Guest post: Odete from Wicked Halo

When I first started blogging and decided that although I'd talk about design in general, I'd try to focus on Portuguese design, there were several already established blogs that played a rather large part in my decision. One that I read on a daily basis is Wicked Halo, the sometimes irreverent, always amusing and inspiring blog written by (Portuguese!) Odete. So I was overjoyed when she agreed to write a guest post about some of her favourite elements of Portuguese design. Over to you Odete!

"There's this old proverb that says that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. If that's truth, then what would the female equivalent be? Women are creatures of great complexity, so they couldn't stick with just one thing. But I'm pretty sure, that for many women, bags, shoes and jewelry would have to be included in the pack. With that in mind, I set out to unearth the Portuguese items that would win my heart over and make me swoon.

Joana Vasconcelos - Marilyn shoes
In this particular case, these shoes were not made for walking. A pair of giant shoes (1,5 meters tall and 4,3 meters wides) meticulously constructed out of hundreds of high-shine stainless steel pots and lids, they were auctioned this year at Christie for 574.000€ (so I don't think I'll be having one of these anytime soon). Though there are a few copies of the shoes (glamorously named Dorothy, Cinderella, Priscilla and Carmen Miranda), this is the only pair of the series (one shoe would be about 280.000€, so I still don't think I'll be having even a single shoe). I saw one of them recently at Joana Vasconcelos retrospect at CCB and that's one hell of a shoe!
KrvKurva Bags. Shaped like a large teardrop, the bag is constructed from semi-rigid Dupont(TM) Tyvek®. Thinner than one millimeter and weighing less than 40 grams, this bag is able to hold up to 55kg easily (which is great given my propensity to carry the entire house in my handbag). Each bag is given a unique artistic layout by a different guest designer, in limited runs of 199 bags. My favorites are the ones by Oporto designer Benedita Feijó , for its intricate modern nature look.
Paraphernalia. The brainchild of Lisbon designer Ms Vanda, a firm believer in keeping her fingers in as many pies as possible, some of her other endeavors include the projects Arrete Mon Coeur, Portugal Mon Amour and La Bouquiniste.
Despite such diverse projects, Paraphernalia is hands down my favorite. The fact that shes mentions how this particular "brand" enjoys the odd, the unusual, the uncanny and the bizarre, in all the aspects of beauty, makes it the perfect match for my personal sensibilities."