Saturday was a lazy, overcast day spent mostly with the Finotti family. Leonardo, Michelle, Gu, Mariana and I went for breakfast at Galeria dos Pães, a 24-hour, busy bakery, café and restaurant in Jardins. I then walked with Michelle along Rua Óscar Freire, the shopping street of choice for the well-to-do Paulistanos. Michelle had worked in the studio that redesigned the street a few years ago, and told me how they buried electrical cables and tried to format things like manholes and sidewalk heights and widths. Flagship stores for Brazilian brands such as Richards, Forum, Melissa and Havaianas share the street and with other international big fashion names. (more…)

After meeting the Campanas at MAM we had a walk around the Ibirapuera Complex, went inside the Oca and Auditorium buildings and then got a cab to Unique, the fancy hotel designed by Ruy Ohtake. Paul stayed to talk to Ohtake, but I got picked up by Leo and we went back to Jardins. I needed to change my flight to Porto Alegre and Curitiba (yes) and get a Brazilian cellphone SIM card (no).

After walking down Óscar Freire street and catching the bus to Itaim Bibi (talk about three different São Paulos), I only managed to meet Rodrigo Almeida at his place well after 6h30pm. Rodrigo walked and talked me through some of his furniture work found in his living room, and then we sat down in two of his chairs and talked. For a really long time. I’m looking forward to seeing him again in Lisbon next month. Marca as passagens Rodrigo!

After a few days of Brazilian hardcore industrial design, it was great to switch gears and meet another kind of designer. First, a guided visit by Fernando and Humberto Campana to the show they curated, “Jardim de Infância” (Kindergarten) a selection of artworks from MAM‘s, (the Modern Art Museum of São Paulo) collection. Humberto left for a dentist appointment, but after we visited the Burle-Marx retrospective I later had lunch at the museum’s great restaurant with some of MAM’s staff and also Paul Makovsky and Roberto Cocenza, who kindly arranged for our meet-up. Valeu Beto!