Retail Directory 2010

A Vida Portuguesa

Porto

While researching a book about everyday life in Portugal in the 20th century, Lisbon journalist and entrepreneur Catarina Portas noticed that – thanks to a closed economy with little competition – many local products were still being sold in their striking original packaging, the designs of which dated from the 1920s up to the 1960s. Her decision to snap up dwindling stocks of these products led to her opening the wildly successful A Vida Portuguesa in Lisbon. Her sophomore effort in Porto – in a gloriously old fashioned emporium set in a late 19th-century building – is stuffed with toiletries, stationery, chocolates, books, jewellery, food, handicrafts and toys from Portugal’s yesteryears. The mostly handmade products range from Claus Porto soaps and Viarco pencils to handsome Emílio Braga notebooks and Bordalo Pinheiro ceramics. Portas has also started to create exclusive products and bespoke ranges with some of these nostalgic brands.

Rua Galeria de Paris 20 - 1
4050-162 Porto
tel: 351.222 022 105

www.loja.avidaportuguesa.com

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  L’Antichambre

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  A Vida Portuguesa

  Porto

  

  66 Gallery

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  Koichiro Kimura

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  24 Issey Miyake

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  Hibiya Kadan

  Tokyo