Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another SLT meetup, your host, Alvaro to bring you another exciting and successful guest today We're gonna have with us better from Seka He's the communications manager at one of these companies that have been redefining the way that you design and craft exclusive pieces the companies Boca do global they're basically Portugal and they've been designing some of the most extraordinary pieces that I've seen they have this unique craftsmanship And he's gonna tell us how they've been able to build a niche for themselves and place their pieces in some of the most exclusive hotels and homes I can speak a little Spanish and Portuguese Yeah, for Tanyao, for Tanyao, that's all exactly Well, you know, I'm from Madrid, so I'm not too far from Porto, where you guys are at, so You should take a bit of this sometimes when you get up Miami, you wanna come to Madrid I would love to see what you guys have going on in there because it's very spectacular, the pieces that you work with I mean just to summarize it is the art of design and crafting exclusive pieces For those that are not familiar with Boca do global, I recommend to check out their Instagram page, their website because your pieces are phenomenal And the story behind it, which is what makes it so special Exactly And we take a lot of consideration, not only the pieces itself and the design but as you said, and greatly the story behind it Because we don't want to be the kind of company that only sells the pieces, you know, we want to show a little bit more in the world of luxury That you know so well, so you know, that's what makes the difference, so yeah That's what really got me intrigued about your company, the pieces that you work with, and you being in the communication department just to look at the story behind what you guys are doing Because I was drawn into it, it kind of put me back into the ancient times where they were like crafting all these pieces by hand And you're doing that, but bringing it all into a contemporary art, so it's a very unique fusion And I was just wondering if you could share a little bit about the history of Boca do global So the brand was built in 2005, and it's from Porto, and actually the CEO is also from Porto, so everything is here and everything is around here What's so important about it is that we can keep that type of tradition that you spoke so well about Because people when we make some events and we also like to receive it, so if you had a chance one time and the people love to see, for example, Mr Fernando doing the work that he does so well but and they look and they know that he's been doing that He's so life and you might also think that, okay, but maybe a lot of people can do some of the work that we do here and they can they might But if you take a really close look at everything they do, how they do it, why they do it, and not only the story of the piece, but the story of the person that's doing it's behind it For example, we have some pieces with hand painted tiles, it's called Azul Asia, and we're familiar with the term and the Mr that he's been doing that, he's been doing that, he's a life in his own house, actually I had the chance to do that he's house when you made one of the pieces I can even show it to you, one of the pieces that we took to his house with hand painted tiles and he does everything by hand, he knows what he's doing sometimes, he's explaining even to me that I'm trying to sell that product, and sometimes I get lost on what he's doing because he does it with such passion And that's also what sells to that type of history and craftsmanship I love what you said there, better about passion, right? Because every piece represents so much passion that has been put into it, so much history, so much craftsmanship And when I look into some of the videos that you post as well, because you become very viral on social media, you have a big following across social media platforms And I think that at the end of the day, what people feel that they're getting when they connect with your brand is that passion of Fernando and the craft machine power into the pieces And I think that people at the end of the day, they're dragging into something like that, and also they in that mind from that, that they want a piece of that passion of that history into the living room, into their hallways, into their establishments So I see a lot of the pieces have made it into a lot of these incredible hotels and buildings all around the world, so I think that's the trajectory of how brands are differentiating themselves with the story Exactly, and for example, let me say one thing, you might have seen some news of the movie The Fittish of Great, that's when we started to get that little bump And I actually have the piece too, right by my side, it's just the skin from the inside board, so you might look at it and people when they come here, they see the pieces and they know they're the craft, they can feel it even through images And we sell a lot to every part of the world, so it's sometimes it's hard for people to see the pieces before they arrive, to see it in flesh, but when they come here, they see the pieces, they look at the details, even the professionals, the designers, the architects, they look at it and they say, okay, now I understand I would say that would be the hardest part of this job, is to show people the difference between what's the main streamline and design and what we do here, what how do we differentiate it? So let me ask you about the process, right? Because I mean, I see a lot of these companies that, you know, they also design a lot of these pieces, but they're not exclusive because it's a manufacturing, they do like thousands and thousands of pieces that are the same Now, are all the pieces that you do different, or you have different lines that it's similar products, or how does it work?
You might want to get the same product, but you can't, and why? For example, let's say we have one arm shared, it's called the imperfective, that's hammered. So how can I give to you, in a very simple way, how can I give to you, a self-renando, a self-renando, to hammer exactly the same place and in the same way that he did in the last one, he can't, he just can't, you know, and that's also a big part of what we show too, that sometimes the pieces might have, I wouldn't say flaws, you know, but they are not perfect, as everyone would like to see, because they're not manufacturing such a big way, as we usually see right now too, they're made hand by hand, they pass through a lot of different people that I've made, not the same piece, but similar pieces before, but it's never the same. Even the unpaid details, you can draw the same and precise movements that you do in one, and it's impossible.
