Creative Economy Entrepreneurs by Alice Loy

Author:Alice Loy [Loy, Alice; Aageson, Tom]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-692-11880-1
Publisher: Global Center for Cultural Entrepreneurship DBA Creative Startups
Published: 2018-03-20T16:00:00+00:00

Milhões was born in the mountains of Portugal and grew up with a passion for illustration that swept all her senses. In an interview with Noticias Magazine, she recalls the smell of the Swiss crayon cans her cousin would bring to town.50 She knew early on that she would write and draw, but she had no idea that these pastimes would lead her to become a local leader.

Milhões graduated from the Polytechnic Institute of Tomar with a degree in Graphic Arts, and she published her first children’s book with her husband Pedro Maia. O Bichinho do Conto (Portuguese for “the bug’s tale”) was born as a publishing company and bookstore in Lisbon, but in 2007 Milhões and Maia began scouting for a rural town where the project could evolve. For Milhões and her husband, entrepreneurial growth meant leaving the city. “We were looking for an abandoned place on the top of a hill with a big tree and a sea-view,” Milhões told INTELI.51 A defunct primary school in Óbidos turned out to be the perfect spot. Taking her sensory journey from the smell of crayons to the smell of ocean and cherry liqueur, Milhões found a new home that resonated with her childhood dreams.

To land her “bug’s tale” on its new hilltop, Milhões dedicated herself as much to the town’s success as her own. “We have to respect the people who live here,” she told Público. “We do not want change, but integration.”52 She conceived of the bookstore as “a place of meeting and sharing … designed to welcome readers in the daily life of creation.”53 At O Bichinho do Conto, Milhões does more than sell and publish books: the space also hosts exhibitions, workshops for local educators and animators, and consultant services for distribution and graphic design. As Milhões told INTELI, O Bichinho do Conto merges the global and local, with both community development initiatives and “partners and clients all over the world.”54 And Milhões was determined to bring the world back to Óbidos. She spearheaded Óbidos as a host for Fólio, one of the largest book festivals in Europe, and in 2010 Público reported that Milhões was instrumental in convincing influential Lisbon booksellers Ler Devagar to convert Óbidos’ 13th century Church of Santiago into a beautiful new literary center.55

The success of the Church of Santiago conversion prompted Ler Devagar to develop a citywide project with Óbidos, whose mayor, Telmo Faria, entered office in 2001 with a specific focus on the creative economy. Today, Óbidos houses a dozen bookstores, libraries, and creative workshops in unique locales: old vegetable markets, wine cellars, and even the main bus stop. Everywhere in Óbidos, visitors can experience the fusion of rural history and the creative present. In 2015, Óbidos became a UNESCO City of Literature, 1 of only 20 cities in the world to earn the honor and one of the smallest cities on the list.56 Although Óbidos had long been a Portuguese treasure, now international tastemaskers—from Condé Nast Traveler to the New York Times—write glowing profiles.

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