To Office 166 is a Portuguese brand that cares about sustainability and the environment, and creates high quality and uniquely designed products.
But who is behind this brand so committed to ethics and social responsibility??
The answer is the founder of the Workshop 166, Diana Meneses Cunha. Diana is an entrepreneur with a clear vision that it is possible to create a successful upholstery brand. Despite showing a lot of creativity from an early age,, only to 40 years ago that he discovered his passion for threads and textiles and starts with your pieces, winning over some of the best hotels in the country.
Was 2015 who felt the need to unleash his creativity and found what would become his world, after learning the loom tapestry technique with two Australian artists. Since that time, developed its own language and style, giving a contemporary and current character to your pieces, despite resorting to ancestral techniques such as loom tapestry, macramé and embroidery.
History
The history of the Workshop 166 begins with a change in Diana's life, who switched from working in banking to dedicate himself to artistic creation full time. He always liked manual work and, self-taught, he learned to do cross stitch, Arraiolos Carpets, jewelry and sewing. The decision to create your brand, em 2016, was taken a few months after learning the tapestry technique, starting to create right away portfolio with the Oficina brand 166.
During the first year, in addition to creating pieces, Diana also organized tapestry workshops, and at the end of 2017 changed the workshop studio 166 from your home to a larger studio, where I worked with a team of 2 people full time.
The first pieces
It was in the middle of this year that Diana received proposals to participate in two projects that, by its size and type of client, served as a lever for the brand: um stand by large dimensions all in macramé to be assembled at the Heimtextil Fair (in Germany) , 12 pieces for the first hotel in the Azores. At the end of that year, the Workshop opened 166 hired the two people. The following year he had his first solo exhibition at the Carris Museum gallery, (curated by Patrícia Pires de Lima) and in July 2019 returned to exhibit at Puracal Interior Design store, both in Lisbon.
Today the Workshop 166 has its brand in several hotels, restaurants and even companies, mostly in Portugal, which denotes a change in the mentality of companies due to what is produced in Portugal in this context, and also receives orders from abroad.
In a constant search for new materials and with a desire to explore new designs, its portfolio ranges from decorative tapestries (mixing tapestry and macrame), large woven trunks and branches, to lamp collections, embroidered screens and outdoor furniture using nautical rope.
Techniques and materials
Every piece that leaves the brand's atelier Oficina 166 is unique and usually mixes several techniques, thus meeting customers’ desires. Organically inspired, Diana's work flows as she begins to weave, with different threads like wool, cotton, rag, raffia and cotton cord to obtain various textures, using techniques such as tapestry on a weaving machine, embroidery, crochet and macramé. Resulting in original and contemporary pieces, which reflect the constant search for new designs and materials, and that fit harmoniously into the spaces that house them. Each piece created in the Workshop 166 It is unique and has its own story, large pieces are already an image of your brand.
Today, already in its new larger space, Diana receives orders from individuals (whether Portuguese, want foreigners), but the majority of its customers are from the hotel and restaurant sector, architects and interior designers and companies. We can find some of the pieces of Oficina 166 in the well-known Bairro Alto Hotel (Lisboa), no White Exclusive Suites & Villas (Saint Michael, Azores), no Hotel Albatroz (Cascais), in several small hotels across the country and in restaurants, either in Portugal, whether abroad, such as Tsukiji by chef Paulo Morais in Lisbon, and Blanco Knokke in Belgium.
Sharing knowledge of the various techniques he uses is also one of his missions in his studio, To this end, it forms partnerships with other areas that lead participants to explore the deepest depths of their creative depths. Workshops are organized throughout the year, courses and creative retreats where the various techniques he explores are discussed.
Oficina 166 is a Portuguese brand referenced in Map Portugal does well with all its contacts and technical details. Also find out which Sustainable Development Objectives the Workshop 166 elected as his.