De La Espada — the slow way, for the world's most exacting studios
De La EspadaLondon · PortugalSolid walnut, oak, ash · wool · Alentejo textiles
Manufacturer, designer, brand studio
Founded in 1993 by Luis De Oliveira and Fatima De La Espada, the house began in London as an early champion of authoritative contemporary design and grew into something rare: a manufacturer that acts as a brand studio for independent designers. Its aesthetic draws on the Arts and Crafts movement, architects like Tadao Ando, Luis Barragán, John Pawson and Álvaro Siza, and 1950s Scandinavian design — an unusually architectural sensibility for a furniture maker.
A solar-powered workshop in northern Portugal, building furniture the slow way — for the world's most exacting design studios.
Joinery proven over generations
The dedicated workshop in northern Portugal is solar-powered and specialises in solid wood and upholstery. Craftspeople, designers and product engineers share the same floor, solving design problems in real time. Every piece is built to last a lifetime using construction proven over generations — mortise and tenon, wedge tenon, dovetail and lap joints, bonded with water-based glue — in noble materials chosen to improve with the mark of age. Special editions are upholstered in mantas alentejanas, the traditional shepherd blankets of Portugal's Alentejo region.
The Neri&Hu partnership
De La Espada is the manufacturing home of neri&hu, the product line of the celebrated Shanghai studio — a partnership begun with a New York launch of over ten timber pieces including the Opium Sofa, derived from a Tang-dynasty opium bed typology. The studio has said plainly that it makes in Portugal because it is simply the best craft it has found. Long-term collaborators also include Matthew Hilton, Studioilse (Ilse Crawford), Luca Nichetto and Autoban.
Why Objena: longevity is the most persuasive form of sustainability, and no house argues it better. De La Espada currently reaches Australia only through its own website; Objena will give it a curated local home with real service behind it.
