Inspired by the hard work, innovation and incredible resilience of Edinburgh’s community of independent shops, restaurants, cafes and bars, I spent some time putting together a guide to who’s doing what in these crazy times…
After each photo, find a list of links. Click on any link to open the website of each retailer in a new webpage.
Be sure to come back soon for updates. I will add more retailers and edit these pages as food & drink vendors’ offerings change and adapt.
Please share using the links below – right now, every post, like & comment and every single order means SURVIVAL for many of these small, local businesses.
It was French-born ceramicist Cécile Mestelan’s move to Lisbon that triggered her pursuit of the art – after studying sculpture at art school in Switzerland, she and her husband made their move to the city to fulfil residencies at Portugal’s premier porcelain makers, Vista Alegre, where Cécile found her métier.
Cécile quickly established herself in Lisbon’s art & design scene when she set up a collective for potters in a shared studio space in Estrela; Olho, and got to work. Her style over time evolved from simple, white, minimalist vases made with molds, to a more organic, ‘hands on’ use of coils to create larger, more sculptural and geometric shapes. Some of her best known work possesses a narrative element – the collection ‘Totem’ has an almost figurative quality; these curious shapes connote artefacts of a mysterious and unknown civilisation.
Cécile’s interests in form are architectural; concerning intersections of angles, shadows and planes, but with an important stroke of imperfection. “There has to be an element of tension,” she explains, “or we miss the humanity that makes a piece more alive.” It’s this particular human touch which guides her approach – a painstaking effort, as she details: “To make the handle on only one of my new collection’s cups, I spend 20 minutes per colour to hand-mix and prepare all the clay, and then the time it takes to hand-turn the cup on the wheel is another 15 minutes; then I glue the handle. Finally it’s fired for a first time, then glazed and, last step, fired again! All this with my hands. Enjoy, it’s not plastic!”
‘Le Rayon Vert’ is the name of Cécile’s newest collection, whose palette of bright and warm colours speak of summer and of Portugual’s beachy coastline — not just in vibe but in actual texture, where many pieces feature actual sand, collectedly Cécile and friends in the Azores Islands in summer and in winter, at Praia Grande in nearby Sintra.
Cécile’s work has become a staple on the tabletops of many of Lisbon’s new restaurants & bars, like chic new venues Prado and Attla, and at The Vintage Hotel’s leafy ‘V’ rooftop bar, via commission by Foster & Bloom. Cécile created organic tableware pieces in bespoke colourways for each space, with deep hues inserted directly into the clay and then revealed with transparent glaze on top. “It’s always a surprise” what the final results will be once removed from the kiln, Cécile tells me. Her use of strong colour pigments is elemental; inspired and grounded by the natural world.
Foster & Bloom also asked Cécile to create a few pieces for clients’ use in the The Vintage Spa – an opportunity for her to showcase these ceramics with sand-imbued textures. The tones of these ceramic pieces – cups & saucers – and their earthy, organic form perfectly compliment the spa environment at The Vintage and were customised with the guest’s experience in mind. A blend of herbal tea served to clients after spa treatments allow a reflective pause – time to note the state of deep relaxation that comes when we connect body, soul and mind.
You can find Cécile’s pieces for sale at her quirky new shop in Lisbon’s fashionable São Bento area. Home to a former goldsmith’s/clockmaker’s, Cécile jumped on the chance to renew the space with her art. She has beautifully retained or remade many of the shop’s original shelves & fittings. Where once perched jewellery and watches, Cécile’s work now shines.
An adjacent tiny room – previously the jeweller’s office – now hosts a tarot card reader / fortune-teller space (yes) called “Estrela3”, a brainwave by the ceramicist to make use of the shop’s unique layout and history. Find it at number 3, Calcada da Estrela, opposite Lisbon’s imposing parliament buildings at São Bento Palace. To allow Cécile time to create at her nearby atelier, Olho Ceramica, her shop is open weekday afternoons and Saturday 11-7.
Photos of ‘V’ Rooftop Bar by Luis Ferraz, The Vintage Spa by Carlos Luque, Cécile Mestelan shopfront by José Carlos Carvalho inVisão. All other images by Foster & Bloom.
Bomporto Hotels asked Foster & Bloom to apply its trademark local focus and attention to detail to The Vintage Hotel in Lisbon. This new acquisition by Bomportorequired a total refurbishment of all rooms, public & restaurant areas and spa; with a brief to allow guests to become part of something unique to their Lisbon location — ‘tapped in’ to the city’s cultural heart and soul.
This second collaboration between the hotel group and creative consultant Samantha Lawrie of Foster & Bloom aims to build on their first partnership in Lisbon, for sister hotel The Lumiares.
Foster & Bloom approached a Lisbon local; designer Daniela Francheschini of Quiet Studios, to design & create, curate and oversee construction of the hotel’s top-to-bottom refurbishment. The pair set out to redefine the term ‘vintage’ in a contemporary way.
As experts in sourcing furniture pieces from the mid-century, Quiet Studios offered the perfect solution to the task set by Foster & Bloom: to ensure each guest’s room would include a one-off, vintage piece. Every room at The Vintage now has its own unique showcase for local products – a signature mid-century bar cart, sourced by Quiet Studios,and each trolley showcases a trove of local products, both complimentary and for retail purchase.
