All posts filed under: Shopping

5 Ways to use Madeira Embroidery

5 Ways to use Madeira Embroidery I grew up with Madeira Embroidery. It was in the dress of my first party, on the tablecloths of my birthday and the sheets of my children’s crib. My mother knows how to embroider and tried to teach me, but without success. Times were different, and there were many other distractions… However, I learned to give value to Madeira Embroidery when I realised how much time, hand expertise and devotion exists in the construction of each piece. Each point has its science, transmitted from mothers to daughters, from embroiderer to embroiderer. I love the names they give to each point: the “garanitos” (for beginners), the shadow points, the “cavacas”, the “bastides”, the widows (viúvas) among others. Touching a piece of Madeira Embroidery is realising what tradition means. It is the softness of cotton or linen, and the delicacy of each line pulled by a needle worked with saliva and sweat. Being an embroiderer was once the financial support of most Madeiran women. It is not a profession for anyone; …

Shopping in Madeira

Shopping in Madeira Island

 When you visit Madeira, you’ll find the typical souvenir shops that sell Honey cake and Madeira wine. They are both great and I recommend it. However, one of the things I like when I travel is to seek for shops of local designers, which I do not find elsewhere. With this globalization, I always get a bit annoyed to see the same kind of shops everywhere and it delights me when I find a special store or any item that is unique. I also like to go home and whenever I look at that piece, I have a story to tell, being able to associate it with a moment of my life, or the person who gave it me. Incidentally, this is also one of the pleasures of traveling, finding pieces that tell stories (eventually) have a sentimental, timeless value. So I proposed myself to show my readers  special gifts from Madeira. I suggest wonderful gifts to yourself (or to anyone you like giving special gifts to), which are the result of Madeiran creativity, ranging …