The name Viarco might not catch everyone’s eye, but the truth is that this factory has a long history dating back to 1907, when it was known as Portugália and located in Vila do Conde. In 1936, the new owner, Manoel Vieira Araújo, changed the name to Viarco. This new name comes from the combination of the first two letters of the name of the original hat factory, Vieira Araújo e Companhia. In 1941, the factory was relocated to São João da Madeira, where it remains located to this day.

If we mention multiplication table pencils, this will likely evoke memories for some. These pencils, which were very useful for primary school students, were sometimes banned by teachers during exams.

The history of this factory is now told by a family member of the founder: his great-grandson, who leads the only pencil factory in Portugal. The factory has weathered a city relocation, faced a dictatorship, and survived an economic crisis that nearly forced it to close. However, the determination to keep the project going was immense. With ingenuity, the great-grandson resolved several problems from the crisis that had already impacted the factory and many other Portuguese businesses.

They discovered virtues in the old machines, which had been in the factory since 1941, and this marked the beginning of the production of new products for the Fine Arts. Although they industrially make these products, they require meticulous care and manual work in the final stage of the process. This process would be unfeasible in a factory equipped with cutting-edge technology, where the focus would be solely on large-scale production using automated equipment.

At Viarco, meetings among friends, artists, designers, and other personalities connected to the arts are common. From these gatherings, they generate new product ideas and identify needs in the visual arts. According to José Miguel Araújo, the current owner of Viarco, the support and creativity of friends and clients are crucial for the factory’s development. It was during one of these meetings, organised by the founder’s great-grandson, that painter José Emídio recalled an experience from the 1990s with António José Vieira Araújo. During that time, they developed a mouldable graphite paste that could be mixed with water, addressing the need for suitable materials for large-scale work.

Over time, ideas around watercolour graphite have matured, and today, the Art Graf range includes 16 products, all aimed at the visual arts. Among them, the Soft Carbon pencils serve the same purpose as the mouldable paste but in the traditional pencil form, which makes it easier to create more precise lines.

Some partnerships make perfect sense, and the collaboration between ColorAdd, by designer Miguel Neiva, and Viarco is a prime example. In 2010, they launched the first inclusive pencil box for colour-blind individuals. ColorAdd is a project that allows colour-blind people to identify colours through intuitive symbols created from primary colours and combined so everyone can recognise a colour palette. This resulted in a partnership that is 100% Portuguese.

Talking about Viarco without mentioning Portugal’s history over the past 117 years seems almost impossible. The past is deeply intertwined with the present and future of Viarco, and all these periods remain significant.

For this reason, the factory also hosts a museum space where genuine treasures can be discovered: customised pencils featuring various Portuguese brands, ranging from wine and appliance brands to hotels, bakeries, and even Coca-Cola, an international brand. Viarco also featured in one of the largest exhibitions promoting Portugal’s history and culture—the 1940 Exhibition of the Portuguese World, organised by the Estado Novo.

Viarco pencils are available in various locations worldwide, including the MoMA in New York, Serralves, and soon, the MoMA in Tokyo. For some time, the brand has been closely aligned with the arts, collaborating with designers, architects, illustrators, cultural associations, and all those who appreciate art. A good example is the arts residencies, where the company provides space and supplies materials. In this context, there is a true symbiosis between Ricardo Pistola and Viarco: the visual artist resides in Viarco’s studios, experiments with the materials provided, and shares his feedback, thus contributing to the ongoing development of the products.

This artist participated in the Viarco Express in 2009, an initiative inspired by the surrealist style of the Cadavre Exquis, but with the unique twist of a pencil passing from hand to hand, taking on new life as it marked paper, clay pots, and wrote love letters. A hundred drawings were created by various artists, including Álvaro Siza Vieira, Paula Rego, Joana Vasconcelos, and Julião Sarmento. These works were exhibited at the Museum of the Presidency of the Republic. As Julião Sarmento observed, “The work of artists is very solitary.” In the Viarco Express, that solitude wasn’t changed, but there was a passing of the baton through the pencil. This object, present in so many professions, was used over three years in various contexts, and the results were compiled in the book Um Século, Dez Lápis, Cem Desenhos – Viarco Express.

This Portuguese factory not only preserves the history of Portugal but also helps many to create their own stories. Viarco is a versatile and creative brand that believes cooperation is essential to collective success.

Unleash your imagination with Viarco products, available at Mar d’Estórias.