Right, no, I love that. That's a sucivity right there. You want uniqueness, you want to have something that is one of a kind, and that's what really sells. Now, when you're going through this process, if I'm looking to get a piece, do I go through a process, like how is the process of getting these pieces out to the world, let's say I want to have one, you do select from a catalog and then you build on that, or you build a product and then I buy it.
It really depends on what you want, but for example, let's use the example to be more specific. If you want to enter in contact with us, you can do it via Instagram, for example, and we started speaking on Instagram, you can go directly to the website, but you'll always start speaking with a person, that's very important to us, and you want to be with you on the full process before during an after two. So you're always speaking with someone, not a machine, not enough automatic answer, you're always speaking with someone and that little part, it makes a big difference. So we want to know what do you want to do?
Okay, you might want a piece, but this is not a buy from impulse, it's different. So you want to know, okay, you want this piece, but how do you want it? What do you want to do with it? How do you want to fill when your friends, for example, let's say, arrive at your home and you want to show them the piece because I will show one of these pieces to my friends.
So what do you want with that? And then, because we have so much experience with this kind of product, we'll try to help you understand what's really good for you, we're just now looking to sell, you know, because this is such an exclusive piece, and if you're not treated properly, as you want to, and you deserve to, you won't be happy with the buy just made. So want to be with you during all the process. It makes sense.
When it comes to product placement, a lot of companies these days that they have a beautiful product, they want to place it in the right, in the right setup, right? And this is something that brings attention and credibility, authority, whatever the case might be. In your case, you were just giving an example about the 50 Shades of Grey and how you had your product in a lot of iconic setups. So how important has it for you product placement and how do you find the right place for you to put these products?
It really depends on the markets, for example, now we just opened two short ones this year, one in Marvaya, actually it's close to you. And one in Monaco to it is really recent. So we studied the markets, it's often what the market wants, because we don't just want to get in. We want to see first what people do really want and how can local fit in, in the bigger thing.
How can we be useful to that market? And also one of the markets we're growing up really fast and being great, it's close to the way you are. So we just look at that, the markets that are looking for us, what today wants, also the trends, we're also looking for new trends. For example, we have some new Marvel pieces because this year Marvel is just a trend, you know, it's kind of style too, but where does this, the Marvel Dutch?
And how can, for example, in Marvel what markets like so much, what markets is important in the sales in that way? Because we believe, for example, the US really likes those Marvel stuff. We have a great designer, Greg Natal, he really does great works with Marvel. So we have a piece for it, can we?
Yeah, we can. So how are we going to place it in the market? We have the showrooms, we can have resellers, ambassadors, all those types of things that keep the clients closer to us because we're just not only not losing the client, of course, we don't want that, but we want to keep it in a great relationship, you know, we want to keep a great relationship with the client because the best publicity I say is from mouth to mouth. Right.
I love that. You know, you end up building that referral network based on the quality of the relationships and the quality of the service that you're offering through your products. And one of the things that is interesting is that a lot of people, they say comfortable, they say local, you guys have had over 200 exhibitions, you have the showrooms all around the world, and you mentioned something about the partnerships and having those ambassadors because it's critical that you're working with different architects, different designers, different developers, people that at the other day are going to have to refer some sort of pieces to their fine and product, which is the building the house, the hotel, whatever it is. Right.
So I think that for those listening that are trying to get the product out there, it's important to build a brand the way that you've done it, have the story behind so it becomes more attractive. But what is it exactly at the end of the day that you guys are doing over and over to maintain those relationships because you can work with somebody, but then they will go to somebody else like, how do you repeat that over and over because I've seen some of the hotels, for example, work with you, and then they want to work with you in the next. So trust and that ongoing relationship, what's the key? So I will start with this.
If you hear it a lot of times, if you talk to talk, I've got to walk the walk. So our basis is on exclusivity, customization, all the pieces we make, working with, we know how to work with big clients, with professionals, as you say, like big hotels too. We don't have any problem working with anyone all around the world. For example, the country that's most far away from here, it's Australia, and they're opening a showroom in Sydney, which is too.
And we don't have a problem with that. And I believe the key word here is confidence, because you're talking in a very specific type of design, type of furniture. And it's not every day that you see a company that can bring you this confidence to continue doing work and placing the perspective of a professional interior design. If you see, you have a company that fits so well, that gives you a good promotion, let's say, and security through the pieces and how we work with that.
Would you like to switch from that? How can we as a company to keep helping you? We know you're a designer, we know you're better doing that job than we are, of course. How can we help you?
