Maker Monday: An aspire Exclusive Interview With Diogo Corte-Real

Portuguese-born designer Diogo Corte-Real, now based in New York City, blends old-world craftsmanship with a modern sensibility to create furniture and objects that strike a thoughtful balance between tradition and progress. His studio, DC-R Design, is driven by a deep respect for artisan techniques and a fascination with contemporary form. Diogo’s debut collection, Caravela, is available exclusively through Darling, a design studio known for its sharp eye in sourcing rare European vintage and collectible design. Through their collaboration, Darling and Diogo introduce a fresh voice to the collectible design world, uniting timeless storytelling with bold, emerging talent. Learn more about Diego in today’s Maker Monday.

The Caravela Collection channels Portugal’s age of exploration, reinterpreting the adventurous spirit of maritime history through sculptural, modern design.

Andrew Joseph: What inspired you to become a designer?
Diogo Corte-Real: Definitely my father — we moved around a lot growing up and he’d always be in charge of design. His desk has always been littered with a set of partially used notebooks each with little sketches and diagrams hiding within. Everywhere we’ve lived he’s balanced traditional heirlooms and modern pieces in a way that has always caught my eye and inspired my taste. In the end, what has inspired me is having a point of view and the will to express it.

AJ: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received as a designer?
DCR: Alexandra Champalimaud once told me not to apologize. Simply provide solutions, as problems are often the best opportunity for expression. Be confident in your approach and embrace quirks when they present themselves.

Named after the swift ships that once sailed into the unknown, each piece in the Caravela Collection captures the balance between movement and grounding.

AJ: What is your favorite place to find inspiration?
DCR: Well this is an impossible question. But I love drawing inspiration from other mediums — I often look to fine art for colors. So galleries, exhibitions, museums et al. And then my friends, of course. My business partner Thomas Chisholm inspires me every day.

AJ: If you weren’t a designer, what would you be and why?
DCR: Farming somewhere in the Portuguese countryside, there’s really nowhere I prefer to be.

Darling’s exclusive collaboration with Diogo Corte-Real reflects their shared passion for craftsmanship, storytelling and curating one-of-a-kind design pieces you won’t find anywhere else.

AJ: What is your favorite type of furniture to design?
DCR: Another impossible question! I like to design pieces that stand the test of time in both form and material and that carry a story while being contextually adaptable.

AJ: How do you balance functionality and aesthetics in your designs?
DCR: By being simple. Fundamentally my designs can be quite complex in terms of fabrication, but they aren’t noisy or loud. They are simple, subtle expressions of defined inspiration.

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