Centro de Artesanato e Design dos Açores – CADA – wishes everyone a Happy and Prosperous New Year 2026. In retrospect, in this month in which we intend to begin a new cycle, it also serves to remind us of everything that has been done, to remember that Handicrafts are doing well and are highly recommended. It would be fair to say that we are going through a phase of renewal and challenge, in which we seek new means and new strategies to elevate and transmit the knowledge of what is ours, that is, Handicrafts, History, Ethnography and especially Know-How.

Something that greatly marked the year 2025 was the opening of the Azores Handicrafts online platform, in its various aspects, which greatly facilitated and streamlined the provision of services to our Artisanal Production Units – UPA’s/artisans. Throughout 2025, 68 new artisans have already registered through this platform.

The handicraft fairs held throughout the year during the various festivities of the islands of our Archipelago are an invaluable source and way to showcase artisanal production units, as well as to make their production profitable.

In the 10 editions of Expo Açores Artesanato, not forgetting FIA – International Craft Fair (Lisbon in June/July), more than 230 artisans took part: Sto. Cristo dos Milagres in May (São Miguel); Sanjoaninas in June (Terceira); Semana Cultural da Vela in July (São Jorge); Festas da Calheta in July (São Jorge); Festas da Praia da Vitória in August (Terceira); Semana do Mar in August (Faial); Sto. Cristo dos Milagres in August (Graciosa); Semana dos Baleeiros in August (Pico); Expo Açores Artesanato in November (São Miguel).

Another way to keep the public's attention focused on handicrafts was through bimonthly exhibitions at the Azores in a Box store and the various dynamics created between artisans and the public, with shows and small workshops, highlighting themes such as: "Wool - spinning, weaving, knitting", in the months of January and February; "Metals" which during the months of March and April showed the various ways of using and reusing metal; also in the month of April the ceramist Alexandra Seabra had a small exhibition of her works in parallel with the "Metals" exhibition; in the months of May and June Azores in a Box hosted the exhibition by Vasco Melo e Sousa "Art of working with synthetic materials"; during the months of July and August it was the turn of "Banana fiber" with @musaazores; In September and October, ceramics, more specifically the "RAKU Technique," was presented by ceramist Paulo Alves, and at the end of the year, the "Christmas Forms" exhibition took place in November and December. It is certain that 2026 will bring new displays of great talent from Azorean artisans.

The year 2025, as in previous years, was marked by a strong commitment to partnerships with other entities through various initiatives, such as workshops and exhibitions, to name just the main ones. CADA's collaboration with the Carlos Machado Museum on the exhibition and production of the catalog "Requinte e Delicadezas- A coleção privada de Maria Jovita de Medeiros Negalha" also resulted in a fish scale workshop. One of the largest and longest partnerships of 2025 was the one that took place from August to October between CADA and Arquipélago – Centro de Artes Contemporâneas with the exhibition "Produção artesanal portuguesa: a atualidade do saber-fazer ancestral". An initiative of the Directorate-General for the Arts, through “Saber Fazer Program” in collaboration with Centro de Artesanato e Design dos Açores, which resulted in a series of workshops and activities showing ways to transform ancestral arts into potential sources of income.

Within the scope of the Azores Craft Lab, in partnership with the Azores Qualification Center, several training courses were held in a very comprehensive format: in the area of wool, "From the preparation of textile fibers to weaving," which includes washing, cleaning, spinning, and weaving. This entire chain of knowledge culminated in an exhibition at the Azores in a Box Store: "Wool - spinning, weaving, knitting." In collaboration with RARA, a training course with a creative residency on wicker and flax was held in Ponta Delgada and included the participation of artisans Alcídio Andrade and Bento Silva, and designers Miguel Flor and Soraia Gomes Teixeira.

Throughout the Archipelago, many workshops were held as part of the Hora do Ofício program, namely:

in the island of Faial, during the month of April, - Fig tree kernel, led by artisan Helena Henriques; Embroidery Technique, in Graciosa with artisan Oldemira Livramento Aguiar; in Santa Maria, and led by Renato Costa e Silva and Kirsten Thomas, the workshop “From the clay of Santa Maria to the potter's wheel” was held; in São Jorge, and within the scope of the Biosphere Festival, a children's weaving workshop was also held. In July, with the artisan Isabel Silva Melo, another group had the opportunity to learn the art of working with fish scales. Also within the scope of Hora do Ofício in São Jorge, a Pottery Workshop was conducted by António Pedro and a Creative Sewing Workshop was held with the guidance of Maria da Luz Graças. In the island of Corvo, the artisan Fátima Freitas led a Fish Scale Workshop.

The attention and care given to the quality of handcrafted products is reflected in the number of artisans who have been receiving different quality standards, that is, we are talking about Certification.

In October 2025, another meeting of the Technical Monitoring Committee (C.A.T.) was held to evaluate the items of the 19 artisans who submitted a request to obtain authorization to use the Collective Trademark of the “Artesanato dos Açores” seal. This meeting resulted in 16 artisans being eligible to use the Collective Trademark of “Artesanato dos Açores” seal.

On December 5, 2025, in a ceremony that took place in the lower choir of Palácio da Conceição in Ponta Delgada, the first 10 artisans received the European Geographical Indication Certification (IG) seal in Registros do Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres.