DAM presents VARINA: the coffee table mop to the head

“My flip-flops in Lisbon On every corner is the sea that proclaims itself” (by Ary dos Santos)

It’s time for festivals, sardines and going to the beach. To celebrate this, DAM presents a new coffee table – the VARINA. This table is the woman described by Ary dos Santos and sung by Carlos do Carmo. A woman in flip-flops, touting sardines, and with her mother-in-law ready, she packs the canasta. Such were the varinas at the beginning of the 20th century. Simple and hardworking people, who left the lands of Var – today known as Ovar -, and arrived by train to the riverside of Porto or to the neighborhoods of Lisbon to sell fish.

The wheel (or “mother-in-law”) featured on the VARINA table supports the cork top – a natural and recyclable material -, and represents the artifact that facilitates carrying the canasta on the head. Handmade with felt waste from the Portuguese headgear industry, the wheel is a small circular pillow made of twisted fabric with ribbons intertwined in a pattern. The side table comes in two sizes and in different color options. The VARINA table is thus the portrait of a past cultural and iconographic imagery, which with its grace and beauty will enchant any space.

VARINA table

Description: The VARINA table represents the varinas from the lands of Var, now known as Ovar, who left for Porto and Lisbon with a basket on their heads, sitting on a wheel, to sell fish. With cork as the base material, the table has a wheel that supports the top and represents the artifact that facilitates the transport of the basket on the head. The wheel is a small circular cushion made with hand-woven felt waste.
Materials: Cork (natural and recyclable) and felt waste from the Portuguese headgear industry.
Finishes: Colorless aqueous coating on cork, with properties of water and dust repellency, and resistance to UV rays and ageing.
Dimensions: Low Ø30xH39; High Ø30xH50 cm.
Designers: Hugo Silva and Joana Santos.
Made in: Portugal.