Euphoric Life on the Road – Part 1 – Roadtrip to Portugal
Euphoric Life on the Road has begun! O. M. G. We made it to Portugal! Days before the UK announce the second lockdown of the year, I packed up our Dorset studio and brought the machines and fabrics along with me to Portugal in my mini Romahome that will be home for the next month (.. or year?) Happy Days! Business is open as usual!
With Summer ending in the UK and the boarders still closed down under, I decided it was time to take my studio on the road to the nearest sunshine and surf locations in Europe. Portugal had been on my bucket list for years, and I heard it was pretty much “covid free”, so I bit the bullet and booked onto the very last ferry crossing from Plymouth to Santander.
From Plymouth to Santander, Gijón to North Spain beach hopping, we arrived in Portugal in under two days. 1,300 miles away from HQ!
Meet Laura No.2, my best friend I met in Sydney seven years ago is road tripping with me; our PA/Studio Manager/No.1 Cook whilst Euphoric Threads in on the road! The Romahome is a colourful mess of Mexican Tropical madness that we upholstered the with Euphoric Threads colourful textiles and fabric remnants.
For those wondering about the euphoric van – I sold my Toyota Aygo car and bought a very old 2001 C15 Citreon Romahome. This has honestly been my dream for years, and I spent lockdown and Summer researching and dreaming about pimped up panel vans and mini campers, then finally stumbled upon this style of mini motorhomes. I LOVE the Romahome! After working non stop in a static caravan this UK Summer, I knew I would be capable of downsizing and creating my mobile studio dream. The C15 Romahomes have a cosy cute lounge area that turns into a double bed and the kitchenette fits perfectly at the rear of the vehicle with standing space to cook once the roof pops up. YES.. the roof pops up!
Rolling in our Roamie: the C15 Citreon Romahome!
Litter Picking and Beach Hopping our way around Spain and Portugal .. (One great thing about travelling in a van during a pandemic is the beaches are all deserted!)
Euphoric Life on the road. Hitting the West Coast of Portugal and surfing in Ericeira.
Rumour had it GIANT swell was coming our way to Portugal so we wanted to cruise down to Nazaré (home of the giant waves) to catch the famous forecast. So after checking out a few Spanish beaches we kept driving South and spent a night near the colourful city of Porto. LOVE all the vibrant tiles and patterns here in Portugal. Major print-spirations!!
Next stop Nazaré – a coastal town in Portugal world-famous for its giant waves that hit its coast every Winter. Lucky me timed it just in time to catch the swell of the century. Thanks to a massive North Atlantic swell caused by Hurricane Epsilon, XXL waves were forecasted the day we arrived in Portugal so we drove down and camped out near the beach to watch the big wave surfers and mad swell. It was INSANE!
(Full write up about our trip to Nazaré coming next week!)
HOW ARE YOU MAKING OUR ORDERS I HEAR YOU SAY??
From lockdown 1.0 in Dorset to lockdown 2.0 in Portugal we are fully committed to making your orders no matter what situation or location we find ourselves in! Our final destination was Lagos but we met good friends along the way and have found ourselves in a sweet Airbnb set up in a lovely coastal surf town called Ericeira.
Improvising with fabric weights.. and cutting out your orders in Ericeira.
The van has electricity mains and a cute table set up in the lounge, so the plan was to pitch up at campsites once a week and fulfil orders. However the new Airbnb set up we have settled into is IDEAL! We have a long pattern cutting table and plenty of space to sew. 70% of Portugal has technically gone into local lockdowns but we are luckily allowed to travel around Ericeira (thanks to our GB sticker!) and YAY, still allowed to surf!
Airbnb views, with the dreamiest of pattern cutting tables.
Euphoric Threads – Lockdown Studio in Dorset – The CRAZY Caravan Euphoric Den.
We can’t wait to fully show you around and share videos and footage of your orders in the making and BTS of our mobile studio!!
STAY TUNED, and FOLLOW our Adventures on our Euphoric Threads Instagram HERE !
It’s currently raining here in Ericeira, and the fire is LIT! Time for a cosy sewing day. Hope everyone is keeping safe and healthy, keep positive, keep euphoric!!
PS: We have just had a FRESH NEW delivery of our fluorescent DISCO MELONS print in our NEW TECHNO Stretch fabric made from 100% RECYCLED Plastic Bottles!! So if you need some eco-friendly fitness apparel or lycra loungewear to get you through lockdown 2.0 – we are here for you! Leggings with workout pockets, Sportsbras, Masks, you name it we can make it!
Lots of Love, Laura xx
