Design Lab Creative Community

Marta Rodrigues, the creator of the Tonsterra_collection project, is one of the most recent additions to the Loulé Criativo community, it is a brand that, based on pigment extraction techniques and the production of natural paints, develops products that promote sustainability and the conscious use of nature’s resources. The Portuguese mountain ranges are the brand’s main inspiration, honouring their beautiful earth tones. She has impressive collections of watercolours inspired by the Portuguese mountains and wax crayons made from mineral and plant-based pigments.

Linda is one of the newest residents at the Design Lab. She produces footwear and other leather goods in her shop/workshop in Lagos, and is particularly renowned for her handmade sandals. After completing her Industrial Design degree. Linda trained as a traditional shoemaker, learning from Holland’s last generation of shoemakers. This craft has, sadly, now totally disappeared. Along with designing custom-made shoes, she coordinates the production and prototyping for shoe brands. Linda enjoys collaborating with other artisans who have mastered different techniques—such as natural tanning—or introducing copper as a new challenge within the creative community to which she belongs.

Sandra Dionísio is a ceramicist. Her work draws inspiration from her observations of nature – its shapes, colours and textures. Straddling the line between observed and reimagined nature, she creates pieces that combine familiar elements with intuitive forms. She experiments with different ceramic clays and explores techniques such as carving, sgraffito and textural printing, highlighting the materiality of the clay and the marks left by her hand on the surface.

Wesley Sacardi, born in August 1981, is a lifelong learner, passionate about creativity and knowledge sharing. In 2016 he left the Media to create pieces in solid wood, inspired by architecture, Nordic design and wabi-sabi. In 2021 it launched the "Descartes Beyond the Raw Material Series", exploring the reuse of local or recovered wood in ecodesign, uniting artisanal techniques and free forms that preserve the identity of the material and seek balance and harmony.

Sandra is a photographer and creative director, with a focus on cyanotype, uniting art, aesthetics and experimentation. She integrates artistic direction and styling to create striking images, combining artisanal techniques and natural materials in a multidisciplinary approach. The Deep Blue project explores cyanotype in dialogue with areas such as recycled paper, plant fibers, natural pigments and ceramics. At the Design Lab, Sandra intends to deepen this research, collaborate and expand the training aspect of her work.

Margot Ambrosio, French-Italian with Portuguese roots, has been a designer and couture seamstress for over 10 years. Founder of AVÓ Paris, she aims to unite traditional craftsmanship, such as palm weaving, with contemporary design based on sustainable principles. In his project, he intends to create unique bags, clothes and accessories, valuing ancestral techniques and natural materials. In this residency, she seeks to develop a capsule collection that celebrates memory, art and ecological fashion, collaborating with local artisans.

Inês São Pedro has a degree in Product Design – ceramics and glass – from ESAD. CR (2013), with complementary training in Fashion and Light Design. Her project explores the technique of ceramic contracting, creating utilitarian and decorative pieces such as salad bowls and lamps, in conjunction with the SAN PI collections. It values the use of Portuguese raw materials, of local origin, and artisanal know-how, expanding the expressive potential of palm and opening new possibilities for the application of this technique.

Ana Silva, Brazilian, lives in Lagos, Portugal, where she dedicated herself to ceramics after a career in law. She trained at AR.CO and Loulé Criativo, and founded the atelier itsana – handmade ceramics. Her Interactive Tiles project proposes modular, dynamic and customizable ceramic compositions, which reinvent the tradition of Portuguese tiles. It invites experimentation and reinforces the connection between art, identity and territory.

Cláudia Moreira is an architect graduated from the Technical University of Lisbon and has a master's degree in Urban Culture from UPC/CCCB. She has collaborated in offices in Portugal, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, participated in international competitions and exhibitions. She founded the MOTE Design Studio and has a background in felting, millinery and weaving. The Tanta.Design project involves design and production of yarns and textile objects, using manual dyeing and art yarn spinning, valuing the wool of the Churra Algarvia sheep.

Paula Ramos e Ramos began her training in jewellery in 2018, at the Lisbon Jewellery Centre, and deepened techniques at Cindor, in Porto, with an internship at Escuela Tous, in Barcelona. Since 2023, she has been in residence at the Design Lab, in Loulé, where she explores local techniques such as boilermaking. Born in Loulé, with Cape Verdean roots, she created the project A Joalheira Crioula, where jewellery becomes a bridge between identity, territory and contemporary artistic expression.

Margarida Valente has a degree in Interior Architecture, Restoration and Furniture, in Anthropology and a postgraduate degree in Cultural Management. She worked in an art gallery until 2021 and, since 2003, she has developed projects in the design of equipment and fashion accessories. Her project explores the reuse of various materials, changing original functions to create unique pieces, such as lamps with wooden edges, carpet waste and burel necklaces.

Juliett Sarmiento, a visual artist and graphic designer from Barranquilla, Colombia, has lived in Portugal since 2019. Master in Contemporary Artistic Creation (UA, 2021), she started bookbinding at the age of 15 with her father. At 19, she deepened her interest while studying design. Since 2013, she has been exploring editorial projects in an artistic approach, creating books, fanzines and manual embroidery in limited editions, inspired by places and people.