MALGA was founded in 2015 in Lisbon, but has always had its roots firmly in the Alentejo. Its origins and inspiration come from the customs, ways of making and using ceramic pieces.
The studio produces unique and functional pieces, always handmade and in small quantities.
I believe that essential pieces were once created by someone and it makes perfect sense to give them a new life.
With longevity and quality in mind, the material chosen to produce the pieces is stoneware.
Handmade mainly on the potter's wheel and fired at high temperatures, this material is perfect for everyday items.
About Tanks
The laundry tanks were, for decades, central elements of domestic and community life, especially in rural areas. Found in house courtyards or public washhouses and often built near springs or wells, they were essencial.
Beyond their practical function, washhouses were also places of gathering and exchange among women, where stories, knowledge, and local news were shared. Over time, with the arrival of washing machines, tanks fell into disuse, but they remain symbols of a way of life deeply connected to the land, manual labor, and community living.
Esta exposição aconteceu durante a 3ª edição da Lisbon Design Week e reúne uma série de tanques em cerâmica e os panos de algodão usados no seu processo de construção.
Mais do que ferramentas de trabalho, estes panos tornaram-se testemunhos silenciosos do gesto - guardam as marcas dos cortes, o peso do barro, o movimento das mãos.
A exposição propõe um olhar sobre o que fica: os vestígios do fazer, a memória do corpo, e a água como elemento transversal - presente no processo cerâmico, nos tanques de outrora e na fluidez do tempo. Aqui, o que era suporte ganha voz, revelando a poética da forma em construção.
uma relação entre matéria, memória e gesto.
About Cochos collection
co.char.ro
concave cork container, similar to a spoon
large, used for drinking water from springs.
The Cochos collection was born from the desire to bring back
to our daily lives pieces that have great cultural value.
The cork cocharros, collected and made by skilled hands of field workers, were used as a shell to drink water from the springs. More recently these pieces have become symbols
from other times, used now as decoration, memories.
There were two Cochos collections, an initial one in 2016 and another in 2021. The first was produced in earthenware and with some color, the second was simpler and only in white, in which the chosen material was stoneware.
This collection is currently out of production, with only a few copies available in the online store. But you can see them in several restaurants across the country, such as the award-winning Desarma in Madeira or the Marlene, restaurant, owned by the renowned Marlene Vieira.
The first restaurant to have these pieces was Taberna d'Vila, in Grândola, which still has a complete collection of the Cochos family in use.
