Travel Log | Portugal Factory Tour

We traveled to Guimaraes, about 40 minutes north-east of Porto, where there is a huge amount of furniture and textile manufacturing happening. Asdrubal, the owner of the factory we get our woven products cut and sewn, was incredibly generous and showed/told us what life is like in that area. Asdrubal grew up just outside of Guimaraes. His mother and father both worked at the same large textile manufacturing facility a bit outside of town. He began working at that same factory when he was just 15 years old and started by manually cleaning the machine combs. He’s been living in this industry his entire life and now owns his own manufacturing facility. He likes to do things different from the bigger players in town. He pays his workers a fair wage, he provides a free and organic soup lunch everyday for all of his workers made from ingredients grown right on the property, and he understands the jobs these folks are doing because he’s worked them. These are the partners we want to work with and to us, this is the future of manufacturing. Putting people first.

Asdrubal was nice enough to show us around to a few other local manufacturers. This area is not just a large industrial zone. These factories are tucked away on hillsides and between villages. Our first stop was a woodshop tucked away up on a hill (the cover photo is from the front of the factory). It's always fun connecting with fellow furniture makers, even if you don't speak a word of the same language. The shop was beautiful and full of enviable tools. It's a relatively small shop in comparison so some of the furniture giants with mega-factories nearby. It reminded me of my shop back home. Our next stop was a weaving mill and dye house. Understanding the manufacturing process better only makes for better clothes. Enjoy the photos.