Image by Image by Sanda Vuckovic Pagaimo

Hello!

Today is day 3 in the Countdown to Portugal 2016! For those of you just joining today:

Registration for my Portugal culinary retreat opens on Monday, June 27 at 10am PST

To celebrate, and to share my love of Portugal with the world, I’m posting to the blog all week about this hidden gem and why you need to mark your calendars and join me for 7 days of sun, wine, seafood and stunning views this October!

Here’s a link to Day 1 and Day 2, in case you missed those posts.

Today, I want you to meet some of my favorite Portuguese bloggers and makers:

I have to start with my friend Sanda, to whom I owe a huge debt of gratitude. Sanda is the creative force behind Little Upside Down Cake. She’s also a big part of the reason I fell in love with photography and with Portugal. After attending a food photography and styling workshop she organized a few years ago with Beth from Local Milk, I decided that a) photography was definitely for me and b) I had to find a way to come back to Portugal on a regular basis and share this amazing country with all of you! My Portugal culinary retreats are the direct result of meeting this talented lady.

Sanda’s generous spirit extends beyond sharing her culinary and photography skills; she’s also the person who introduced me to many of the places I love in Lisbon and all the other people on this page! She continues to be a huge inspiration and you should most definitely check out her work if you don’t know it already.

Next is my friend, Filipe. I met Filipe when he and his lovely wife Ana cooked a Portuguese feast for Sanda’s workshop. From the chorizo and preserved lemon bites to the herb-scented steamed clams to the creamy, savory octopus rice--I was hooked! Filipe is a fantastic cook. He also happens to be a talented writer and photographer. Dispatches from his blog and stunning instagram feed keep me inspired to create in the kitchen and dreaming of my next trip to Portugal!

I really wish my friend, Nathalie, lived closer to me. (Or maybe the other way around?) Her warm spirit, easy laugh and laid-back demeanor make her they type of friend I’m always thrilled to see. The fact that this French transplant graciously agrees to act as tour guide around her neighborhood in enchanting Cascais when I visit, makes her the very best kind of friend. Her blog, devoted to her explorations in Portugal and beyond, always reminds me to slow down and appreciate the beauty in front of me. Just the thing for a little Portugal daydreaming.

I met Chelsea, the voice behind Frolic! at a dinner at Sanda’s house the last time I was in Portugal and immediately fell in love with her flower-filled blog. And the many Portugal snaps she posts to Instagram allow me pretend I’m walking the sunny streets of Lisbon every day. Check out her feed for a dose of daily life in Portugal’s capital city.

I Insta-stalked Margarida and her subtle, organic ceramics long before we ever met in person. I’d seen her pieces in some of my favorite bloggers’ images and started following her in hopes of meeting this talented artist and adding some of her elegant pieces to my collection. When I did finally track down her light-filled studio on the edge of Lisbon, it was a joy to meet Margarida in person and watch her at work. My collection of Margarida Fabrica Ceramics grows every time I visit Lisbon and I can’t wait to check out her new studio in the fall!

In addition to being an incredibly talented jewelry maker, Ines is also a lovely human being. She has one of those luminous smiles that light up a room. Her warm spirit, attention to fine detail and love of her craft shine through in her work. Much of Ines’ jewelry is inspired by forms found in nature and each piece is made by hand in her Lisbon studio. Watching Ines shape a lifeless piece of metal into a graceful earring or necklace feels like a small feat of magic.

I hope you find as much inspiration in the photography, writing, cooking and handcraft of these creative spirits as I do! Those of you who join me in Portugal this October will get to meet some of these talented people, learn more about what they do and experience a slice of their Portugal first-hand.

See you tomorrow for a post on why Portuguese food was a revelation for me!

xo,

Olaiya

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