About Papo d’Anjo

About the Founder | Letter from the Founder | About the Collection | What is a Papo d'Anjo

In Lisbon, where back alley workshops are still filled with artisans busy at their sewing machines, Papo d’Anjo continues to make children’s clothing the old fashioned way. The time-consuming nature of producing our designs, where special attention is given to every detail, ensures that our end product is one of unparalleled quality and workmanship.

It all began fourteen years ago when Catherine Monteiro de Barros was living in Lisbon with her Portuguese husband and their two small daughters. Catherine realized that American mothers who wanted beautiful, European-style clothing for their children had almost no options. She decided to design a line of innovative classics that could be handed down from one generation to the next.

Catherine’s incredible taste and talent for selecting fabrics has made Papo d’Anjo a favorite among discerning mothers. What began primarily as a Trunk Show business is now a much larger enterprise with a store in Lisbon, in-store boutiques in European and department stores, a catalog and website. Papo d’Anjo clothes are also available at select children’s boutiques and specialty stores across the world.

With this continued growth, Papo d'Anjo remains dedicated to maintaining the same level of excellence and attention to detail. We prize quality workmanship, fresh design and the kind of remarkable customer service that is increasingly rare in todays marketplace.

Papo d'Anjo's headquarters are located in the heart of Lisbon, Portugal in the historic district known as the Chiado. All design and production planning takes place there, on the top floor of an 18th century building overlooking the Tagus river and six of Lisbon's storied hills.

About the Founder

Catherine Monteiro de Barros is a mother of four. The daughter of an American father and a Norwegian mother, she grew up in Wisconsin and graduated from Georgetown University. After receiving an MA in International Relations at Johns Hopkins University, she worked as Associate Producer of World Report at CNN until she married and moved to Portugal in 1991. Catherine founded Papo d’Anjo in 1995 (see About Papo d’Anjo) and remained in Portugal until March of 2002 when she and her family moved to Gloucestershire, England. Today Catherine travels between England and Portugal monthly to oversee all aspects of the business. While she is the company's sole designer and chief decision maker, she relies upon very dedicated, talented and loyal employees in Portugal and the United States without whom Papo d’Anjo would not be what it is today.

Letter from the founder about the Spring/Summer 2010 Collection

Perhaps it’s because I grew up in a region known for its harsh winters that I have always loved those early Spring days when the earth is waking up from its chilly nap.

For children, the return of warmer weather means more time exploring outside and the delightful feeling of air and sun on their skin. That sense of playful freedom was my inspiration for this collection.

Happy Spring to you and yours,

Sincerely,


Catherine Monteiro de Barros

About the Product

We manufacture the vast majority of our clothing in Portugal, where our team carefully supervises each item's development from start to finish. We have decided to limit non-Portuguese production to only those items that we can reliably count on to meet our standards. Our collection is principally made of 100% cotton from the finest mills in France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and England.

Papo d’Anjo appeals to mothers who appreciate our dedication to quality, classic European style, exquisite details and low-profile elegance.

If you have any questions please contact customer service at:
US Toll Free Number - 888-660-6111
Europe Toll Free Number - 00800-6606-1111
Rest of Europe: Lisbon Office Number - + 351 21 324 6309
customerservice@papodanjo.com
or click on Common Questions to learn more.

What is a Papo d’Anjo

Papo d’Anjo’s literal translation is “tummy of an angel”, the name given to a very special pastry whose recipe dates back to the 13th century.

In Portugal, Papos-de-Anjos are known as Doces Conventuais, or “sweets from the convent”. Over the centuries, to save their convents from ruin, Catholic Nuns took to the kitchens and busied themselves by making sweets and selling them. Today these delicious little cakes can be found in pastry shops throughout the country.