Craft In Motion | Portugal
Sometimes the journey to where something is made becomes part of the story itself.
Portugal was one of those trips.
We landed in Lisbon for a quick weekend before heading north - wandering the streets between meetings, letting the city reveal itself slowly. Old tiled facades, worn stone pavements, laundry drifting from balconies above narrow lanes.
We stayed in a tiny, inexpensive hotel on the edge of Santos - the kind of place that reminds you the best parts of travel rarely come from polished plans.
Lisbon has a rhythm that begins late and stretches long into the night.
At Tapas 52, the room was still buzzing at 2am - tables crowded, glasses clinking, plates moving between friends and strangers. The energy spilled out onto the street.
Another evening we met Alex and Jamie Preisz, recently featured in our Good Humans Journal, for dinner at Cosmo. A beautiful space where everything is cooked over coal fire. The glow of the flames filled the room with warmth - smoky aromas, long conversations, and the quiet feeling that no one was in a hurry to leave.
The following day we found ourselves at Leonetta for lunch - a place a friend had recommended after visiting many times. The moment we stepped inside we understood why. The interiors are extraordinary, light moving softly across layered textures and colour. The menu is simple Italian - generous, beautifully executed, and perfect for a long, unhurried lunch.
From Lisbon we took the train north to Porto.
We checked into Torel Avantgarde, a boutique hotel perched above the Douro River. Normally the kind of place we'd only admire from afar, but travelling in shoulder season meant the price felt almost unbelievable. It felt like a rare treat - one we quietly appreciated the entire time we were there.
The next morning we drove inland.
About thirty miles from Porto, near Guimarães - the oldest city in Portugal - sits the factory where our knit pieces are made. It's here that the Remi Tee, Kim Tank and Kember Tee come to life.
Portugal has become synonymous with exceptional knit cut & sew manufacturing. Many of the world's most respected luxury houses produce here - drawn by generations of textile knowledge and a culture built around precision.
Inside the factory the pace is calm but exacting.
Machines hum steadily while skilled hands inspect seams, adjust fabric tension and refine every detail. There is a quiet pride in the work - the kind that comes from decades of doing something well.
This visit was also about checking the production of our Remi Tee - a piece that has almost completely sold out and remains the most requested item in our range. Seeing it back on the production line was a moment we had been looking forward to, knowing it will soon return to wardrobes again.
At lunchtime we stepped outside and gathered around a simple table. Plates of dried chorizo, olives, rice and beans - traditional, generous and shared in that easy way that seems to happen in factories around the world.
Different countries. The same feeling.
The afternoon was spent reviewing fabrics and exploring ideas for pieces that may become part of an upcoming capsule collaboration - early sketches of something still quietly taking shape.
Trips like this are a reminder that garments rarely begin in a studio.
They begin with people.
With cities, conversations, shared tables and skilled hands that bring ideas to life.
Captured through our eyes.