LUXURIOUS BEDDING BY CELSO DE LEMOS
MEET THE PROUDLY PORTUGUESE BRAND THAT’S FAVOURED WORLDWIDE
Celso de Lemos has been weaving five-star quality sleep for 40 years. CEO, Pierre Manuel de Lemos Esteves tells us more about this family-run company.
How did the brand start? The brand is named after my father, Celso de Lemos, who started the company from nothing, working out of the basement of his mother’s home in Viseu. From the beginning his ambition is to share the best of Portugal, with the philosophy ‘made in, made by, made of Portugal’. Now, we sell to 61 countries and on five continents. As well as Celso de Lemos bedding, we also have Abyss towels and Habidecor rugs.
Please tell us more about the fabrics you use... We exclusively use and buy 100 percent Egyptian extra long staple cotton, which is really niche. Compared to others, we are a small company, but we are unique. Big companies buy fabrics, but we travel to Egypt to buy yarns – from raw materials to the consumer, that is our job, our daily life. I don’t know many brands that do this.
What is your meticulous work and design process? The meticulous process is simple: you need two hands, scissors, yarns, weaving machines and experience. The design is done in Belgium – my mother is Belgian, and there is a design team of two there. Design begins with a piece of paper and inspiration from travelling around the world and getting feedback from customers.
Where do you find your artisans? All of our 250 or so employees come from Viseu. That’s the essence of what we do. We could export our productions to other countries but we would lose our philosophy. We’re proud to be Portuguese and want to showcase the long history and culture of Portuguese textiles. What pieces are most suited to the Hong Kong climate?
Sateen or percale have high thread counts but are really light and perfect for Hong Kong’s hot, humid weather, as is our very thin, breathable Belgian linen. Most of our collections are high-quality, lightweight fabrics. How does Portugal inform and influence your brand?
Portugal does this every day. The hands, soul and heart are from there; it’s the roots. We started there and are still there. Our brand is of Portuguese excellence and we are really proud of the ‘made in Portugal’ on our label.