Soul and authenticity is what Foster & Bloom sought to add to The Vintage Hotel experience. To that end, the hotel’s minibar offering was completely rethought. Star of the signaturebar cart is guests’ very own do-it-yourself complimentary gin & tonic kit, created by Portuguese cocktail expert, Nino Lopes. Nino crafted a simple bespoke recipe for Foster & Bloom and The Vintage – a gin & tonic with a Portuguese twist: dried fig, cinnamon and lemon combined with Sharish premium gin from Alentejo and Portuguese tonic water, Castello. The bar trolley has all the ingredients needed – even an ice bucket – for guests to create their own ‘Madmen’ moment in the comfort of their room, before heading up to the ‘V’ Rooftop Bar.
On the lower tray of this bar trolley cart, housed in a bespoke leather basket made for the hotel by Lisbon’s artisan leather makers, Project 226, guests will find a tray of local treats available for purchase, curated for The Vintage by Foster & Bloom.
The minibar basket includes: Porto-based cake and cookie connoisseurs, Casa Biscuit; handmade chocolates by Lisbon artisan chocolatiers by ClaudioCorallo & Co – whose bijou coffee & chocolate shop can be found just minutes down the road from The Vintage on Principe Real. Locals queue up first thing to sample Bettina Corallo and her sons’ aromatic coffee. This same company has now developed a bespoke coffee blend for restaurants and bars of The Lumiares (Lumi Rooftop) and The Vintage Hotels (Blue). To refresh the palate or simply a quirky Lisbon souvenir, a bag of Portugal’s iconic Dr.Baynard anise sweet mints is included in the retail tray. While the images on the vintage label suggest their origin as cough relievers, these anise and honey-flavoured drops have become a favourite sweet for many Portuguese.
The materials and contents of each room have been thoughtfully co-ordinated and curated, down to the last design details. Guest services books are bespoke designs by Emilio Braga, and even complimentary pencils have been customised for the hotel by Viarco; both family-owned traditional Portuguese makers, in a collaboration by Foster & Bloom for Bomporto. Room amenities are by iconic Portuguese soap & fragrance brand, Claus Porto
Attention to design detail and local craftsmanship at every turn makes for a truly engaging stay. Graphic artwork lining the walls of the hotel and its 56-rooms by Brian de Graft, Joao Rei, Margarita Fleming and others was sourced especially for The Vintage in a 3-way curatorial collaboration between Omey Projects, Quiet Studios & Foster & Bloom.
‘Lappalainen‘ are the makers of the large brass mobile greeting guests at the hotel’s entry; a piece sourced by Foster & Bloom and chosen to bring graceful movement to the space and introduce the clean, curved, modernist lines evident in the rest of the hotel’s design by Quiet Studios. The Alexander Calder-inspired mobile is fashioned from glittering brass and silver by German based designers Rivka Baake and Wilfrid Kreutz.
The lobby ‘hangout’s’ wood-clad fireplace makes the perfect perch for half-Swedish, half-Portuguese Lisboeta ceramicist Anna Westerlund’s pieces. A celebration of the beauty in imperfection, Anna’s work is prized in Portugal and around the world. Quiet Studios, in collaboration with Foster & Bloom, selected these smooth, elegant handcrafted vases by Westerlund to reflect the minimalist simplicity of the midcentury, refracted through the eyes of a local artist.
At the heart of The Vintage Spa is a stunning piece in painted glass, suspended above the waters of the ‘Tranquility Lounge’ by Branca Cuvier, a Lisbon artist whose work reveals a fascination with the body; in both its physical and conceptual forms. Cuvier’s companion drawings for the gym at the spa inspire guests to activate the body as well as the spirit. Foster & Bloom and Quiet Studios selected Cuvier for this commission to help Bomporto hotels realise an immersive, contemplative, sensual environment at The Vintage Spa.
Bespoke pieces by Lisbon ceramicist Cecile Mestelancan be found throughout the hotel – whose colourful palette provides an opportunity for Mestelan to showcase her collection of deep-hued tableware. The warm tones of her ceramic pieces – cups & saucers, teapot – and their sensory, earthy texture and shape perfectly compliment The Vintage Spa environment, where organic herbal tea served to clients after spa treatments allows a reflective moment, while sage green dishes and plates look right at home in the lush botanical haven of ‘V’ Rooftop Bar,
Foster & Bloom is also proud to have sourced special artworks for the hotel’s own restaurant, ‘Blue‘; where a large series of documentary photographs of pole & line fishermen on the Algarve coast from the 1950s connect the colours and materials of the restaurant to Portugal’s strong associations with sea and sky. This collection of prints was purchased by the hotel in collaboration with artist/photographer Vasco Celio and Omey Projects.
Developing a new marketing concept for The Vintage, briefing and overseeing the redesign of the hotel’s newwebsite and the creation of a pop-up retail ‘cabinet of curiosities‘ will round out Foster & Bloom‘s involvement in overseeing this exciting, year-long refurbishment design project for Bomporto Hotels group.
Foster & Bloom also asked Cécile to create a few pieces for clients’ use in the 
You can find Cécile’s pieces for sale at her quirky new 
