and the smell of polishing paste hangs in the air. If you're looking for a piece of jewelry, try the shop right next to the workshop: there are delicate studs, necklaces with a warm golden tone, and bracelets that keep their shine for years. Tip: ask for the date of manufacture and whether the pearls can be replaced – many smaller workshops offer lifetime repolishing. For gifts the price-performance ratio is often better than in Palma boutiques. If you go on a quieter morning you will also meet older specialists who like to tell stories about techniques — how the layering orders are created, why certain lacquers last longer or which pearl shapes are currently trending. And if you show real interest, you sometimes even get a short tour of the production rooms: the feeling of holding a soft pearl in your hand and knowing where it was made makes the purchase immediately more valuable.