Vada
Vada is a Portuguese upcycling brand that transforms discarded automotive and bicycle tires and inner tubes into handmade, eco-friendly bags…
Handmade & Local Crafts
Skill passed down and kept alive: the burel wool of Burel Factory in the Serra da Estrela, cork rugs from Sugo, and the creative village of Cerdeira in the Serra da Lousã. Made by hand, made to matter.
Projects in this focus
Jinja
Jinja is a Porto-based sustainable design brand founded in 2012 by Norma Silva, creating handmade home products from reused industrial texti…
Hoooked Portugal
Hoooked Portugal is a sustainable textile company based in Zibreira, Torres Novas, that produces 100% recycled yarn from fashion industry wa…
Tinctorium Studio
Tinctorium Studio is a natural dye and eco-print atelier near Lisbon, creating one-of-a-kind wearable art from locally foraged and permacult…
Ericas
Ericas is a Portuguese company that handcrafts sustainable, 100% natural pet toys from heather roots using traditional artisan methods. Thei…
Tinctória Natural
Tinctória Natural is a circular-economy project in Alentejo producing sustainable paints and dyes from agro-food bio-waste, offering worksho…
Hippocampus Sabão
Hippocampus Sabão is a natural and handmade soap brand based in Tavira, Algarve, inspired by the seahorses of the Ria Formosa lagoon and com…
Sugo Cork Rugs
Sugo Cork Rugs is a Portuguese brand founded in 2017 that handweaves bespoke rugs from cork, combining traditional weaving artistry with sus…
Atelier Janela Velha
Atelier Janela Velha is a Portuguese upcycling project based in Torres Vedras, creating handmade jewellery, slow fashion, and restored furni…
Corkor
Corkor is a Portuguese brand based in Barreiro that handcrafts vegan accessories from genuine cork, offering a sustainable and cruelty-free …
Terra Lab
Terra Lab is a Portuguese online shop specialising in air plants (tillandsias), kokedamas, and sustainable plant-based products for eco-cons…
Burel Factory
Burel Factory is a Portuguese brand born in Serra da Estrela dedicated to preserving and innovating the traditional burel wool textile indus…
Handmade and local crafts in Portugal
Portuguese craft survived because the industry that would have replaced it never fully arrived in the interior. Burel wool, cork, cane, linen and tile all kept a working tradition, and in several cases the same building is still doing it.
Burel Factory reopened a wool mill in Manteigas and put the Serra da Estrela cloth back into production. Corkor handcrafts cork accessories in Barreiro, Sugo weaves cork rugs near Feira, Atelier Janela Velha works from discarded materials, and Cerdeira runs a whole schist village in the Serra da Lousã as a place for makers.
Buying directly is usually cheaper than the shop and always more informative. Related focuses: sustainable fashion, upcycling and repurposing and eco-friendly products. Dated activities from these projects are listed in our events calendar.