local markets :: adoro

and we are back for another {local markets} story. i have been loving this feature so much, because it actually has helped me getting in touch with portuguese design-makers, people with ideas and strong will… action-makers! when i started this blog, i was not thinking about any goals whatsoever, i just wanted a space to write. i did not even start as the usual way, to have a place where to gather all things that inspired me. no, this blog was not about that. and i started by writing in english because english was that natural to me since i was just a little kid. there was never the option of writing in portuguese. of course that this might not attract that many readers in portugal, though english is a very common language for us. but after 9 months of {local markets}, i had the chance to meet new people and get in touch with what is happening in my own country, which is very rewarding.

so, today i am bringing three girls who love a good party (who doesn’t  anyway?). i met their work through {time out} magazine and i knew they would fit perfectly in this feature! the company’s name… {adoro}, which means {i love}.

hello there, how are you? so, can you tell us something about yourself? we are three friends, carla (37), sabrina (38 and sofia (36. we met in college, when we were studying design (carla & sabrina studying industrial design, and sofia, graphic design). we actually end up choosing different professional paths: graphic design, industrial design, illustration, project management and event organization. but together and aside from all this, we all loved photography, designing, decorating, organizing, sewing, blogging, cooking… a good chitchat…

how did your handmade business start? we were a bit fed up with each other complaining about life, tired of routines and negative thinking and this idea started to grow inside of us. it was something like our plan b! it seemed like a good starting point. no briefings whatsoever nor institutional colours. we decided to focus solely on our customers, personal customers. then it hit us: among all days of our lives, there are always special occasions that become special days… unique days. even if we are talking about daily moments, celebrations or moments to remember. first we thought about photography, though we had found already some competitors in the same field. but soon other ideas came into our heads, which made our idea pretty clear, it began to make sense: styling & event organization itself. this way people wouldn’t have to bother about this part and we would be able to do pretty things!

do you do anything else besides that or is it possible for you to make a living out of your business? we all have our jobs,  carla and sabrina work as freelancers, they develop graphic & industrial design work, one does the creative part and the other the connection with clients and project management. sofia is a graphic designer for a design company. if we will ever dedicate ourselves full-time to {adoro}? only future will tell!

where do you seek for inspiration? our starting point and inspiration source is definitely our customers. they are all different people, different personalities that turn into different formulas, therefore different results! there are apparently meaningless details that are precious for us! and of course, there is also our design background. this experience turned us into people that pay attention to everything that is around, and of course also developed our judgement. we observe how people act… collective memories… we are always paying attention to visual references. and of course, the internet helps a lot to get there pretty fast and avoid the tones of magazines we all bought a few years ago to feels inspired. but in the end everything might be a source of inspiration, food books that belong to our parents, blogs about danish bikes… everything.

what do you do to promote your business? what has been helpful? well so far we haven’t done anything huge really. i think our work has done that job for us. we have designed a blog and a facebook page and people’s feedback has been so positive that {adoro} has gained its own life beyond the three of us! i think that it has more friends than we have and that is one amazing thing! from these two tools came other contacts, precious among this kind of work… we have had some interviews for magazines and that has been quite helpful!

what advice would you give for those small business owners/design-makers in portugal? if you believe in your work… if you believe that your work is something special, then work hard for it! try to analyse what has been done in portugal and what is being done outside of portugal. good ideas don’t have borders. we all know that portugal is a small country and that is not always a good thing. but it can also be a challenge and an opportunity, because you can reach people in a faster and easier way. make the best out of the communication tools… you don’t have to invest a lot of money to reach the people you want to reach! you just need to manage that communication, because if our ideas reach our customers in an easy way, others will as well! just be judgemental about your own work and original… demand of ourselves what we demand from others!

did you know about this company? isn’t the name adorable? when i read their interview in {time out} i realized that there was so much strength and creativity behind this project and when i explored their {website} i confirmed all this. parties will be much prettier if these three girls are behind the design of it! you can also join them on {facebook} and why not say {hello}?

images: courtesy of adoro (click on each image for further details)

what is {local markets}? a community dedicated to the very best portuguese talented & independent artists that strive for an original work and exquisitely executed handmade design & photography. once a week, there will be a special feature for these artists, to spread the word about their talent, to introduce you to new & fresh work. {local markets} is an original feature from {a place for twiggs}.