ABOUT CORDOA
Cordoa is a brand of small, handcrafted, perennial collections, that gives emphasis to quality and longevity. Fewer styles are produced, made by hand with great attention to detail and choice of materials. Cordoa values the classic and timeless, along with the experimental and the innovative.
Cordoa’s sandals are a result of a considered process, we believe in the necessity of playing with ideas, shapes, techniques, and materials. In this collection, we use vegetable tanned leather in the upper, and the soles are made in thick leather with insertions of natural rubber (crepe). The entire collection is manufactured in Portugal using high quality materials produced in Europe.
Our aim is to create beautiful, hardwearing objects and resist today’s urge to rapidly replace products.
Portrait
Sílvia Catarino is the designer and maker of Cordoa sandals. Sílvia has a background in arts, crafts, and design and launched her first brand of fashion accessories in 2001 when living in Milan.
Coming back to Portugal she opened her Shoe Design company and production agency, collaborating with French and Swedish fashion brands in the development of their collections.
After 10 years working with the shoe industry, Sílvia felt the need to delve deeper and take a break from the industry rhythm, learning how to make sandals by hand, questioning and adapting all the ideas and techniques from her areas of expertise to create a made to measure, artisanal labor of love.
For Sílvia, it’s vital to work at her own pace, being aligned with her true nature and values, so starting small and slowly was a natural choice. One that allows her to be able to reflect, organize and grow her brand organically, in a considered and holistic way, experiencing the process while experimenting with it.