IN ESSENCE

I am standing in front of a former warehouse awash with luminous gold, green and blue tiles depicting Portuguese folk tales. A sign on the front reads ‘A Vida Portuguesa’ – The Portuguese Life (avidaportuguesa.com). It sits on a lively square in the vibrant Intendente neighbourhood, far from the tuk-tuks and pizza joints of a newly touristy Lisbon.

Inside, a cloud of black ceramic swallows swoops across the ceiling. Baskets and terracotta pots line the entrance. Floor-to-ceiling wooden shelves house Claus Porto perfumed soaps wrapped in Art Deco packaging, brightly coloured Viarco pencils, and ceramic cabbage plates designed by Bordallo Pinheiro, the makers of the aforementioned swallows. There’s a nook for filigree gold jewellery, a sunny space for children’s drums and pull toys, an upstairs boudoir for hand-made leather bags by Ideal & Co (which single-handedly brought back vegetable-dyed leather to Portugal), striped woollen rugs, fine embroidery