Taleiga Handmade

Preserving the Cultural Heritage of Portugal

Hand painted design, signed by the artist. All photos by Paul Wilcox.

I have always been interested in handmade items from Portugal. In addition to the beautifully embroidered linens – some of which I have had for decades - I’ve also been attracted to the colorful hand painted ceramics such as tableware and serving items. In the mid-1980’s my sister Brenda and her husband, Tom honeymooned in Portugal. Brenda brought back a beautiful handmade and hand painted serving dish for me. I still have that dish and made room for it with the items I shipped to Portugal.

A gift from Portugal from my sister.

I promised myself that if I ever lived in Portugal, I would seek out special pieces to add to my small collection. I’ve gathered lots of recommendations from expat Facebook groups and others on where to purchase artisan-quality items. This is how I came across Taleiga Handmade.

Making a list.

Since we don’t have a car, Paul and I rely on public transportation to get around. We still have lots of places to explore (we’ll rent a car for long distances), and I’m compiling a list of ‘must go to’ places to visit for handcrafted items throughout the country (if you have any to share, leave a comment and I’ll add them to my list). Taleiga Handmade has an online store, so for this purchase, it was easy to order online (and I was pleasantly surprised).

The concept.

The concept behind Taleiga is to bring the convenience of online shopping with the experience of opening a package containing exclusive, handcrafted products from Portugal. The company seeks out small artisanal workshops, many from remote areas or mountain villages who still use traditional, generations-old techniques. In conjunction with designers, Taleiga strives to connect the concept, the products, and the traditional processes together to create beautiful contemporary pieces to preserve Portugal’s cultural heritage.

What Taleiga means

I tried to find the meaning of Taleiga. The only reference I could find suggests that the word comes from Old Galician-Portuguese and can mean a bag of various sizes. The name makes sense since their online store highlights many different (and gorgeous) types of handmade wicker basket handbags.

In need of a bowl.

I had been searching for a special bowl that I could use to serve salad or even pasta. I hadn’t found anything that struck me until I saw this salad bowl on the Taleiga online store. To go with the bowl, I also purchased a set of olive wood salad serving spoons.

The online ordering process was secure and easy. If you order over 120 Euros of products, shipping to continental Portugal is free. If you order below that amount, the shipping charge is nominal, especially for the way it’s packed.

The best customer experience.

I have always believed in the concept of the customer experience. From placing an order online to receiving it, the customer should be beyond pleased with the entire process. This is especially true for companies offering exclusive, artisan products online. I was not disappointed and to be truthful, this was one of the best customer experiences I’ve ever had (and I order a lot of stuff online).

When the box arrived, I immediately noticed the large, tasteful Taleiga label. I was also relieved to see that the box was sturdy and heavy. There’s nothing worse than waiting for a fragile package to arrive, only to find the item has broken during shipping because of flimsy packaging.

Opening the box was like opening a gift on Christmas morning and I immediately knew I was going to love my purchase! Inside, there was a small bunch of dried flowers (nice touch!) laying on top of a lot packaging – all tastefully put together in natural colors.

Opening the box felt like Christmas morning!

Beautiful presentation with sprigs of dried flowers.

On the inside lid of the box, a note about the uniqueness of my purchase was affixed along with the Taleiga seal and (more) dried flowers. Now, I was really starting to feel delighted!

The inside lid with a note and more dried flowers.

The bowl and salad serving spoons were extremely well packaged. It would have taken a lot of shipping abuse to damage my purchase.

Well packaged!

The salad bowl is beautiful and signed by the artisan. The olive wood salad serving spoons are thick, and beautifully finished.

My beautiful bowl and salad servers!

The concept of bringing together technology and tradition works to go beyond attracting just locals and tourists to highlight the beauty of Portuguese handcrafts. Taleiga does this well with their attractive website, ease of ordering, and great packaging.

I’m not sure what I liked more – the actual products or the unpackaging of them! Actually – I enjoyed both experiences, and am excited to have one more, beautifully handcrafted item in my Portuguese artisan collection!

Details.

This post was updated in June 2024. When I clicked on the Taleiga website address, there was nothing so it’s possible that this online store is no longer in operation. There is an Instagram account for them, but there haven’t been any recent posts.

The dried flowers in my package fit nicely in a small crackle glass vase that belonged to my mother.

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Until next time…

Obrigada!

Carol.