de la espada presentation

Welcome toDe La Espada

Who are we?


De La Espada is a Portuguese company with offices in New York and London.

We also have a flagship store in New Yorkʼs SoHo neighbourhood.


We go back to 1996 as a retailer in London, and further back as a small workshop, to the early 90s.

Two of the founders run the company, Luis De Oliveira and Fatima De La Espada.


De La Espada is both a design management firm and a manufacturer. We own a significant facility near Oporto with manufacturing expertise accumulated over close to two decades.


Our business is about people. People then lead us to great design.

We pick our partners carefully and we always work with people we like.

How do we relate to the brands we manage?


Our brands are essentially a group of products by the same designer, who lends their name to the product line and is responsible for the art direction as well as product design.


Products from a curated line are authentic, and presented exactly as the designer intended.


In addition to products from the curated lines, De La Espada designs a number of classic pieces designed to complement the efforts of our designers and their brands.


Think of our approach as being similar to a record label that works with a number of artists to release albums over a period of years.

There is every possibility that these curated lines will develop into fully fledged brands.


Independent retailers around the world are finding our approach an effective way to respond to current challenges and to tap into a desire for quality, exclusivity, and authenticity that high end consumers demand.

Who areour designers?


Autoban are Seyhan Ozdemir and Sefer Caglar from Istanbul in Turkey. They run a successful interior design and architecture practice with numerous projects in Istanbul.


Best Young Designers Wallpaper 2004Best Newcomer 100% Design London 2005Best New Restaurant Wallpaper 2006Nomination for Best in Show 100% Design London 2007

www.autoban212.com

http://www.autoban-delaespada.com

http://www.autoban-delaespada.com


Matthew Hilton is one of the UKʼs most respected industrial designers.


Nomination for Compasso DʼOro 2003Royal Designer for Industry 2005Best New Exhibitor 100% Design London 2007Designer of the Year Elle Decoration UK 2008

www.matthewhilton.com

http://www.matthewhilton.com



Leif.designpark, are a talented young design office from Tokyo consisting of Takashi Ueno, Mamoru Naito and Keizaburo Honda.


Their products have been exhibited at:Salone Satellite Milano 2007DesignTide Tokyo 2007Salone Satellite Milano 2008SuperPrototype Exhibition Tokyo 2008

www.leif-designpark.com

http://www.leif-designpark.com

http://www.leif-designpark.com


Studioilse is headed by Ilse Crawford, an important figure in contemporary design. She is a figurehead for design as a means for change and revitalization. Currently she is Head of Department of Man and Well-being at the Design Academy Eindhoven.


Soho House New York - Conde Nast Traveller Hot List 2004Mathias Dahlgren - Wallpaper Best Restaurant 2008The Olde Bell Inn - The Times of London Top Ten British Inns 2008

www.studioilse.com



What definesour products?


Our manufacturing roots are in woodworking, and more specifically in the manufacture of fine furniture made from solid wood using traditional techniques.


Our roots in retail lie in supplying fine furniture to customers in London and New York who demanded the very highest standard of craftsmanship.


No matter what material we use, only those that are tied to traditional crafts and which show the highest level of performance and beauty meet our standards.


Today we use solid black walnut and white oak from the United States, chestnut from France and fabrics produced by Kvadrat, steel both coated and plated, plywood and lacquered hdf.

What are weaiming to achieve?


We are allowing sustainable development of small brands, that are the future of high end contemporary design.


We do not design products for a particular price point, we design products so that they are as perfect, beautiful and durable as we can make them.


We believe in authenticity and that is best expressed in the brands based upon product lines that are designed and curated by our designers.


The designer is the key to connecting modern design with consumers around the world.


We aim to offer thoughtful service, are always approachable and try hard to be transparent and straightforward with everyone we deal with.


We also want to keep things simple, so if we ever forget, please remind us.

Threeparting thoughts.


The more I travel, the more I realize what a "gentle" land Portugal is. This quiet nature, modest and self effacing, a poetic and nostalgic mindset, mixed with a softly spoken but nonetheless fierce pride in our achievements, are a set of traits that De La Espada connects with.


We treat the designer as we do the craftsman. We give them a high degree of independence, we allow their voice to be heard, we allow them to take key decisions and to express themselves through their product lines.


The characteristics of the winemaker, and the nature of winemaking, of which many of our staff have first hand experience, with relatives, parents or grandparents having been involved in some way, are very similar to that of the craftsman.


In that respect De La Espada is spiritually tied to the craft of winemaking. We know small differences make all the difference. We know our materials, we caress them with our hands, we recognize their texture and smell with our eyes closed.


We know that we can't make a vintage every year, but we also know that when all the factors align, when designer, material, craftsman and editor come together, something remarkable can happen.


Thank you for your time.

de la espada presentation

Documents

espadawelcome tode

comwelcome tode

design london

product design

great design

successful interior

design management firm

best new exhibitor