Lisbon to Porto, Spring Road Trip
Praça Luís de Camões Lisbon, Portugal with calçada portuguesa (Portuguese pavement)
Shawback Design always looks for talented artisans to partner with on their projects. In addition to their local and national resources, they added international resources when principals Damon Savoia and Julie Savoia traveled to Portugal last spring. "We took a red-eye 11-hour flight into Lisbon, Portugal – arriving with all of the international spring breakers to wait through a 3-hour customs line, rough start," said Julie. Despite the challenging start, all was well when they checked into their first hotel at the foot of Praça Luís de Camões, a famous public square between the Chiado and Bairro Alto districts with the monumental statue of the legendary 16th-century poet.
An iconic yellow Remodelado tram
Modern art juxtaposed against the backdrop of the old city
Examples of handmade Azulejo tiles are seen throughout Lisbon, Portugal, and the former colonies
Lisbon is a very cosmopolitan city and the designers found a wonderful source for handcrafted Moroccan tile
Botanical inspiration: wall of roses and floral ceiling
Damon enjoys Bandida Do Pomar Cider, sourcing and sightseeing is hard work!
They spent five glorious days in Lisbon exploring the city, which included drinking hard cider with sliced fruit, hunting for art and design inspiration, and taking the steep hill trolly. The small country at the edge of Europe once ruled the oceans. Its maritime riches lay in beautiful ruins after the 1755 Lisbon Earthquake. The tsunami and fires destroyed much of the courtly city, killing most of the Lisboans. While the empire never regained its wealth, it retained pride in craftsmanship. Today, Portuguese ceramicists, glassblowers, metalworkers, woodworkers, and weavers translate their ancient traditions into contemporary designs.
The spacious Domkapa furniture facility
Julie and Mariana discussing fabric placement
While sourcing for several winery hospitality projects, Damon and Julie discovered the Portuguese furniture maker, Domkapa, located in the northwest. Taking a two-hour drive north into the Douro Valley, they traveled to Porto, where their salesperson, Mariana Castro, drove them into the region of Paços de Ferreira. The area is known as the "Furniture Capital" of Portugal, where the most significant number of companies in this sector can be found (around 4,000 companies and 35,000 workers). Touring Domkapa's fabrication building, they were impressed by the organized, clean facility and the high-quality craftsmanship of the product.
Rabelo cargo boats are unique to the Douro
The coastal city of Porto is known for its stately arch bridges and port wine production. During the designers' stay, they enjoyed the sights of the city - watching the rabelo boats on the river, visiting the historic Castelos, and seeing the handmade Azulejo tiles covering the facades and building interiors. "What a refreshing trip to Portugal. Perfectly balanced with some work and some play, ok – a lot of play was had. The people are so kind and helpful, and the cities of Porto and Lisbon are visually powerful. We cannot wait to return and reconnect with our new friends." concluded Julie.
