A BICENTENNIAL BIRTHDAY REPRESENTS REMARKABLE LONGEVITY AND VISTA ALEGRE IS TAKING FULL ADVANTAGE of it with dozens of new pieces created specifically to commemorate the 200 anos occasion. “It’s a very important milestone and a time of reflection to see how far we’ve come and where we want to go,” says Daniel Silva, who helped bring the brand new luster here since he started the American subsidiary in 2012. Nuno Barra, Vista Alegre product development director and board member, agrees: “It’s truly an incredible milestone. We’re fortunate to be able to take part in this celebration and contribute to the legacy of the brand. It marks 200 years of historical achievements and collaborative growth with everyone who has been involved in the journey of this institution. This narrative can only be fully understood by remembering those who have played a role along the way.” Adds Silva: “All of our 2024 launches are a reflection of our 200 years and all of those who have been responsible for our success. You may have noticed the new 200 logo (far left) is an infinity symbol, which implies many more years of great design to come.”
We initially spoke to Silva more than a decade ago when he was a fresh-faced neophyte to tableware, just a year into the job as president of the American arm, in 2013. He had enterprising plans then and is pleased to report he delivered on them. “We definitely built brand awareness, not just among professionals, but among consumers. And we continually make progress with more audacious and exciting products. We’ve evolved to a lifestyle brand with a fantastic in-house team of designers and great partnerships, adding categories like textiles and home fragrance, and in Europe we’re launching furniture. I may have told you a decade ago we were hitting our heyday, but that was premature. It was just the beginning.”
While that fecund period may have marked Vista Alegre’s rebirth in the U.S., the company had produced an impressive fandom in Europe over the course of its two-century storied chronology. It was in the summer of 1824 when visionary entrepreneur José Ferreira Pinto Basto – who amassed his fortune trading tobacco and soap, and shipbuilding – opened a crystal and soapstone factory on the banks of the Aveiro Lagoon, which provided a much needed transportation route. Wheels were set in motion the previous decade when Pinto Basto acquired land and a local chapel where he would build the factory, not just as a smart business move but to make a difference for the local population, mostly poor fishermen accustomed to sailing to the far north in search of cod.
In 1824, at the age of 50, Pinto Basto submitted a request to the king, was granted a royal license, and opened for business. He recognized that an able workforce was critical for success, so he built a neighborhood for them. He also started a school where factory workers and their children could learn to read, write, draw, paint, and play music. There was a health center, a community farm, a workers’ orchestra and choir, chapel, theater, and a private fireman corps. [Fun fact: this was Portugal’s first fire brigade, and since it still stands, its oldest too; that’s the brigade in 1880, right. Fun fact #2: Pinto Basto’s great-grandchildren were responsible for the introduction of football to Portugal; the first match ever played in Portugal, in 1886, was at the Vista Alegre Sporting Club, which still stands.]
The ahead-of-his-time, socially responsible entrepreneur was eager to bring porcelain to Portugal, but the area lacked kaolin. His son traveled to Sèvres where he studied the composition of the paste; while there he discovered that there were large kaolin deposits just to the north of their home base in Ílhavo. His father invested a small fortune in unearthing the clay deposits and recruited workers from Sèvres to ramp up porcelain production. Pinto Basto died in 1839, 15 years after he founded the concern. “The spirit and persistence of our founder was crucial to the foundation and success of this risky industrial enterprise,” says exec Barra.
The push into porcelain was so successful glass production was halted, in 1880, to concentrate solely on porcelain. It would, perhaps, give short shrift to skirt over the next sesquicentennial (world wars, social unrest, global expansion, continual reinvention and modernization, acquisitions, philanthropy, high-profile collaborations, numerous awards and accolades, and museum exhibitions), but we could be here forever charting an auspicious 200-year timeline. The company was bought by Visabeira (an international conglomerate with interests in telecommunications, construction, industry, tourism, real estate, and service industries) in 2009. “There have been amazing investments in the last decade by Visabeira leading to our 200th anniversary,” says Silva. “They’ve been a great partner with a wonderful team to work with. They have nothing but respect for the brand. We all share that respect and responsibility.”
Board member Barra echoes that emotion. “The brand’s DNA embodies an evolutionary spirit. At our heart, we specialize in tableware, giftware, and also art, design, special editions, along with hotelware. However, we’re progressing toward a lifestyle focus and offer a range of home cosmetics, textiles for home and personal use, cutlery, and a selection in home decoration. This expansion reflects the dedication of our exceptional in-house teams, as well as ongoing collaborations with incredible artists and brands. We’re a brand and an institution committed to continual growth and innovation.”
Alda Tomás is the company’s award-winning creative director. “Each new product launched on the market is a great responsibility,” she says. “It has to respect our heritage and, at the same time, be part of our contemporary life. We’re well-informed about fashion trends, although they don’t always serve as guidance because it’s crucial all Vista Alegre collections are timeless. Having a good story to tell that serves as inspiration is usually our starting point. We often visit and revisit our archive in search of interesting elements that can be reinterpreted and transposed to our time. During the creative and development process, countless meetings are held between the design, marketing, and technical teams until we’re sure that the final product has achieved the best result.”
