Lola Grau, the soul of Can Barbany
Granollers, 1928

Lola had a vivid memory of her childhood: she and her brother swinging in the donkey's saddlebags, climbing up Montseny towards the family home of La Figuera. She was born in Granollers in 1928, daughter of Fe and Narcís, who had come down from the mountain with four cows, some rabbits, and the dog Mati.

She left school at thirteen when she was put to work winding bobbins in a factory; the noise caused her such severe headaches that she had to quit, and her parents took her to Can Barbany, the clothing store that would become the setting of her life.

There she grew to become the best salesperson and, very soon, the store manager. It was also there that she fell in love with Joan Barbany, the son of the house, whom she married — and who never bossed her around. They had three children and formed an extraordinary team, both as parents and as entrepreneurs. The love and admiration they felt for each other was moving