HC
Helena Castelo
Founder
Founded the shop in 2017 from a Lisbon kitchen. Leads buying + creative direction. Splits time between Lisbon and Porto.
A small shop, considered.
Founded 2017 by Helena Castelo, in a kitchen in Lisbon, with three Portuguese makers and a Shopify trial. Today: six full-time staff, 146 makers, 22 countries. Two acquisition approaches politely declined.
How we got here
E-Commerce / Retail demo started in 2017 as Helena’s side project: a small online shop selling six pieces from three Portuguese makers. By the end of year one we had 18 makers and a kitchen-table fulfilment operation. We grew to 80 makers in 2020, 120 in 2022, and 146 today.
We’ve been profitable since 2019, intentionally small, and unfunded since founding. Our team is six full-time, including Helena; everyone owns equity.
What we believe
- One maker per category. No multi-supplier SKU sprawl. We pick the maker; you pick the piece.
- Margin transparency. Every product page lists the maker’s dollar margin. We earn less when the maker earns more; we’re fine with that.
- Returns we mean. 60 days, any condition, free label. The cost of generous returns is lower than the cost of customers who don’t come back.
- Slow shipping. No same-day default. We offset every order; faster shipping carries a surcharge that funds the offset directly.
Six people, every one a part-owner.
IM
Inês Mateus
Creative Director
Joined in 2019 from a Porto editorial studio. Photographs every collection. Runs the lookbook and journal.
LM
Lucia Moreira
Buyer
12 years between London + Lisbon. Sources new makers and runs the maker-margin disclosure.
DR
Daniel Reyes
Operations
Runs fulfilment + customer service. Previously in-house at a small DTC retailer in Brooklyn.
JA
Júlia Almeida
Studio + Atelier
Looks after sample fittings, repairs, and the relationships with our cut-and-sew partners.
SA
Sofia Andrade
Engineering + Site
Builds + runs the storefront. Keeps the search under 100ms and the checkout boring.