Manuel Moreira Lucas
Manuel Moreira Lucas is the weaver behind our baskets and trays. As a great-grandson, grandson and son of basket weavers, he grew up surrounded by willow sticks, wicker and acacia wood. At 11 years old he started to help his father in the workshop. This included waking up early before the sun would come up.
Even though the demand for woven baskets has not been the same nowadays, due to so much plastic, Manuel still spends his time with full dedication to his craft. Besides weaving, he also enjoys plenty of time with his bees, making delicious and small batches of honey to give to family and friends.
Paula Rodrigues Da Cruz
Paula Rodrigues da Cruz is the artisan behind all our textile products. From an early age on, she helped her mum with embroidery and weaving work, which resulted in her dedicating herself fully to the craft. The interest for the craft has never left, as Paula is forever experimenting with new techniques and materials, like lace and embroidery.
The competition with the fast production is hard, but she explains that the slow process of weaving and embroidery by hand is something she would never step away from. With hope for the growth of handmade and slow production, she would love to be able to teach the technique of weaving to others.
Aloísio Moreira da Rocha
Aloísio Moreira da Rocha is the trusted artisan who crafts all our wood products. Specialized in creating miniature wood objects, Aloísio knows how to combine his craft with creativity. The fine details of working with wood were taught to him by his father, who was a carpenter.
He explains that wood is a material full of history. Many traditional objects are nowadays still made exactly as we have seen recorded throughout history, with the same tools and materials. In his workshop he displays many functional wood miniatures, such as weaving machines, agricultural tools and wine-related objects, that all showcase the history of the material. Through his craft, he feels that he keeps a part of this culture alive.
Ceramica Soutelo
At Cerâmica Soutelo they specialize in the manufacture of regional Portuguese terracotta tableware, portraying in all its essence the traditional values of family-oriented pottery in Barcelos. Each item touches multiple hands before it’s ready to be used in your home.
Through daily effort and the contribution of each maker, all pots carefully pass the various stages of creation. Starting by preparing the clay, to moulding on the wheel, glazing, painting and finally to firing in the kiln, all steps are organized and optimized to ensure a high quality end result.
Eva Halfers
Collaborating with different crafts is one of the elements we want to promote at INFUSA. Indigo dyeing is an ancient technique that takes part in realizing this vision and one that Eva is particularly passionate about. Indigo is known to be the only sustainable shade of blue that can successfully produce high-quality color on natural materials. It is also the oldest shade of blue that we can obtain from nature. Eva first started working with indigo in 2018 and never stopped since. Nowadays Eva produces all the blue hues found in our products in the home studio in Penafiel, while she still learns something new everyday about this magical technique.
Besides the sustainable character of indigo, it is also a color full of history that spreads across the continents, resembling different extremes. From the casual everyday denim look, to a sign of status. The color that was seen as a curse for one and sacred for others.
Francisco Fonseca
Francisco Fonseca is the illustrator for INFUSA. All the current and future illustration on our website are made by Francisco. When he was a little kid he would wake up before the sunrise to draw. Part of his inspiration back then, and now still, is the architecture and tales of his hometown.
Francisco also regularly helps with painting our ceramic pieces, where his steady hand comes in very handy.
