Discover new hotel interior inspirations with Luxury Design Summit 2018

Conferences and summits are always a good reason for networking with the people who share the same interests and tastes than yours. From the 20th to the 21st of June 2018, Oporto will host the 1st edition of the Luxury Design & Craftsmanship Summit 2018, a Summit dedicated to Design and the Power of Crafts that will be organized by the Covet Group. This is an opportunity to good to no miss if you’re eager to discover new hotel interior inspirations.

The main point in this summit is to unit the creative minds, designers, makers, and brands, to discuss what’s next in the Luxury Design World. This event will bring you a new perspective, and the most innovative practices of the luxury and design industries as the major players in the growth and elevation of Craftsmanship.

You can see this Summit in a city renowned for its craftsmanship heritage, Oporto, Portugal, the two-day event will present an outstanding line-up of keynote speakers to provide a lively debate and informed conversation for those who seek to be at the forefront of the Luxury Design field.

WHAT IS IT THE CONCEPT?

It wouldn’t be a strong and amazing Luxury Design & Craftsmanship Summit if it didn’t present showcases of several arts of craftsmanship. In both days of the event, 20 and 21 of June, there will be live showcases where some amazing artisans and craftsmen will demonstrate how they work and how they create some amazing pieces of fashion, jewelry and furniture!

Leaf Gilding

One of those traditional arts it’s the Leaf Gilding! Well used by the Covet Group’s Brands in several top-selling pieces, Leaf Gilding refers to a decorative technique for applying fine gold leaf to solid surfaces such as wood, stone, or metal to give a thin coating of gold.

It seems easy, but it’s a very complex technique that isn’t easily mastered, and in the Luxury Design & Craftsmanship Summit you’ll be able to understand why in a stunning live showcase!

Filigree

The Luxury Design & Craftsmanship Summit will be held in Gondomar, a city that is known as the Filigree Capital of Europe. So it’s obvious that Filigree will also be highlighted during this event with a strong live showcase that will promote this jewelry art form that translates into a delicate metalwork that simulates lace.

Tiles and Arraiolos

Speaking of traditional and iconic Portuguese Arts & Crafts, the amazing and worldwide recognize arts of Azulejo (tile) and Arraoilos will also be represented in this Summit. Azulejo it’s a form of painted tin-glazed ceramic tilework extremely popular in Portugal. It’s so popular that it’s protected by law and all buildings with Azulejos have to obey some strick maintenance laws! Expect to learn more about Azulejos in some Live Performances and Showcases at this event!

The Arraiolos Rugs or Tapestry are some of the most traditional Products of Portugal! They are inspired by Persian Carpets and consist of rugs made of embroidered wool with some amazing patterns that are exclusively made in a traditional manner in the small town of Arraiolos, Portugal. You’ll be able to get a taste of how these amazing rugs are made during the Summit.

You’ll also get the opportunity to get in touch with another classic art of Portugal: The Lace of Bilros. This lace is produced by the successive crossing or interspersed of textile yarns, executed on the pike and with the aid of pins and bobbins. This textile art form was in decadence during the 20th Century, but to avoid its extinction, the Portuguese Government started several programs aimed to maintain the industry and tradition of Lace of Bilros well alive for centuries to come!

Within the textile arts, you’ll also be able to see a live showcase of Embroidery, a more common art in Europe but one of the oldest in the world! So as you can see, the Luxury Design & Craftsmanship Summit 2018 will be the ideal place to get in touch with all these classic arts and to learn more about them and what can you do to help keep them alive!

WHO ARE THE SPEAKERS?

Let’s start with The Michelangelo Foundation for Creativity and Craftsmanship. This is one of the biggest names of this Summit, but also of the entire Design World. For those who don’t know, the Michelangelo Foundation is an international non-profit entity that celebrates and preserves master craftsmanship and strengthens its connection to the world of design. They will be a valuable addition to this first edition’s speakers roster because they will showcase their plans and inputs of how to assure the preservation of the design and craftsmanship across the planet!

The Portuguese Luxury and Watchmaking Association is another relevant Guest Speaker of this first Luxury Design & Craftsmanship Summit. This is a private company which represents approximately 60 % of jewelry production in the North of Portugal, where we can find Oporto and Gondomar. It associates approximately 400 companies and encompasses goldsmiths, jewelers, watchmakers and other associated fields. They are strong advocates of Craftsmanship and Luxury Design and that’s why they will have a lot to add to this edition.

Speaking of Luxury, Vista Alegre and Topázio will also be present at the Luxury Design & Craftsmanship Summit as Guest Speakers. They are 2 of the Top Design Companies of Portugal and they both respect, honor and elevate the craftsmanship values with their amazing products and collections. For those who don’t know, Vista Alegre is one of the oldest porcelain manufacturers in Europe and it’s also one of the most popular ones in the porcelain industry. The same goes for Topázio. This brand has been dominating the jewelry industry for over a century. This is a top premium brand that well known worldwide as one of the best manufactures of jewelry pieces that fully embodies the principles of craftsmanship.

The Fashion Industry will also be represented at the Luxury Design & Craftsmanship Summit 2018 by the Storytailors, one of Portugal’s most iconic Fashion Designers/Brands. João Branco and Luis Sanchez are the leaders and the main creators of this stunning Fashion Studio that follows the principles of the craftsmanship nature within the Fashion Industry. Their fashion collections are simply amazing and full of creativity, so you won’t be surprised if we tell you that Storytailors products are a regular presence in the editorials of the most prestigious national and international fashion publications.

The sector of Furniture Luxury Brands will be well represented by Boca do Lobo, whose pieces of furniture are an exclusive, emotional and creative experience to anyone. All of this brand’s amazing pieces are passionately inspired and handcrafted in Portugal by a staff that loves what they do and that provides each piece a creative mixture of design, art and craftsmanship. You’ll be able to find Boca do Lobo in the Speakers Lists of the First Edition of Luxury Design & Craftsmanship Summit, so get ready to be presented with a complete know-how experience of how to elevate design and create stunning handcrafted pieces.

Last but not least, the Luxury Design & Craftsmanship Summit will also count with the presence of the Ricardo Espirito Santo Silva Foundation. In 1953, Ricardo do Espírito Santo Silva, a well-known banker and collector made several donations to the Portuguese State that allow the creation of this Foundation that serves as a Museum-School with the aim of protecting and disseminating the Portuguese Decorative Arts and the handicrafts related to them. The Foundation is responsible for the Museum of Portuguese Decorative Arts, but also for two schools where several craftsmanship Arts are taught and kept alive. To this day, the Foundation has 18 Portuguese traditional arts and crafts workshops that keep alive a very significant intangible heritage of savoir-faire and ensure a specialized intervention in the Portuguese heritage through the conservation and restoration laboratory.