The smell of wood

Wood as it arrives in the workshop. Photo by Filipe Gill

As we delve deeper into our journey as Gastronautas, we find it very comforting to know that we have, so far, stuck to our founding principles: promoting honest and genuine products, people, and ideas.

So when we decided to start a shop online, we were looking for something interesting that we could identify with. Wood was a great way to test our ideas. So we looked for products that were made in Portugal and small-scale production.

When we found Teresa at a trade fair, we knew: this is it!

Gradirripas is the company she runs with her brother Miguel in a small town north of Santarém called Pernes. This place has a long tradition in the wood industry, for a long time associated with “torneiros”, in English Wood Turners.

Teresa and Miguel – both working in very different professions – decided to take on the family business. It wasn’t an easy decision, but they stuck to it and, so far so good: making real objects that people can use can be very rewarding. Teresa shared with us a mix of sadness and pride: “Our products last for a long time; that can be problem – we sell less frequently – but also a proof of quality and sustainability”.

But the siblings are charming and very enthusiastic about the challenge of carrying on the family enterprise. Another positive aspect of this small industry is the fact that everything is reusable and has a small carbon footprint.

Luís and I both liked this project immediately. It meets all of our criteria: Portugal, craft, gastronomy, culture, ecological, and… honest! A board is a board and we love it.

Watch this video in English by Filipe and this in video Portuguese by Luís

Teresa and Miguel Violante, of Gradirripas our Wood Partners. Photo by Luís Neves

Luís is a “torneiro”, wood turner, one of the last active craftsmen left in Pernes.