The Highlights Of The Luxury Design & Craftsmanship Summit 2018 – Last week, Oporto hosted the 1st Edition of the Luxury Design & Craftsmanship Summit! This event organized by the Covet Group gathered in Gondomar some of the top companies in the design industry like Vista Alegre, Michaelangelo Foundation, Topázio or Boca do Lobo.

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During the 2 Days of the Summit. the guests were gifted with several Live Showcases of several traditional Arts & Crafts of Portugal, namely Filigree, Tilling, Arraiolos, Renda de Bilros, Goldening, Jewellery Craft, Upholstery and Wood Work. These showcases promoted a strong bonding between the Audience and the Artisans.

The Opening Session was conducted by Amandio Pereira, CEO of the Covet Group. His opening words reinforced the importance of Craftsmanship to the Covet Group, but also to Portugal and the Furniture Industry. The first day ended with the First Panel of the Summit entitled “The value of Craftsmanship For the luxury World”. This panel had the contribution of Amandio Pereira, CEO of the Covet Group; Nicole Segundo, Representative/ Network Developer to Portugal for the Michaelangelo Foundation; Fátima Santos, General Secretary of the AORP; Luis Onofre, entrepreneur, shoemaker and CEO of the Luis Onofre brand, and Antonio Moura, business developer.

What was the panel about? The main focus was the relation between Luxury Goods & Design and the Traditional Arts or Ancient crafts. The debate that followed was powerful and full of design ideas and opportunities and, in the end, craftsmanship was highlighted and the discussion that resulted from this amazing debate surely forged a better path for the future.

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The 2nd Panel of the Event opened the Day 2 of the event. Entitled Design as a Driving Force of Local Craftsmanship, this panel was the focus on the evolution of design and interior design, which started to be as branches of architecture, an industry that was always understood as the major art. And if the interior design segment was considered a component of architecture, the design of clothing, furniture, jewelry and other common artifacts were also left mostly to tradition or artisans specializing in handmade products. The Panel had the contribution of Fernando Caetano (Moderator), director of Open Media; João Branco e Luis Sanchéz, fashion designers and CEO’s of the Storytailors Fashion Studio; Toni Grilo, product designer of Topázio; Alda Tomás, designer of Vista Alegre; Serena Confalonieri, designer; Francesca Merciari, artisan.

After an eventful morning with a magnificent panel about the origins of craftsmanship and it’s connection with the design industry, the Luxury Design & Craftsmanship Summit resume its agenda with a discussion about luxury design! What makes a Luxury Brand and how do you create one? This was the focal point of the third and last panel of this event entitled: “Luxury Branding: Behind the Scenes Story”!

This panel had the moderation of Mónica Seabra-Mendes, the Luxury Management Program Coordinator of Universidade Catolica, and had the participation of Marco Costa, COO and Creative Director of Boca do Lobo; Jorge Martins, founder of RomBoats; Carlos Santos, CEO and Creative Director of Santos Shoes; and Carla Graça, Marketing Manager of Vista Alegre.  

The Luxury Design & Craftsmanship Summit was a success! The 2nd Edition of this Event will take place in Paris, France, in January of 2018.

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