De La Espada is a specialized firm in wood furniture.
De La Espada is an industrial design firm specializing in solid wood. Their factory, located in northern Portugal, combines industry with small-scale production, advanced technology with craftsmanship. They focus on creating key furniture pieces for the home: places to eat, relax, sleep, and work.
Their products can be found within the collections: chairs, benches, tables, sofas, beds, and home accessories.
They work closely with a small number of designers, forming significant and lasting partnerships. These collaborations combine leading design with the highest caliber European craftsmanship. De La Espada’s products are imbued with warmth and meaning brought by the hands that craft them.
De La Espada was founded in 1993 by Luis De Oliveira and Fátima De La Espada. Hailing from Porto and Madrid, respectively, and educated in London, the founders opened the first De La Espada store in the English capital in 1996 when there were relatively few contemporary furniture options in the city. La Espada’s aesthetic began to evolve from influences including the Arts and Crafts movement, architects such as Tadao Ando, Luis Barragán, John Pawson, and Álvaro Siza, and 1950s Scandinavian design. De La Espada operated as a designer, manufacturer, and retailer of its own products until 2007 when they began entering the business’s second phase.
Since 2007, De La Espada has partnered with select leading designers, creating fully developed product lines that remain true to each one’s creative vision. These close partnerships leverage the strengths of both partners to produce tactile, enduring products with emotional appeal. Partners include the Istanbul-based design studio Autoban; British designers Matthew Hilton and Studioilse; Shanghai-based design studio Neri & Hu; American designer Jason Miller; and the Italo-Swedish design studio Nichetto.
Gunni & Trentino is an official distributor of De La Espada.
