What is the image outside of Portuguese design?
In my opinion is good. What I usually share with other designers is that when it comes to design and create new concepts, and this happens in 90% of cases, many projects are in the drawer. That is, all the construction and production of a design object is unhelpful to businesses.
You mean in a national level?
Yes and I speak in my case, the draft KeyBag was achieved by my own means, has never advanced to the manufacturing enterprise. When I decided that was economically viable at the time I remember perfectly that I tried to present the idea to various entrepreneurs and although they like the concept they were afraid to take risks.
I went armed with lots of data and information on product acceptance in the market because the KeyBag began selling to individuals and even then, nobody wanted to pick up the project. It is very difficult for them to invest in design, even having a business plan consistent, always proves to be cast aside. And I speak not only about me, the Portuguese design is very well seen, what happens? There are people who create very interesting pieces that just to be able to buy them, can be done two or three prototypes, and there is never a line. Or, to make limited editions for sale, because there is nothing, because the Portuguese business man are not facing innovation.
What other projects you have in mind?
Right now, my main focus is to further develop the current project. I have in hand a new edition of the keybag. Always addressing the same philosophy, there is still much work to do, it reaches a point that is unbearable to think about new projects for now, because the entire process is heavily reliant on me. There are many things that I do not delegate, for example, contracts that do, this is a matter in which I do not delegate to protect my work. And I not yet reached the network of stores that will allow me to be sustainable and somehow I have to take time off to rest.
Do you have any business partner for this new job?
This is always at my own risk. Did you saw the site? The Keylver is all done in a silver bag. It resulted from a project in partnership with a business man from Norway, he wanted something completely different, and at the time I had the idea but had not implemented due to costs. The buttons were all made of silver, with a goldsmith and a hand to one, which makes the process expensive. And indeed, the customer is framed in this view of the case and therefore it was possible to carry out this work.
Was there ever any piece of design that you raised will think, 'I wish that I had been the onde that create it?
There is a designer Veerner Panton, who created the Panton Chair. Not only for aesthetics, but by how developed the technique to be made it. It is made of fiber glass and at once. For me it's fantastic. It is implicit how the design process and how it should be implemented.
