Everything That Happened in The Luxury Design & Craftsmanship Summit ♦ The second edition of the Luxury Design & Craftsmanship Summit ended last week. This was a full experience of trendsetting talks that took place in Porto and discussed many interesting topics about the world of design, luxury and, above all the importance of Craftsmanship! In this article, Secrets From Portugal will be letting you in on the main highlights of this event that spoke of varied topics luxury-related.
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The main objective of the Summit was to give new insight and the most innovative practices in both luxury and design industries, being these the biggest boosters on the growth of craftsmanship. This unique Summit is dedicated to exploring the increasingly crucial nexus between luxury and craftsmanship as an essential component to inject a new verve into the design world.
Showcasing during the Summit, the Master Artisans presented outstanding techniques such as Ceramics, Porcelain Painting, Silver Chiseling, Chiseling, Filigree, Metal Working, Jewelry, Woodworking, Bobbin Lace, Embedding, Wadding, Weaving, Shoemaking, Embroidery from Madeira and Torno.
The opening ceremony of the event started with the speech by Amândio Pereira. During his speech, he not only took that moment to thank the Makers & Craftsmen for their contribution to the World of Craftsmanship. “We should work on the Preservation of the Crafts so that Future Generations can Enjoy them. This Summit is part of that Preservation Mission”. He ended with the quote “Let’s Build The Future of Craftsmanship”.
There were many individual interventions during the Luxury Design & Craftsmanship Summit 2019. One of the main talks had the presentation of the Michelangelo Foundation, as well as the Doppia Firma Event, a top craftsmanship event, whose latest edition had the participation of three Portuguese partnerships. According to Nicole Segundo, representative of the Michelangelo Foundation:
“We want to keep the Traditions Alive so Future Generations can Enjoy them. Michelangelo supports the connection between Design and Craftsmanship so that we can promote the growth of Creativity and Craftsmanship worldwide”
On the second day, Carlos Coelho definitely captured the attention of many participants in what can be defined as an amazing Masterclass regarding communication in the current days. Aside from mentioning the Basis of Marketing and the Essence of Communication, he underlined the fact that the success of a certain company revolves heavily around Competition and Communication.
Of course, among the many highlights of the event, we definitely need to point out the four main panels. The main topics behind them were focused on varied themes such as the Future of Craftsmanship, the importance of Fusing Design with artisanal techniques, and even topics regarding the branding and marketing behind these pieces.
The first panel was focused on the dialogue between design and artisanal excellence and counted with the presence of Christian Haas (a German designer who’s been living and building a solid career in Porto for years), and Emmanuel Babled (a French Designer who works in Babled Design Studio, located in Lisbon). They ended up concluding and agreeing that Portuguese craftsmanship is rich in history and culture being art that should definitely be preserved.
The second panel that closed the first day had the intervention of João Barros (CEO and Creative Director at PullCast), Rui Pinto (Master Jewellery Artisan at PullCast), Conceição Amaral, the current CEO of FRESS (Fundação Espírito Santo), Joaquim Paulo from Creative Hub and Vitor Querido, an Artisan of the Culture Project. Among the main topics discussed was the importance of preservation and promotion of the classical craftsmanship behind the conception of the jewellery pieces. However, an urgent topic mentioned was the fact that these Crafts and the Design behind them also need and Endgame, or more specifically a buyer or even an investor.
During day 2, the topics turned more towards marketing/branding, as well as the importance of a distinctive factor in the conception of these pieces. On the topic of Marketing of excellence, the participants heard an enlightening intervention from Miguel Costa, the current General Manager of Bentley and Lamborghini in Portugal, Rita Sambado, Ricardo Conceição, Manager at Atelier des Createurs, and Ana Maria Vasconcelos, who is the General Manager from Belcinto, the Vice Presidente of APICCAPS and again with the presence of Carlos Coelho in the panel.
The final panel, titled, “Designing & Crafting: Criteria to Excellence”, presented us again to a group of speakers with distinct backgrounds. The group was composed of Raquel Costa (Swarovski), Nini Andrade da Silva (Designer), Emmanuel Babled (Designer), Khaoula Ouerfelli and Duarte Eira (Chef at Salpoente Restaurant).
Each speaker showed several examples of their art in design or the art of business that they are involved with and, during the Q&A of the conference, they took this moment to speak about their distinct backgrounds and their arts or businesses, along with some interesting perspectives regarding the development of design in the modern age, especially regarding a “distinctive factor” that every designer needs in order to win in the present era.
