Transport yourself to Rio de Janeiro. Caipirinha in hand, bossa nova rhythms move you, the bustling city is always alive, yet the tranquility of the sea is never too far away.

Rio is the meeting place of the tropical Atlantic Ocean, the Sugarloaf Mountain, the lush rainforest, and metropolitan living. It is a city that has bloomed along the curves of white sand beaches, cultivated alongside palm trees and flora, and generated a diverse culture.

Born on the beaches of Rio, frescobol (beach bat game) is a truly Carioca game. It was created in 1945 by Lian Pontes de Carvalho and welcomed by young Rio natives who were seeking a new way to enjoy the beach. He stripped a tennis ball and forged wooden bats which he took to the delicate sand of Posto 5.

Jump forward a few decades and the Frescobol Carioca founders play a game of frescobol on the beaches of France’s west coast. Passers-by are intrigued by the beautiful beach bats and game; stopping, staring and asking questions. At this moment they realised that they’d introduced an aspect of Rio’s culture to another part of the world, and this is when the concept for Frescobol Carioca was born.

Launched in 2013, with the intention of spreading the spirit of Brazil around the globe, we look to the country’s rich cultural and aesthetic diversity – from the mosaic sidewalks of Rio’s beaches and the hypnotic rhythms of Bossa Nova to avant-garde art and design movements – that inform our collections.