our story

GREETINGS FROM ASBURY PARK

Porta is an authentic expression of how we take care of our family. Born from the simple desire to gather round a table and share a meal with the people we love, Porta is a stand for going after what you want in life with velocity, gratitude, and lightness. We believe that a true sense of place is important for this stand to exist in the world, and it's the reason we spend most of our waking hours engaged in the never-ending conversation about how our places make us feel.

It's why we lifted our name from an old Italian proverb about a would-be monk named Martin, who was asked to write the Latin phrases, “Porta patens esto. Nulli claudatur honesto.” (May the door always be open. May it never be closed to any honest person.") Instead of writing this, however, Martin mistakenly put the period in the wrong place, creating a completely different meaning. The story symbolizes how the details make all the difference.

At Porta, we're committed to that difference. From preserving the art of authentic Neapolitan pizza making to repurposing architectural elements in line with our wabi-sabi philosophy, the words of Charles Eames always hit home for us: “The details are not the details. They make the design.” And when you get enough people to believe in the importance of those little things, you've got a family for the ages. 

Join us if you'd like. The door's always open.