Projects
Over the years, we have supported many clients and managed education, research, strategy and design projects in varied creative fields.
A common denominator across all of our projects, is our passion to create value through deep dedication to art, creativity, sustainability and responsible production.
ERC Scarlet
Barbot Bernardo and Ofício were contracted to lead the visual and communication strategy for ERC SCARLET, a European Research Council project led by Heritage Scientist Prof. Paula Nabais at the Departamento de Conservação e Restauro, NOVA FCT (Lisbon). SCARLET will reconstruct historical dyeing recipes, characterise them and make that knowledge accessible — integrating chemistry, history, and heritage science. Between 2026 and 2029, we'll be responsible for the project's visual identity, communication strategy, graphic and editorial design. Read more about this case in our Journal
From Soil to Story with The Lissome Magazine
"Reclaiming clothing culture, artistic craft and print publishing as sensual and sense-making practices, The Lissome offers a gentle space for reflection and dialogue." Following up on Dörte de Jesus last visit to Saber Fazer in 2024, the 2026 ECHN P2P was an initiative to explore joint opportunities. During one week, we explored Porto’s creative and editorial ecosystem and hosted the round table "From Soil to Story". Read more about this subject in our journal
Where does your food come from?
We brought our community together at Saber Fazer for one conversation around food politics, agro-ecology and education. This event was part of TY-CO, an initiative built around the ABR Festival community, with activities and events running year-round in Nicosia (Cyprus), Porto and Lisbon. TY-CO is funded by the Creative Europe Programme from the European Commission. Read more about this subject in our journal
The Heritex Toolbox
Visual identity, website and learning tools for a platform showcasing a living archive of 10.000 years of textile heritage. The Heritex Toolbox is a platform for entrepreneurs, researchers, and fibre enthusiasts, built as part of Heritex-Hub , a networked knowledge hub to empower the green transition in textiles and fashion by harnessing the wealth of data and insights provided by the study of Textile Heritage. This project is a part of the COST action IG19131. Read more about this case in our Journal
TransparencyChain - Tech and digital skills for the crafts sector.
The TransparencyChain Erasmus+ project, coordinated by Barbot Bernardo, aims to make blockchain-based provenance tracking accessible to craftspeople from different backgrounds. By developing a scalable platform and providing training, the project will enhance transparency in the craft sector, ensuring ethical sourcing and sustainable production. The project will also foster digital skills, helping craftspeople improve their market competitiveness through digital marketing strategies. Read more about this subject in our journal
ECHN P2P Programme with the Textile Prototyping Lab (GER).
This P2P was an initiative of our friends at the Textile Prototyping Lab from Germany, to explore joint opportunities, share experiences, and get to know each other's hubs and communities. During one week, we explored Porto’s textile ecosystem, with plenty of visits to factories and meetings with fellow creative hubs. On the last day, we hosted an event at Saber Fazer, where other hubs and community members had the opportunity to get to know each other and present their projects and organizations. Read more about the event in our Journal
CommunityCloth: building capacity for community educators towards sustainable urban transition
CommunityCloth is an Erasmus Plus project (2024) coordinated by Barbot Bernardo, having Alternative Brain Rules from Cyprus and Smuss Studio from Norway as partners. CommunityCloth created tools to promote new training models and provide knowledge for community creation around farm-to-cloth productions. It created a network of educators as a cost-effective way of scaling knowledge transfer. More about this project
LAUDS FACTORIES
Technical Assessment. LAUDS Factories aims at contributing to an open and sustainable European value-based production. 15 partners collaborate to set up local urban factories for scaling up digitally distributed and open innovations. The project will launch 2 open calls for 14+ projects awarding up to a total of 240.000 EURO, and organize exhibitions, events and workshops dedicated to the new paradigm of open and sustainable urban manufacturing in Europe.
Natural Dyeing School for the Revive Project
The Revive Project is part of the Europe Through Textiles: Network for an integrated and interdisciplinary Humanities (EuroWeb - Cost Action 19131), which vision is to re-write European history based on its massive production, trade, consumption and reuse of textiles and dress. During 4 days, Euroweb participants had the opportunity to learn with Alice Bernardo and Guida Fonseca about natural colourants, historical dyeing, dyeing techniques and mordanting, mordant dyes (weld, madder, cochineal & others), vat dyes and direct dyes (indigo, woad, orchil).
GatewayCrafts
GatewayCrafts is an Erasmus Plus which started in 2023 and his coordinated by Barbot Bernardo and has Cru Creative Hub (Por) and Matera Hub (ITA) as partners. The project consists of preparing pilots to facilitate access to technical knowledge in small-scale manufacturing and artisanal work. In addition, it will seek to develop and distribute high-quality educational content, oriented and adapted for contemporary audiences and digital media. The learning strategy combines more conventional elements of distance learning, such as those already found in Saber Fazer's online courses, with others developed and adapted for a social learning logic and more informal learning on social networks.Find out how we created GatewayCrafts’s identity.
Circular Art Marketplace
Strategic Plan and Business Model for a collaborative platform and marketplace for European artists and designers working with sustainable materials. The project was funded by the Creative Europe Programme
Shearing Training
We organised several shearing training events for public and private organisatios in Northern Portugal in the spring of 2023. Our target audience was shearers, producers, and other professionals interested in sheep production. The training was led by Martin O’Connel, a professional shearer from New Zealand and a member of the Saber Fazer team. He shares his technique and professional experience in this area. Susana O'Connel monitors and explains the shearing technique and principles that respect the animal and the fibre until the wool is removed.
Capacity Building for the Serralves Foundation
In 2023, we launched a training project for technicians from the Serralves Park education service to create new activities for different audiences, taking advantage of the Park's existing resources. We organised training sessions on wool processing, weaving and shearing to use wool from the Park's flock and integrate wool processing into the annual educational activities. Once again, we planted flax and organised a long-form linen course from seed to yarn.
Capacity Building for Parque Biológico de Gaia
In 2023, we launched a training project for technicians from the Gaia Biological Park education service to create new activities for different audiences, taking advantage of the Park's existing resources. We organised training sessions on wool processing to use wool from the Park's flock and integrate wool processing into the annual educational activities.
Shearing Demonstration
Over the past few years, we have been organising, for different entities, shearing demonstrations aimed at the end public. With wool's economic devaluation as a raw material, shearing practices have also been degraded. Therefore, it is urgent to raise awareness for shearing that guarantees animal welfare and safeguards the quality of the wool removed.
ROYALPACAS
Strategic planning for an alpaca producing company. This project aims to support Royalpacas in strategic planning to the creation of a business that begins in animal production and goes through the different stages of transformation of its wool.
Quinta das Carpas
Planning and technical advice for a tourism unit located in Guimarães, Portugal. In this project, we supported Quinta das Carpas in developing a concept to install an agroecological educational unit dedicated to producing natural textile fibres.
Porto Fashion and Fabric Museum
Research, creation of exhibition content, production of texts and technical and scientific advice for the installation of the Porto Fashion and Fabric Museum located at WOW - World of Wine, in Vila Nova de Gaia.
Consulting to a denim dyeing factory (Natural Dyeing with Indigo)
We supported a denim washing and dyeing company specializing in the research and development process of dyeing processes with Indigo without using chemicals. The client applied the research results to develop sustainable high-added value solutions.