Another really interesting and well done post. We'll be looking for furniture sometime soon - our next apartment will be unfurnished - so we may have to make the trek to Paços. I, too, love the Eames chair, but I don't see one in my future, even at the lower price!
Yay! Finally a seriously helpful review of the Ferreira gold mine. Seriously helpful. We bought Eames chairs last year for that €8k each price and love them, but the price...and again, thank you so much for this unique and pointed article!
Oct 14, 2022·edited Oct 14, 2022Liked by Nancy Whiteman
I love reading your thoughts on this whole house-rebuilding-made-into-home, as we have btdt as they say... we too went to Paços, several times, and you nailed the experience! I'd be most curious as to which company you chose, if you'd care to share? (edit after reading posts of others: White Oak!
That's the one we used!) We had some custom kitchen chairs done by the one we chose, but in the end chose not to go with their sideboard. "It's a process"...
We can’t expect family businesses to be internet and marketing-savvy. Likely the businesses you visited don’t know what SEO is. If the children aren’t involved…
Marketing is a US invention that we excel at. Profit and competition drive the culture. The mass market is huge. Segments are almost endless. Volume drives everything.
As for having all the same services and things, this was (and often still is) the Portuguese business DNA. Everyone offers the same thing. Look at the pastries in every pastelaria. The market is tiny. Likewise, the Portuguese culture is more about the collective than the individual. As my PT ex would say, “Why would you want something different when this is good?” There was little incentive or reason to offer something different. Or when someone did, everyone else simply did the same. They still do that today.
Even today, most of Portuguese business is done by word of mouth and face-to-face. Everyone knows everyone or knows the next friend or relative connection. Marketing is underdeveloped — it wasn’t needed (or possible) during a dictatorship. The population is still essentially homogeneous. There aren’t enough market segments to create and make, profitably, a vast array of different products. Try running a business here, the taxes eat you alive. Most all business margins are slivers of the same thing in the US. It’s another reason why family businesses are common and jobs are scarce: paying the requisite employee taxes and social security can sometimes cost more than the salary. A recent PT op-ed piece laid out this equation as part of the “celebrated” increase in minimum wage. Family help is cheaper.
The majority of the population can’t buy a €900 chair when that’s more than they make in a month. Ikea, like it or not, was a godsend when it opened here in the mid-2000s. Finally people could afford modern, inexpensive furniture. And they don’t much care that all their apartments look the same.
We likely will go with White Oak (don't let the name make you steer clear...this is not your mom's oak furniture). We also saw some very nice pieces at San Miguel and Movies Henrique...but frankly there are so many good choices. And since most are grouped together in furniture malls, I would recommend you check out all you can.
Nancy we are building in the Algarve and are hoping to visit Pacos de Ferreira in May. Which stores would you recommend we visit as we won’t have long. Cheers Michele
Thank you for that information. Did not know! We bough everything from IKEA (we are swedes..) but would like to change som of the furniture to more personal stuff in the future. So look forward to your continuing story about your furniture.
We will be purchasing a home in the next couple of months. Your research is so meticulous and so much appreciate that you share all of it! I like the style of the furniture in the photos. Do you mind sharing the name of those stores and also your other top favorite stores. We want quality but are on a budget. Thank you so much!
Thank you for sharing your experience! Do you happen to remember the name of any stores specializing in more "Ingles" furniture? Buckingham Palace isn't quite our style, ha, but I'm hoping for a little more than sheer minimalism.
Putting good thoughts out there for you and Denise and your home.
Thank you for the follow-up. We plan on making the trip, but really have no idea how to go about it (just show up and start walking around?), and, like you, we've found online information to be tough to find.
We are currently playing Mondays from 13:30-15:30 and Fridays from 10-noon. If you have not played before, please first come on a Friday as that is when we offer instruction. Hope to see you soon!
Hi Nancy,
Another really interesting and well done post. We'll be looking for furniture sometime soon - our next apartment will be unfurnished - so we may have to make the trek to Paços. I, too, love the Eames chair, but I don't see one in my future, even at the lower price!
Can’t wait to learn about your next adventure!
Yay! Finally a seriously helpful review of the Ferreira gold mine. Seriously helpful. We bought Eames chairs last year for that €8k each price and love them, but the price...and again, thank you so much for this unique and pointed article!
