Portugal in the spotlight

Considering the number of French individuals who are moving to Portugal, we can easily measure the attractive potential of our European neighbor. The world of design is also part of this movement, because this country has become, over the years, an essential partner, enriched with the many interactions between designers, manufacturers, and the guardians of ancestral artisanal skill. Designer Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance even moved to Lisbon, both for its quality of life and the quality of local artisans’ work. “We are simultaneously grounded in our traditional roots, and, over the last decade or so, we have adapted to the contemporary market”, analyzes Eduardo Henriques, Director of Portugal’s Agency for Investment and Foreign Trade (AICEP). “At the time, competition from Asian markets seemed destined to condemn us all. But we offered so many innovations that we ended up attracting European buyers, who saw the advantages that our country could offer, with its geographic proximity and in terms of artisanal quality, creativity, and competitiveness. Our tradition is based on using natural materials such as wood, marble, and cork. Making purchases in Portugal is highly advantageous from the carbon-footprint perspective, which transportation doesn’t add to. We’ve demonstrated our great industrial agility by producing small batches and customized products. There has also been a resurgence in design, thanks to institutes and universities such as IADE or the Faculty of Fine Arts in Lisbon, ranked among the best art and design schools in Europe. Our companies take a mixed approach: they produce their own collections, while retaining the capacity to produce on demand for foreign designers.” 

Such is all the artisanal skill that you will discover at the METAMORPHOSE exhibition, which will take place over a space of 350 m2 at Galerie Joseph on rue des Minimes in the Marais district, as part of Paris Design Week. It is being organized by AICEP, under the “MADE IN Portugal, naturally” brand, which brings together this country’s offerings. It will be presented over two levels in a setting by talented designer Christophe de Sousa, who has a bi-cultural background, since he was born in France but has his studio in Porto. It will be divided into two sections, one of which will be dedicated to Portuguese artisanal expertise: ceramic work (in the tradition of the famous azulejos), wood, metal, marble, cork, and Burel techniques, a traditional wool weave …The other section will exhibit around thirty firms producing furniture, lighting, household linens, and tableware. These include the truly elegant furniture maker Duistt, the nearly bicentennial porcelain-maker Vista-Alegre, the ultra-design-oriented Wewood, known for their woodwork, Gencork, which makes spectacular walls sculpted from cork, and Oia design, a producer of marble furniture and accessories. And last, but not least, Viuva Lamego (1849), one of the main producers of Portuguese tiles.