These Days - 10 Questions with Olga and Nora
Twin sisters, chefs and the founders of Kaloha - food experiences, workshops and creative content rooted in vintage textiles, shared meals and the rituals of home.
Olga, one slow evening by the river.
1. For anyone meeting you for the first time - who are Olga and Nora?
We're twin sisters and best friends from Sweden, who both ended up in Portugal after a lot of traveling. We share a love for food and design - it's what we spend most of our time on, and the reason we created Kaloha. We don't take things too seriously - we joke around a lot. But we're particular when it comes to our craft. Aesthetics matter a lot to us, probably from growing up in a family obsessed with interior design. That obsession goes hand in hand with our passion for sustainability - using and creating from what already exists, reducing waste where we can.
2. Kaloha means "twins" - but it also means togetherness. Would this exist if you were doing it alone?
Probably not in the same way. Having a twin sister and a bond built on unconditional love has given us the perfect partnership. Working with someone so similar to yourself can be both a blessing and a challenge, but we've always moved through life side by side. Individually, we're both passionate enough to pursue this on our own - but together it feels stronger, more natural, and far more enjoyable. We simply wouldn't want to do it with anyone else.
3. You work across food, materials, and the kitchen as a space. That’s a deliberately wide brief - is there a thread that connects all of it, or do you prefer it a little loose?
We prefer it a little loose, because that's just who we are. But if there's a thread, it's the home and the kitchen as the heart of it. Everything we do comes back to that: a beautiful interior, good food, real connections, sustainable choices. We're basically just trying to create the home we want to live in.
4. You work with vintage fabrics in many of your pieces. Where do you find them, and what makes one worth saving?
Flea markets and secondhand stores are probably our favourite places to be. We're drawn to quality, patterns, and colour - fabrics that were made at a time when things were built to last. We want to celebrate that craftsmanship and give it a second life. And if there's a small stain or a little wear, we see that as part of the story.
5. You run workshops and catering - what happens in a room when people actually sit down together? What shifts?
Hosting has been one of our favourite things for a very long time. There's something really special about bringing people from all different places together around a table. Meeting someone you never thought you'd have anything in common with, and finding out you do - that always moves us. It's mind-opening. There's always something to learn from other people.
6. You stayed at our cabin, Trot - what were you expecting before you arrived, and did any of it surprise you?
Honestly, we'd been running around a lot and it came at just the right moment. We didn't even have much time to think ahead. We were stressed, forgot things, had to turn the car around. But the moment we arrived, there was just peace. The open fields, the horses, the river, the birds overhead. It was like hitting a reset button. Even coming from the countryside ourselves, this felt different. Something in the surroundings just slowed us all the way down.
7. Being off-grid with someone you've known your whole life - what does that do to the pace of things?
Well, funnily enough, Olga actually lives in an off-grid cabin herself, so we already spend a lot of time in that kind of setting. But getting away somewhere this remote and quiet does something different. It puts us in a certain headspace - more still, more present.
8. Once you settled in at the cabin, did you do anything that you normally wouldn’t do at home?
Just standing still, taking in the view. Letting the calmness settle through the whole body. That sounds simple, but it's actually quite rare.
9. Walk us through the ideal cabin evening - from the moment the light starts to change to the last thing you do before bed.
After a long day in the sun, a nice shower and straight into pyjamas. Open a cold beer while chopping vegetables outside and getting dinner going. Light the fire, take our time with the cooking. Some things go straight onto the fire, some on the little grill - chef's snacking throughout, obviously. Step outside to catch the sunset, then finally sit down to eat. Second portions. Then over to the fire-pit, talk about whatever's on our minds. A little chocolate, full bellies, sleepy eyes. Pillow talk, and then a deep sleep under the stars through the big windows.
10. If you were going to design the perfect piece - clothing or tableware - for a Hiide cabin stay, what would it be and what would it be made from?
The first thing that comes to mind is our old bathrobe collection. We've been making robes from vintage terry towels for years, and honestly it's all we'd want to wear in a place like that. But something we've been wanting to make for a while is a proper fire glove, because there's always a moment by the fire where you just want to reach in, and you need something good on your hands.
Olga and Nora stayed at our riverside cabin,Trot, in Valada, around 1hr from Lisbon.