This year’s Collection 2024 (shown on pages 52-57) are 24 breathtaking objets d’art, inspired by the archive, master artists, and even today’s assortments, $185 to $160,000. “All the collections launched in 2024 are dedicated to the celebration of the bicentenary,” says Barra. “We’ve looked at the extensive collection at the Vista Alegre Museum, selected pieces with historical relevance and reinterpreted them, giving life to tableware, decorative pieces, new items from the textile segment, beautiful crystal sets, and contemporary pieces crafted by outstanding artists and personalities. These incredible pieces are destined to win international design awards and delight our customers and partners. We’re going to have a year of celebration, surprises, new pieces and many moments where we’ll have the opportunity to tell more about our extraordinary Vista Alegre.”
In that spirit, Vista Alegre has embarked on a year-long initiative asking customers around the world about their experiences with their cherished Vista Alegre tableware. “Our brand is deeply intertwined with the history of Portugal and the rest of Europe,” says Silva, who himself has a rich history with the brand thanks to his Portuguese parents. This cooperative project – an open invitation for consumers to share their love of the brand through personal stories uploaded to the site – is meant to “intellectually enhance and promote ceramic culture.” A series of events (mostly in Europe) will be staged throughout the year. “It’s a celebration that shows not only how far we’ve come, but also, very importantly, all that we still want to build from now on,” says Barra.
One Vista Alegre staffer who intimately understands the history of the brand is Filipa Quatorze, who for the last 23 years has been the director of the Vista Alegre Museum (the façade is shown at the bottom of page 64). The museum, which opened in 1964, aims to inspire and motivate visitors to become acquainted with ceramic culture, with a collection that bears witness to a rich heritage. “When we look at Vista Alegre’s history,” says Quatorze, “what resonates is how it respects a line of temporal continuity, keeping permanent links with the brand’s past while being able to innovate and create new objects and experiences, looking toward the future. This is Vista Alegre’s identity, resiliency, and creativity, and we see this spirit reflected in our contemporary collections. When we look at the Vista Alegre objects, we see not only function and beauty but also boldness and art.”
Today’s assortments are the reason Vista Alegre has boasted one record year after another. “And there’s still much more room to grow with a brand as exciting as Vista Alegre,” says Silva. When reminded he had an ambitious agenda after he set up the subsidiary 12 years ago, he notes that the team has surpassed every one of those goals. “After Spain and Brazil, we’re the largest subsidiary, and Brazil has been operating for 20 years,” Silva crows. “In the last decade, we set up distribution, opened a New York showroom, and opened hundreds of accounts. We set up an entire infrastructure to deliver our products. Logistics is continually adjusted and fine-tuned. It’s been a very productive learning experience and as we grow we meet greater challenges. We have an efficient subsidiary that satisfies consumers directly, each of whom have unique and specific needs.”
While creative director Tomás doesn’t develop collections specifically for the U.S. market, “When a collection is well designed, it works well in practically all markets. Our product development endeavors to be global, respecting our identity, culture, and brand identity. In a collection, we develop specific pieces for particular markets; for example, in the American market, mugs and cereal bowls are larger in size than the European market. The American market is very important to Vista Alegre and we’re very proud of our presence in New York.” Adds her colleague Barra: “Every market holds significance; however, the U.S. market shows particular relevance due to our historical connection, demographic dimension, and cultural habits, which are deeply intertwined with home and décor. Through the Vista Alegre showroom at 41 Madison in New York and through our U.S. team, we collect data that helps us understand the market and present the most effective items in our portfolio. Each market possesses its distinct requirements and expectations, and the pathway to success lies in our ability to address those needs effectively. Embracing a culture of evolution, of genuinely understanding and responding to the demands of our clients, whether in hospitality or retail, is what shapes our future.”
Responding to demands to shape the future is emblazoned in the Vista Alegre DNA, since Pinto Basto’s philanthropic endeavors for his burgeoning workforce. Today, the factory (where 1,200 workers create functional works of art and has been in the same site for 200 years) invites artists from around the globe to offer their takes on porcelain and crystal. The residency program can run up to three months and allows artists to learn about and design ceramics or crystal and create collections for sale; hundreds have participated. It’s just one of the many programs which foster camaraderie, working toward a greater good, and a more beautiful product. “The entire team has that feeling of pride belonging to this institution,” says Barra. “It’s a privilege to be part of the story. It has been a huge responsibility to maintain quality, to respect the brand’s values, to continue what all those who built it over 200 years have left us. But there’s also the responsibility to continue the brand for at least another 200 years.” Silva couldn’t agree more. “I’ve been very grateful and proud to be part of Vista Alegre’s history and to be here to help celebrate the 200th anniversary. It’s a tremendous milestone that’s worth talking about and we look forward to planting more seeds for another 200.”