local markets :: antiga barbearia de bairro

hello sweet friends, how are you? how was your weekend? well, by now it has become a new schedule, not to post on mondays! it has no reason in particular, like an effort to blog less, but only because there is so much to do outside the blog and facebook, that when i return to work on mondays, i often feel the need to remain offline catching up on emails, quotes, photo sessions editing and so on. but here i am now and i’m bringing something really fancy, but so traditional! i’ve been meaning to share this business with you for quite a while, but today is the day! after suggesting this store in lisbon, i think that this business matches the mood and your interest for antiques and old brands. i think the reason we love these so much is that, asides from the visual impact and the obvious quality associated to each, they bring us delightful memories from our childhood and this is something so precious. so what is antiga barbearia de bairro?

“the “antiga barbearia de bairro” is the first brand produced by “100ml”. we have felt there was a gap in the market segment, so we decided to create something different and unique in this area. we want to revive the ritual of shaving, which has somehow been abandoned, and put a new emphasis on the traditional brush. we have also been observing a revival of this trend, which reveals a path that enchanted us. in fact, we are witnessing a return to classical processes now reinterpreted and filtered by new standards and aesthetic graphics.”

“in portugal the barbershops are an integral part of the history of many towns and “tertulia” venues. even today, many districts keep this tradition alive, in areas in which remain a culture of communication, talking and exchanging greetings very typical of the Portuguese culture and that we are so proud of. this has been the way of our brand.”

catarina and luis are the great minds behind this amazing project. they felt inspired by the old tradition of barbershops and brought to life the tools and habits, once used on a daily-basis by men. i actually remember my dad shaving with these brushes and it makes me think about him, whenever i see these. i think our memories, for those who also remember this, might be similar. being really small, standing by the door watching our dad on his morning routine before going to work. i think that antiga barbearia de bairro makes us close our eyes and think about the old times. maybe we weren’t even old enough to remember those days clearly, but we’ve all seen the portuguese black and white movies and we remember those days through those movies. men used to get all set before stepping down the door. they shaved with a razor and put on some cologne. they used hats, classical fancy hats that would match with their suits. the days in which people said hello to each other on the street, streets were all made of cobblestone and there were no huge and fancy shopping centers, but little grocery stores, barbershops, drugstores with everything you needed, shoemakers… asides from all the less sweet and cute aspects of these times, like the political side, for example, i would love to travel in time to these years just for a while!

if you explore their website, it’s really amazing to see parts of the making process of these objects, the soaps, the brushes… like i had never seen. it’s also important to notice that they are being recognized as an inspirational brand in portugal, being represented in other countries, like united states and dubai.

and whenever i write something about our products and traditions, i always feel this voice inside of me saying that we do have a great country. it’s just a sad to notice that we are getting lost among so much that has been happening lately, and when i say lately, i say in these last decades. from time to time, i see great brands, and people behind them, making their best to succeed here and abroad, and they do it. and sometimes it seems that no one cares, no one knows about that success… there is always something bad, something to complain, something to criticize. some of our cultural behaviour is doing such harm to ourselves and we seem not to care or to be able to step outside our belly and watch what we’re doing. well, enough with this kind of sad mood, but i had to say this out loud! we need to stand up for ourselves, instead of waiting for someone to do that for us, or the conditions to be the best. they will never be perfect, so work and deal with it! and with this message i end the post and leave you with a reminder to check antiga barbearia do bairro and their facebook to catch up on the news! they are selling abroad and on several stores in portugal!

ps. for those who want to feel proud about lisbon, here’s one beautiful video about foreigners who work here and what they about this city!