I love reading your thoughts on this whole house-rebuilding-made-into-home, as we have btdt as they say... we too went to Paços, several times, and you nailed the experience! I'd be most curious as to which company you chose, if you'd care to share? (edit after reading posts of others: White Oak!
That's the one we used!) We had some custom kitchen chairs done by the one we chose, but in the end chose not to go with their sideboard. "It's a process"...
We can’t expect family businesses to be internet and marketing-savvy. Likely the businesses you visited don’t know what SEO is. If the children aren’t involved…
Marketing is a US invention that we excel at. Profit and competition drive the culture. The mass market is huge. Segments are almost endless. Volume drives everything.
As for having all the same services and things, this was (and often still is) the Portuguese business DNA. Everyone offers the same thing. Look at the pastries in every pastelaria. The market is tiny. Likewise, the Portuguese culture is more about the collective than the individual. As my PT ex would say, “Why would you want something different when this is good?” There was little incentive or reason to offer something different. Or when someone did, everyone else simply did the same. They still do that today.
Even today, most of Portuguese business is done by word of mouth and face-to-face. Everyone knows everyone or knows the next friend or relative connection. Marketing is underdeveloped — it wasn’t needed (or possible) during a dictatorship. The population is still essentially homogeneous. There aren’t enough market segments to create and make, profitably, a vast array of different products. Try running a business here, the taxes eat you alive. Most all business margins are slivers of the same thing in the US. It’s another reason why family businesses are common and jobs are scarce: paying the requisite employee taxes and social security can sometimes cost more than the salary. A recent PT op-ed piece laid out this equation as part of the “celebrated” increase in minimum wage. Family help is cheaper.
The majority of the population can’t buy a €900 chair when that’s more than they make in a month. Ikea, like it or not, was a godsend when it opened here in the mid-2000s. Finally people could afford modern, inexpensive furniture. And they don’t much care that all their apartments look the same.
We love Ikea and think they offer affordable style.
Hi Nancy, Always enjoy your writing and glad the renovations are proceeding...
Can you share your top 2 or 3 stores in Paços de Ferreira? You did so much work and I'd love to follow your lead - we share a similar design esthetic.
We likely will go with White Oak (don't let the name make you steer clear...this is not your mom's oak furniture). We also saw some very nice pieces at San Miguel and Movies Henrique...but frankly there are so many good choices. And since most are grouped together in furniture malls, I would recommend you check out all you can.
Nancy we are building in the Algarve and are hoping to visit Pacos de Ferreira in May. Which stores would you recommend we visit as we won’t have long. Cheers Michele
We purchased everything from White Oak Furniture.
Thank you for that information. Did not know! We bough everything from IKEA (we are swedes..) but would like to change som of the furniture to more personal stuff in the future. So look forward to your continuing story about your furniture.
Thank you Nancy. Wow, that's a lot to look through. A visit to the area is in our near future.
Hi Nancy!
We will be purchasing a home in the next couple of months. Your research is so meticulous and so much appreciate that you share all of it! I like the style of the furniture in the photos. Do you mind sharing the name of those stores and also your other top favorite stores. We want quality but are on a budget. Thank you so much!
Regards,
Katie
Nancy Fan 😊
We discarded business cards from the stores that did not have our style. Those shown all offer a clean, modern aesthetic.
Thank you for sharing your experience! Do you happen to remember the name of any stores specializing in more "Ingles" furniture? Buckingham Palace isn't quite our style, ha, but I'm hoping for a little more than sheer minimalism.
Putting good thoughts out there for you and Denise and your home.
It was called Ingles...but I cannot find their web presence
Thank you for the follow-up. We plan on making the trip, but really have no idea how to go about it (just show up and start walking around?), and, like you, we've found online information to be tough to find.
As we drove into Paços we saw a "mall" on the right. That was the first we visited and had the Ingles store.
I truly enjoy reading your posts.
Where can I find more information about joining your pickle ball group ?
Tibor, you can email me at ncwhiteman@gmail.com or check out our Facebook Group. https://www.facebook.com/groups/3263015170631490
We are currently playing Mondays from 13:30-15:30 and Fridays from 10-noon. If you have not played before, please first come on a Friday as that is when we offer instruction. Hope to see you soon!
Based on what I hear in your blog, your new home will be fit for Architectural Digest. Look out Portugal.
We are fortunate to have a good friend (Eric) who was among their best photographers. With his help I am confident we can make it look smashing!!!!