How can we give you something that others can't? That's what we do with the pieces too, because you might see the pieces you talked about to the end, the ones with the hand-baded tiles, the ones with the hammering. We can offer that and we know that no one else can. Okay, but now related to the second part of the business, as you spoke about, what can we do with that?
So that's what we do. Those type of, I believe the confidence is the key. I love that. Now, I'm curious to know, because you've done, as you mentioned, so many unique pieces that it's also just for the 1% like this 0.01%.
It's a very sophisticated elegant high-end product, so you have a niche market. And within that market, there is also a different level. So what's been the most expensive piece that you've ever made? Yes.
I would probably say it's one save and it's 100k. That's it. And it's a save. Around, yeah, it's around 100k.
It's a save. It opens to the sides. Nice. Very interesting.
We actually showcase it in the events, in the factories. We have one and we actually showcase it to everyone to show, like you see, this is the save to talk about. Are you guys coming to Miami for a battle? Or how are you here for?
Is that an invitation? Come on. Why not? Let's talk to you here.
It will be nice. We need that disruptiveness here in Miami. No, but all, you know, certainly, I think that you have done a great job telling the story. If those that have not followed you yet, please make sure you guys do because the pieces, the story, the way that is engaging, not just on Instagram, TikTok and all this other platform.
It's very cool to see how you guys are doing it. I'm a big fan of craftsmanship and to see the traditional origins of the ancient way of crafting and doing all this into the world. And all this into now the contemporary art. I mean, it's the evolution, right?
And I think that you've done that very well. So what's next for Boca de Lobo? That's a great question. So now I'll put this in two parts because we want to, we just want to be only the statement part because it's hard when we work with statement pieces and it might seem fun at first.
But let's say we want to put your house with, let's see one more pieces from Boca de Lobo. And it's a lot of egos working in the same place, you know. So how can we make it work? And that's what we work in.
That's the next step. In those million dollar multi-million dollar projects, how can we make Boca de Lobo working everywhere? We're working on that too. There's a lot of those properties here, Miami.
I will keep in touch with that for sure. And I believe the second part is we have some designs that we want to risk a little bit more, you know, because we have some great designers, we have a great team. Around the, along the years, we have made some great pieces and we want to explore that a lot more of those families. Let's say that we created, we believe we can do a lot more of that and explore some combinations too and stick the risk because that's what we do best.
Okay. That's where the big rewards come right? When you better yourself, better the product and have a little bit of risk. So the last question I would like to ask you better when I ask this to all our guests, what does luxury mean to you?
Okay, so to me, that's a great question. And I'm say, first at the beginning, I believe comfort is the first part, but for me and with what I learned from here, I believe the keyword here is time. Why? Because I always think and we see a lot of movies and we're in a big people and let's say you have money to buy everything in the world.
I say that. And money is now up on to you. So nothing's everything was worth the same, you know, because if you have money to buy everything, you don't need to worry about everything's worth the same. So what can you buy time and what to what do I offer?
I offer the time that's let's pick him up again, bring him back, visit for now, you buy the time that he puts into the work because we're not only talking about minutes, hours, days or even weeks in some cases of the pieces. And you feel that too, and that makes you feel great, I believe. You also buy the time that we just posed and we will, as we said before, and you asked me about it in a great way. What do you do in the second part of the business?
How do you get in touch with people? How do you treat them? We give you that time because it's precious to you and it's precious to us. That's what we do the best.
We give you the confidence and the structure to make a great project and bring these pieces to your projects, you know, if you're final buyer or professional. And I believe that's it. I love it. And you know what I see?
I see Fernando coming into one of our properties here in Miami and doing a specific craftsmanship live. Where everybody is like looking and that's how you know you actually create a legacy for just Fernando with the brand and everything else that goes behind it because I feel like what you said in here in a nutshell is the storyline behind the product and seeing it live or seeing the passion and the art and the history of whatever the artist is putting into these pieces is what's really taking it home for everybody that is acquiring these pieces. So hey invitation right there having here a completely unique experience of getting one of these pieces finalized and then we will put it in one of these homes. And that's it.
You know, and I think that people will definitely remember the experience and connect more with the product. That's it. Thank you so much. Thank you so much.
I appreciate the time. I also want to check out your manufacturing and what you guys have going on in Porto. So whenever I go back home in Madrid, maybe I'll do a quick pizza in Porto. I'm sure.
I'm very sure. All right. Well, thank you so much. And we'll stay in touch to make the next steps happen.
Thank you all for having me. Thanks everyone and see you. Bye bye. And thanks again for everybody tuning in today.
We hope you enjoyed it. And remember embrace it's beautiful success in life. My name is Alvaro and I'll see you next time.