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Arren Williams – Sharing Portuguese Beauty

Arren is a Canadian designer that worked as a Creative Director for Home for Hudson’s Bay, Canada’s biggest department store chain, with stores across the country. Before that he worked as a freelance and as a design journalist and stylist, working on major print publications – both magazines and newspapers – as well as appearing on television.

Arren and his partner David Pimentel decided to take a break on their lives and come to Portugal, most precisely to Olhão. They wanted to share all of the great things that they were  finding in Portugal with their friends around the world, and so they started an online company here –  “Casa Cubista

This is interview is published a few days before presenting the new products created in collaboration with TASA.

Arren Casa Cubista

Tell us more about the name and the concept.

 The name is inspired by the cubist style of houses found in the old town of Olhão, where we live. Our mandate is to present both traditional and modern craft in a very contemporary way – Clean, simple and minimal, but still highlighting the natural materials, traditional methods and heritage crafts of Portugal.

How did your partnership with Projecto TASA begin? What was your idea/goals?

I discovered Projecto TASA on one of our many trips to Portugal and loved how they connect designers and craftspeople together. The product has a great sense of style, and the colours and materials are a perfect fit with what we’re doing with Casa Cubista.

What is the theme or the idea of your special collection with Projecto TASA?

Really it’s all about a very contemporary take on rustic handmade things for the home, but presented with a modern point of view.

What did you find here in Portugal that you think is really unique and special?

The fact that pretty much everything is made here still – Glass, ceramic, leather, textiles. The country is rich with manufacturing ability, both large and small, but in many ways it still remains undiscovered in the rest of the world.

What will be your next steps? here in Portugal and overseas?

Working to build Casa Cubista as a brand, researching more into all the different crafts of Portugal, and pushing more into the UK, Scandinavia and North America. 

TASA Project – Ancestral Techniques Current Solutions
  • SPONSOR:
    CCDR
  • PROJECT MANAGEMENT:
    ProActive Tur
  • SUPPORT:
    Algarve 21