Rute & José
They fell in love with the beauty of what is genuine and Made in Portugal.

About Us
Established in 2012 by Rute Vieira and José Lima, both fashion designers, the brand was inspired by Rute's grandfather, who founded a tannery in 1959. Ideal & Co seeks to reinterpret, preserve and share the beauty of what is genuine and Made in Portugal.

Our collection of bags and backpacks is handcrafted in Portugal using the best vegetable-tanned leather and cotton canvas, bringing tradition and contemporaneity together in the design, construction and finish of each piece.

Ideal & Co 1959
A family story that began over 60 years ago and continues today.
Pictured are António Vieira, his wife and three children, including Rute's mother on the right.

Our Heritage
In 1935, at just 14 years old, António Vieira, Rute's grandfather, started buying and selling animal leather in the region where he was born.

Taking advantage of Alcanena's highest concentration of tanneries in the country, António travelled through the villages and towns of Serras de Aire e Candeeiros Natural Park by bicycle to collect the leathers that the animal breeders left on the farms.

With the business's success, he managed to buy a motorcycle and then a Citroën van to collect and deliver the raw material to tanneries, leaving behind the agricultural chores at his parents' farm, where he lived with his 11 siblings.

In 1959 he decided to open his tannery, Fábrica Curtumes Ideal, managing to do the entire leather cycle, from collection to tanning. This family history and connection to leather served as inspiration for creating Ideal & Co in 2012.

Timeless craftsmanship
Some things stay with you forever.

Collection
Backpacks
Messengers
Travel Goods
Tote Bags
Small Leather Goods

Sustainability & Materials
Less but better things
Ideal & Co pieces are made to last, age and evolve throughout life’s journeys.

Sustainability
From the beginning, Ideal & Co's purpose was to create a collection of bags and backpacks that would stand the test of time, pieces that people could pass from generation to generation.

As we believe everyone should have less but better things, we designed a collection with longevity in mind. Ideal & Co unites natural materials with simple yet refined details to create authentic and lasting products.

In addition to preserving endangered craft techniques, Ideal & Co's objective is to develop a unique relationship between consumption, production and the environment. By taking a sustainable view on consumption, in which our bags always have outstanding durability (and offering lifetime repair for damaged pieces), Ideal & Co promotes an attitude of respect for the environment and against waste.

Using workshops and small factories in Portugal, we achieved greater logistical and environmental efficiency, while also encouraging the local economy, an essential part of Ideal & Co's social conscience.

We believe that the future lies in consuming beautiful and durable pieces, produced locally without harming people and the environment, objects that we pride ourselves on owning and caring for because some things stay with you forever!

Vegetable-tanned Leather
Vegetable-tanned, full-grain leather constitutes the backbone of the Ideal & Co collection, a material that develops a rich patina over time

Materials
We handcraft our collection with the best Portuguese leathers dyed locally with vegetable tannins, obtained from tree bark. Chromium salts based chemicals are not used by the tannery in this process. Vegetable-tanned leathers develop a rich patina over time, conveying a distinct character and beauty to each piece.

Besides leather, we also use selvedge canvas to produce our bags and backpacks. Created exclusively for Ideal & Co by the last factory in the Iberian Peninsula that manufactures this material, our sturdy 100% cotton fabric is especially appealing for the texture, beauty, natural appearance, as well as the original vertical stripes.

We also use the best brass hardware, produced in Italy and finished in Portugal, and zippers made by Japanese manufacturer YKK.


Rua Barão do Corvo 271
4400-039 Vila Nova de Gaia
Porto
Portugal
+351 223 700 887
hello@idealandco.com

PME

Rua Barão do Corvo, nº 271

Santa Marinha

4400-039 VILA NOVA DE GAIA

223700887

www.ca-thect.com

geral@ca-thect.com