FLORES TEXTILE STUDIO

INTERIOR DESIGN AND DECORATION STUDIO IN LISBON

If you ever wondered where to find high-quality, handmade textiles, look no further: Flores Textile Studio is the place to go where traditional fabrics, special handwoven collections, and furniture pieces come together to create a wonderful showroom and studio. Flores Textile Studio was founded in 2020 by Valentina Pilia, an interior designer who was part of Pierre Yovanovich's studio in Paris before moving to Lisbon, and Emma Pucci, a French-Swiss architect who also worked in the film industry as a production designer. You can find it in Praça das Flores 53 in a charming Lisbon neighbourhood between Príncipe Real and Santos.

FF: How did Flores Textile Studio come to be?

V: Emma and I have known each other for a long time, and we’ve always shared the same passion for textiles and crafts, which became stronger and more present thanks to our travels and time living abroad — I lived in Morocco, and Emma lived in India. We came to Portugal once with the idea of doing something about this passion. After an encounter with Mizette [Nielse] — who founded Fábrica Alentejana de Laníficios, a textile factory in Alentejo that is now under new management and was rebranded as Fabricaal — there was already something brewing. We wanted to make a specific collection with her, so we learned the traditional weaving techniques. For example, the mantas alentejanas, which we still have at our showroom, are very traditional. So, our collection was born in Alentejo, and we still have some fabrics from back then to make cushions or pouffes. We were also looking for a space that would allow us to keep working on our interior design projects and showcase some of our collaborations with craftspeople. That is when we found this fantastic place and fell in love with it; it made sense to dedicate this space to textiles more than anything else because that is what we truly love. So, that is how everything started.

FF: You’re in a very different stage of your studio & brand now than you were when you first started two years ago.

E: Yes, we opened Flores Textile Studio just before the pandemic hit. We painted the walls, designed the furniture, and basically made our own appropriation of the space to see how it could function. We wanted to have a place for people to come in and take a look around, and perhaps a place for exhibitions — something we’ve already done in the showroom in 2022. In my mind, there’s also the idea of creating a big library with art and architecture books. Then we have an area for coffee and drinks, depending on the time of the day, of course. The long custom-made table is probably the centrepiece of Flores Textile Studio. It serves many purposes, from collaborating with our assistant to meeting with clients or even having it a little emptier to show some fabric samples.

FF: You have been working on a handful of interior projects, in addition to having the showroom open to the public and creating collections along with craftspeople all over Portugal. At the end of the day, what does Flores mean to you?

E: We’re used to travelling a lot for work and have lived across different countries. We were doing completely different things from what we do now, but I think Flores brings together everything we’ve been doing all these years. It was absolutely meaningful to develop a project like this, which takes us to different places in Portugal and allows us to work with outstanding artisans, learn from their savoir-faire, and then use it in our brand. And then everything is connected because you start working on a big project, like a house for a client, and then you design a unique piece just for him, but it also makes sense to have it produced for the showroom with other traits and details, that is what makes sense for us.

V: It can be a challenge sometimes because our head goes everywhere, between the clients coming in the store, the clients we do projects for, and the artisans.

E: And now we are part of Invisible Collection, too, which means we’re already making a lot of pieces for their showroom. We didn’t want to have many stores selling our pieces, but it’s such an exciting brand that we’re making a unique collection for them.

FF: How do you feel about being in Lisbon? Having the door open, everything can happen!

V: In the beginning, it was essential for us since we’re foreign and didn’t really know people. It was important to share what we do, talk about it and see and feel the customers. There are certainly moments when you’re focused on a project, and people come in through the door, and you have to switch gears. But you meet such fascinating people; I think we’re always going to leave our door open, even though we’d love to have a bigger space next door so we can go there and work on specific projects.

E: As we’re growing, we also have more people coming to work with us, so we can take this step of being able to welcome customers to the showroom and meet with clients for interior design projects elsewhere. We’re thrilled to be collaborating with Fantastic Frank Lisbon and having some pieces from our collections and the brands we represent at the showroom displayed at your showroom — such a gorgeous space! — and our next collaboration providing some of our pieces for their new Praça das Flores listing around the corner from us.