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Portuguese company reinterprets the cultural inheritance of the country with its leather products

Jun 30, 2014 Portugal
Portuguese company reinterprets the cultural inheritance of the country with its leather products
Ideal & Co, Living Heritage is a brand created in 2012 and 100% Portuguese, aiming to “reinterpret, preserve and share the beauty of what is genuine and Made in Portugal”

The company values the Portuguese cultural inheritance and wants to reflect it in their products and collections. By joining tradition and modernity, two concepts sometimes seen as opposite, and focusing on a careful design they ensure this is achieved. 

Having significant attention to the materials chosen, creating collections with exclusive articles, and using sustainable production methods and accumulated know how from artisans who are masters in creating lasting objects, the brand “sees itself as passionate, dreamy and spontaneous”.

Some things stay with you forever could be their motto, as with their “functional minimalism” they create “pieces that are unique, timeless, highly desirable, and durable”.

The products sold by the brand are created with the best Portuguese leathers, which are tanned with vegetable tannins, obtained from tree bark, and dyed with natural dyes. In this tanning process none of the chemicals based on Chromium salts are used. Through time and use, bags made from vegetable tanned leather gain different shades of color and become darker, which constitutes one of most beautiful characteristics of this kind of leather. Also, by using vegetable tanned leather products, the natural characteristics of the material are preserved, which results in original and unique pieces.

Ideal & Co, Living Heritage is a brand created in 2012, but is actually the continuation of an existing project that began to take shape in 1935 through Antonio Vieira, when he was a young boy of 14 years. From his small village, located on the southwest side of Parque Natural da Serra de Aire e Candeeiros, and using a bike, sense of opportunity, determination and physical strength, Antonio Vieira started his own business as a leather merchant. Quickly the business flourished and he decided to open his own tanning factory in 1959 - "Fábrica Curtumes IDEAL". The name which originated the brand in 2012 comes from here.

For more information about the Ideal & Co, Living Heritage please visit the company's website.

Related Organizations

  • APIC - Portuguese Leather Industry Association

    APIC - Portuguese Leather Industry Association

    Portugal
  • CFPIC - Academy of Design and Footwear

    CFPIC - Academy of Design and Footwear

    Portugal
  • APICCAPS – Portuguese Footwear, Components and Leather Goods Manufacturers' Association

    APICCAPS – Portuguese Footwear, Components and Leather Goods Manufacturers' Association

    Portugal
  • CTIC – Portuguese Leather Technology Centre

    CTIC – Portuguese Leather Technology Centre

    Portugal