The design sector made in Portugal is showing a remarkable creativity. The best Portuguese designers are cosmopolitans; they are to be found, in terms of originality and innovation, in the front of the peloton. These characteristics, associated with an intelligent promotion of the best Portuguese traditions, have transformed the design of this small country into an international success case.
The multidisciplinary
Martinho Pita
Martinho Pita is one the young stars of the Portuguese design sector, a fame obtained through his originality and innovation, and from the way he explores his creativity, while traversing the several subjects, from the design of a product to architecture.
His example finds parallel in the veteran Fernando Brízio, whose irreverent, often ironic or comic approach to design is unmatched. Brízio has been responsible for the design of many interiors, expositions and industrially produced objects, becoming the more internationally recognized of all Portuguese designers and an uncontested reference in the field.
Involved in projects extending from industrial to interior design, Toni Grilo imprints a distinct author’s hallmark to his works, characterized by a close alliance between functionality and beauty; this same style can also be found in the several brands for which he collaborates as a creative director.
Luxurious Interiors
Bessa Design
In the world of luxurious furniture, it is no longer a secret that the Portuguese manufacturing stamp is associated with quality. It is constantly featured in interior decoration magazines, international fairs and pursued by those looking to transform their living spaces into an oasis of good taste.
By creating singular and exclusive pieces that integrate advanced technics and technologies, Boca do Lobo reveals a new approach to the present, under the spotlight of the past. The best international luxurious stores from Paris to London, the most reputable magazines, as well as the most opulent hotels, have became enthralled by this Portuguese brand, that has become a true darling in the international design scene.
More recently, Bessa Design has also found its mission statement in the past and in its nostalgic warmth; they have created, elegant and exclusive hand-made design pieces, that reveal a call to tradition, bringing it into contemporary times.
Joana dos Santos Barbosa created a sort of wonderland brand, Insideherland, where pieces and projects gain an artistic and performing dimension, that is intertwined to its creator, an arts lover that lets imagination and emotions take their free course.
With a simpler, but still somehow elaborate style, We Wood has chosen solid wood as its specialized raw material and medium, put to work to create pieces of timeless, clean design.
Another wood specialist that places emphasis on sustainable products, Boa Safra manufactures custom-made furniture, with Portuguese design. All pieces are made locally, with natural end-finishing, and reveal an appealing and universal esthetic look.
Pieces that give light
Galula
Lighting objects are also the source for many nice design pieces; and the Portuguese creators can attest to that fact. Decided on illuminating with style, the irreverent and colorful Galula, the expressive Névoa and the traditional and minimalist Musgo, are proof that even the most functional objects can also be items of contemplation, that distract and define the esthetic appeal of a space.
Recovering tradition
Alma Gémea
One of the most remarkable features of the Portuguese contemporary design, as it has already been proven, is the fondness for technics, traditions and shapes from the past.
Through its colorful pieces, Laboratório de Estórias keeps alive the production of Caldas ceramics and dishware, still manufactured and painted just like in bygone times.
Two very Portuguese materials, cork and ceramics, united to create the dishware pieces at Alma Gémea, an Amorim Cork project in partnership with Matceramica.
Article in partnership with INS.
