Our Story — Born into Slow
by azulomo | 6 min read
A Life Reimagined
Our Story of Turning a Life into a Lifestyle — and a Brand with Heart
We weren’t always slow.
In fact, for a long time, we lived life at full speed — eyes on the clock, fingers on the keyboard, always somewhere between a deadline and a KPI. Our calendars were packed, our minds always on the next big thing. There was excitement, yes — progress, momentum, plenty of wins. But in the background, there was also a quiet hum of exhaustion that never quite switched off.
One of us grew up beneath the wide, open skies of South Africa; the other in a structured, efficient corner of Germany. Different beginnings, same velocity. Over the years, we each found ourselves pulled into the pulse of the UK — a place we both called home for decades. Somehow, we found each other in the blur. In the gaps between meetings and moves, projects and plans, ex-wives and an ex-fiancé. Between cities, countries, and conversations — and perhaps even between versions of who we were trying to be. Two people living fast lives, running parallel, finally meeting at the crossroads.
We were both achieving, building, creating — and from the outside, it all looked great. A beautiful version of busy. But beneath it all, something was missing. The feeling of home. Not as a place, but as a pace. A kind of inner stillness we hadn’t realised we were craving.
And then, without warning, came the year everything stopped.
It took the world stopping for us to start listening. What began as healing became a philosophy — and eventually, azulomo.
Our Story — Born Into Slow
Some ideas arrive quietly — not with a grand plan, but with a feeling — azulomo was one of those.
The idea was first whispered one windswept evening in a beach house in North Cornwall. The fire was crackling, the tide rising, and the conversation turned to dreams — the big, life-shaping kind. What if we could bring together everything we loved — soulful design, storytelling, thoughtful hospitality — and shape it into something meaningful? What if a space could do more than just look beautiful… what if it could feel like home, instantly?
That night planted a quiet seed. Not a business idea in the traditional sense — more a longing. For something calm, rooted, and quietly powerful. A feeling we wanted to live in, and eventually share. But, like all good things, it needed time.
And then came 2020 — the year that unravelled and rewrote us.
Like so many others, Covid pressed pause on the world. But for us, it went deeper. That same year, a life-altering cancer diagnosis brought everything to a standstill. It shook us to our core — physically, emotionally, spiritually. The lives we’d built, the pace we’d been keeping, the goals we thought mattered — all of it fell away.
In its place came stillness. Healing. A chance to ask bigger questions. What does home really mean? Not as a place, but as a feeling. A rhythm. A sanctuary.
We used that quiet chapter to completely refocus — not on what we wanted to achieve, but on how we wanted to live. We poured our energy into restoring our barn — not to impress, but to express. We weren’t after grandeur. We were after grounding. We peeled back the layers and leaned into simplicity: warm textures, soft light, fewer things — but better ones. Each space became a chapter in our healing. Every natural material, every curve, every shadow that shifted with the sun invited us to slow down. To breathe. To be. It was design that didn’t shout. That didn’t perform. It simply held space. And as our home softened, so did we…
But the healing didn’t stop there. As we settled into this new rhythm, another question surfaced — What if this wasn’t just how we lived at home… but how we lived everywhere?
That answer arrived quietly too — in the form of a slow, soul-shifting escape to Portugal.
We’d booked an Airbnb on a working cork farm just outside Comporta. It was simple and beautiful. Olive trees swayed lazily, linen curtains danced in the breeze, and a donkey wandered past each morning like it was making the rounds. We woke to birdsong and the rustle of eucalyptus leaves. Made coffee slowly. Let the days stretch, just as they were. No plans, no pressure.
Afternoons melted into long walks along the Alentejo coast — wild, golden, wind-swept. The sea felt endless. The light, generous. The silence, restorative. It was the kind of stillness that gets under your skin in the best possible way.
And then came Comporta itself.
It wasn’t just a village — it was a revelation. A place where design and lifestyle blurred into something effortlessly soulful. Where houses seemed to disappear into the dunes. Where raw linen, weathered wood, and handmade ceramics whispered a quiet kind of luxury. Nothing was overdone. Everything felt intentional. Relaxed. Honest. It echoed everything we’d been slowly discovering in our own lives: that beauty doesn’t have to shout to be felt. In fact, it’s more powerful when it doesn’t.
That was the moment the seed we’d planted in Cornwall began to grow roots. The idea of azulomo was no longer just a feeling. It had found its place.
Truthfully, the longing had been building for years. After a decade of long grey winters and summers that never quite lived up to their promise in England, we were craving more than warmth. We were craving light. A sense of space. A life lived outside. We missed golden evenings, windows flung open, dinners that stretched into the night. We didn’t want a holiday — we wanted a life that felt like one.
Portugal didn’t call to us with spreadsheets or logic. It called with rhythm. With soul. With light. And we listened. — Gently. Deliberately. Letting go of the hustle. Relearning how to simply be.
That quiet, grounding trip planted a decision — one we couldn’t ignore. Not just about where we lived, but how we lived.
And that decision became azulomo.
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This is the Soul of azulomo.
It wasn’t built in a branding workshop or a business plan. It was born out of life — the messy, beautiful, transformative kind. Out of illness, clarity, courage, stillness, and slow Sunday mornings. Out of choosing slowness not as a trend, but as a way of being — one that respects nature, nurtures wellbeing, and puts people and feeling above all else.
Today, azulomo is our way of sharing that life — through calm spaces, soulful guest experiences, and creative strategy that feels just as good as it looks. Whether you're hosting guests, designing your dream stay, or simply longing for a more intentional way of living, we're here to help you slow it all down — and build something truly lasting. Read the story behind our style — and the soulful simplicity that shapes every azulomo space.
We now spend our days curating and guiding others toward spaces that feel like exhaling. We work with kindred hosts, soulful stay owners, and thoughtful creatives who believe in the magic of mood, detail, and purpose.
We’re here for the coastal dreamers, the quiet minimalists, the barefoot thinkers, and anyone who’s ever whispered, “There has to be another way.”
There is.
And it begins with slowing down.
— Husband & wife, co-founders of azulomo
Born in different places. Rooted in Portugal. Built by hand. Lived with heart.
“azulomo was never just a brand — it was our way back to ourselves. Born from a season of stillness and deep reflection, it grew out of a quiet need to slow down and live more intentionally. What began in a windswept Cornish beach house took root in Portugal, where light, space, and soul reshaped our idea of home. Today, azulomo is a reflection of that journey — a celebration of quiet beauty, thoughtful design, and the power of living slowly, on purpose.”
