Photography Credit: Bed & Brunch Collection
As a March dusk falls on Bombarda, Porto’s small, artiest district, the fabric factories – where you’ll find cotton for Folk’s culottes, ribbed Raglan sweaters and Assembly trousers flying off the looms – shut up shop. The tripeiros – that’s tripe-eaters in English, the city’s affectionate nickname for the its civilians since the 15th century – clock off work, and the chink of glasses floats out of wine bars’ windows over the gravelly chatter. They’re having port and tonics. Nope, not the ruby red Christmassy cure-all, but clear, citrusy and refreshing white port, on ice.
Come take a stroll down Rua do Rosário, one of the 19th century streets at the heart of this part of town’s cool, convivial new groove.
At the north end of Rua do Rosário you’ll find no. 233, a derelict terraced house recently transformed by brother and sister Emmanuel and Patrícia De Sousa into a supper club-come-shop-come-bed and breakfast, called Rosa Et Al Townhouse. They seem to have turned a bricks and mortar skeleton into beating heart of a creative scene. (They are a London-trained architect and economist respectively, which seems fairly ideal.) ‘When travelling, we both got really into staying in townhouses where the owner was always there to welcome you,’Emmanuel says. So they have brought the idea back to their hometown.
Quite pleasingly, you could easily miss it if you didn’t know to look for the original custard yellow Portuguese tile façade. Emmanuel’s thing is rehabilitating defunct historic buildings, but he’s keen to point out Rosa Et Al is ‘not palatial.
’There are seven bedrooms. It appeals to friends, makers, artists, typesetters and, ‘everyone in between, as well as visitors from afar.’Inside, it’s whitewashed walls, original beams and the ‘building’s bones’. ‘It’s not pastiche, but we’ve mixed the repaired 19th century – the stucco, the plasterwork – with 20th century Jean Prouvé, and say, our Drifted stools by Norwegian Lars Beller Fjetland.’It’s LOVELY.
Photography Credit: Bed & Brunch Collection
Photography Credit: Bed & Brunch Collection
Photography Credit: Bed & Brunch Collection
Photography Credit: Bed & Brunch Collection
Onto next door, no.235, a former typography workshop which the De Sousas have just converted into a clothes and concept store called EarlyMade. Here you’ll find an edit of Folk garbs – checkered culottes in Porto cotton, a stone Field jacket. This is a making city: all Folk’s in-house footwear is made here, in Portuguese leather (inc the ace new Alba high tops.) ‘We like clothes that can be for male or female. That works,’ Emmanuel muses...At the moment shop staff are in Les Expatriés’ unisex kit and have returned to an old Folk favourite, the Rust Archive check shirts.
Photography Credit: Bed & Brunch Collection
Photography Credit: Bed & Brunch Collection
Photography Credit: Bed & Brunch Collection
Bombarda’s galleries, shops and studios play music and stay open late often, and always on the last Friday of each month. Six times a year, all the galleries change their exhibition simultaneously on a Saturday. It’s very neighbourly. As your host observes, ‘The vibe is very much indoor-outdoors. Doors open. We’re pretty open!
’Back then, to Rosa Et Al’s back garden for a late-night espresso among the vines, herbs and kind of majestic XL yukka plants.
Words by Charlotte Brook
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