artisans

Mostly located between Porto and Minho, the craft workshops I have had the opportunity to visit and document, together with Matilde Viegas, are unique places, with ingenious tools developed by the craftspeople themselves.

A man wearing glasses and a blue polo shirt examines a black enamel lamp in a workshop environment.


  • Matosinhos
    enamel pieces

“The factories that existed in Porto were closing at the time. They used to manufacture kitchen utensils, bathtubs, traffic signs, door number plates, and street nameplates (...) People called us crazy because we were opening up when all the others were shutting down.”
Read the interview here

An elderly man with glasses, a gray beard, and a brown hat, standing in front of shelves filled with woven baskets.


  • Barcelos
    traditional basketry

“I have canes at home that weigh 30-40 kilos each. And then, I also make baskets like that one. Just with one cane, I can make ten or twelve baskets during the wintertime.”
Read the interview here

A group of five people standing on a sidewalk in front of a stone building with signs, smiling at the camera.


  • Porto
    brush making

“That's why we took this type of skillfull work and started to give it a different look. Meanwhile, about two years ago my son started to work with us, so I am the third generation if you can say that and my son, therefore, the fourth generation.”
Read the interview here

A man sitting in a rattan chair with crossed legs, wearing a striped brown and cream polo shirt, jeans, and black sneakers, smiling at the camera. A woman standing next to him has her hand on his shoulder, wearing glasses and a white T-shirt with a pink and black design, smiling in front of a backdrop of large, dried straw or grass arrangements.


  • Braga
    wicker basketry

A couple dedicated to basketry, and to each other.
Read the interview here

An elderly woman smiling, wearing glasses and a blue dress with white paisley and polka dot patterns, holding straws in a room with a framed picture on the wall.


  • Fafe
    traditional straw braiding

Sewing hats and baskets from local rye straw in her eighties, with love and dedication.
Read the interview here

A man with glasses and a beard working on a woodworking project in a workshop, holding a piece of wood with pegs.


  • Porto
    specialized woodwork

“But we lost so much... we used to have the old carpenters who made the waxes themselves and the infusions, and that kind of knowledge was lost.”
Read the interview here

Photos by Matilde Viegas
Video/Sound by Mafalda Salgueiro