Cortiço & Netos: When a collection of leftover industrial tiles turns into a business

Cortiço & Netos sells unique and original industrial tiles from the 1960s henceforth, after most factories that produced them shut down.

All over Portugal, tiles decorate the city streets, covering buildings and public spaces with what is one of the most distinctive marks of Portuguese culture. These are walls that tell stories from remote times, that honor national heroes and highlight historical events. The ceramic tiles perpetuate the collective Portuguese memory.

However, most of the factories that produced these tiles have been shut down. Cortiço & Netos is a family business that sells discontinued lines of Portuguese industrial tiles from the 1960s henceforth.

Tiles for sale in cortiço & Netos // ANDREIA SIMÃO

When entering the space in Maria Andrade Street, one is greeted by a collection of unique and colorful tiles that covers the store’s walls. Tiago Cortiço, one of the owners, says it’s impossible to tell the business’s story without mentioning his grandfather, its original founder. “My grandfather for many years had a building materials store and collected all kinds of materials: from brick and cement to bathtubs and toilets. In the midst of all this, what he collected [that is more] incredible is this large sample of Portuguese industrial tiles”, Tiago explains, “Nowadays, they still exist on our walls, but there is nowhere to find this type of stock”.

Tiago Cortiço, one of the store’s owners // ANDREIA SIMÃO

From April to September, the store is filled with customers. “We have a lot of foreign people coming here, whether it’s just to take as a souvenir or [to make] small changes at home. We’ve also had crazy projects of tens of square meters for restaurant walls”. However, during the pandemic, the lack of tourists took a toll on the business.

Years after the store’s opening, now in the hands of the grandchildren (=Netos), it was founded an association focused on the preservation of these tiles: “We always keep a bit of each one, because we believe that one day there will be the interest to exhibit them”.

Written by Rita Silva

Reporters: Andreia Simão and Rita Silva