Konstantinos Papamichalopoulos and Artemis Lydl are a creative couple that I have come to known for a few years now and happy to call friends. They are extraordinary people, smart and artistic, always ready to engage into thoughtful conversation. Constantinos is an accomplished artist that not only paints but also illustrates (has been published numerous times in Greek newspapers and magazines) and draws comics. They both create books , apps, videogames and art. Their most recent venture (apart from making their family bigger) is their extraordinary biomorphic black rings.
The design of the rings derives from Konstantinos' artwork, namely the White Island Works series. They translated fragments of it into small pieces, set as precious gems on rings, ready to be worn by everyone.
They come in various shapes and sizes and new designs are added to the mix. I love the graphic feel of the artwork and the layered edges.
The detail of design and quality of construction is amazing. Even the box they come in looks very fetching.
You can buy them (and other stuff from the series as well) from their Etsy shop. The prices are amazing. So what are you waiting for?
The Information Centre for Lake Pamvotis opened last May in the Nissi village on the sole island of the lake, near Ioannina in Greece. It is housed in a traditional old building that was renovated for the purpose. The Centre is providing visitors with information about the lake and the surrounding area. Its design, the museological and museographic planning is by Tetragon Ltd. (the company I work for). Official contractors for this project are Tetragon Ltd, OIKOM Environmental Studies and OIKOS Nature Management, with the invaluable cooperation of the Management Authority of Lake Pamvotis.
When going through the main entrance, one can see the reception area while on the right is the room dedicated to traditional fishing. The permanent exhibition about the lake is located on the first floor. Going up the stairs and exactly opposite them is a segment that has extensive information about lake Pamvotis - the environment, the area in which it lies, its long geological history.
On the left you can see a large model of the lake that attracts the attention of visitors. Near it, and following from the previous section, the visitor can discover, through text and a smaller model, information about how the system of the lake operates: the origin of the water, how it was created and the movement of water into the lake.
On the far left wall are three bright diagrams showing the shape of the lake in its long life.
The large and impressive model of the lake reflects its current form. Pressing the buttons light up lights for points of interest. Right next to the window is a table shaped like a water-lilly leave with a pair of headphones. Wearing them, the visitor can hear various myths and old stories about the lake and the surrounding area (the voice doing the English narrative is by yours truly). And right after this is the section dedicated to the lake ecosystems. Here the influence of water on vegetation in the area is examined. The section continues to the other side of the stairs, where plexiglass lecterns emerge from brightly lit blue floor. Each of these provides information about the main lake plants, reeds and water lilies, but also how they form peatlands.
Above the desks and at eye level is a large screen, which displays a slideshow about Pamvotis. It is extremely interesting and does not last long (I made this!).
To the left of the screen and into the blue lit floor that resembles the water of the lake, visitors can see the types of fish that live in it. Carp, Eels, butterfly fish, cut in natural size, are "swimming" in the blue-green "water," while on the back plate you can read more about them. On the floor, you can see the grypos fishing tool and hung from the ceiling is another one named pezovolos: two traditional ways of fishing here.
At the back of the room, one can observe different species of birds and animals that live in the lake and around it. The impressive composition suspended from the roof, makes it easy to identify the characteristics of the local fauna species: crayfish, ducks, egrets, frogs etc.
At the end of the hall there is a large section informing the visitor about the human impact on the lake and the ecosystem. Also you can see how locals live from the Ioannina lake - fishermen, craftsmen, merchants and all people are affected directly or indirectly from it, while in turn they affect it too.
Towards the end of the exhibition, the visitor can read the corresponding panels about how the lake has been a refuge since prehistoric times for humans and animals, something that continues to the present day. The lake was also a natural crossroads for shepherds, armies, merchants.
In the last section you read that the future of the lake is in our hands and how its management affects the surrounding area.
Just before the staircase is a beautiful structure with a screen where you can see suggested routes for small excursions, to get a more complete picture of the lake and its surrounding area. If you happen to visit Ioannina, do not miss it!
Bernard Kesselring was born in Auvernier (Neuchâtel) in 1934. He grew up in Switzerland and France and studied at the Agricultural School of Bordeaux, in France, leaving after graduation for a sojourn in Scandinavia, working as a lumberjack and miner. That surely does not fit with what he did next: he enrolled at the Zurich college of Applied Arts, where he studied graphic, industrial and interior design, getting a bachelor in design. He then launched into a career in design, working as a freelancer in Zurich, mostly around industrial and graphic design but also doing lots of exhibition design. He also did a bit of modelling, as his looks were a magnet for photographers and got cast in many ads.
From a photo session for an advertisement, Bernard Kesselring is the man standing at the back looking at us. Mad Men art director would have a field day with this photo!
From an advertising photo session.
Bernard as a drummer
In 1963 he arrived in Athens, working for various advertising agencies such as Kousentos and Delta Delta Dimou. He also dabbled in interior design, collaborating with architect George Vallatas. In 1967 he became Creative Director of the advertising department of detergent and soap manufacture F. Steinfels A.G., in Zurich. There he was responsible for new product development, its packaging design, everything that had to do with the marketing, advertising campaigns and television advertisement production for Steinfels products. He created Bio (from bio-degradable, bio-friendly), the little guy you see above (in b&w) and below (in 3D colour), to advertise their products, as well as Softy (Bio's wife and the face of a fabric softener), another cartoon character.
After a stint as Creative Director with the Norman, Craig & Kummel Advertising Agency in Zurich, and some years as freelancer, he returned to Athens, first working as the Creative Director of Olympic-Euro advertising agency, then setting up his own company, Swissdesign and later Swissad. He designed some of the most memorable logos of my childhood, logos that we kept seeing everyday in front of us, either on household products or in print and TV advertisements: Ouzo 12 (which became an international Greek brand identity - the logo was used as he designed it for 30 years, but they recently changed the font, using a dreadful serif one), AVA dish-washing liquid, ELCO-Vagionis, Varanghis, Miss Pat, Balco/Orca, Molokotos yarns, ROLI detergent packaging and others. He also devised the ROL detergent slogan: "Greece loves white. Greece loves ROL" which was a mainstay of their ad campaigns for years, as was his other successful slogan, for PRODERM products: "tender care and Proderm" which still defines a generation in Greece and is used in Greek slang to denote tenderness either in earnest or in irony.
The AVA logo is still used as he designed it, ingenious idea to put the liquid drop at the middle of the letter V
In the early 80s he became associate Creative Director at Ikon/BBDO Advertising in Athens, then started working as a freelance designer. He later moved to Crete, where he still works as a designer, builds hand-made wooden furniture and renovates traditional stone-built houses. I consider myself really lucky to have as a friend his wonderful and very talented daughter Eva, who turned me on to this stuff and gave me the opportunity to present them to you. It made me relive part of my childhood - happy memories indeed. Thank you Mr. Kesselring.
You must remember my previous post about the talented Dimitris Petrou, if not, freshen up your memory here before reading on. When I was in Athens last April, my dear Margarita (another extremely talented person who I am so lucky to have met) arranged for me to visit Dimitris in his atelier in Kolonaki, Athens and see his newest collection, Theros (means Summer in Greek) first-hand. I must say I approached the atelier with a little trepidation. Kolonaki is a very haute-bourgeois quarter and fashion people are notorious for their huge egos and condescending approach to anyone outside their cocooned world. Boy, was I in for a huge and pleasant surprise.
Dimitris welcomed me in the atelier himself. He was alone, waiting for me, and even though I was a bit late (I will be late for my own funeral just like Liz Taylor, trust me) he welcomed me with a warm smile and seemed genuinely happy to have me there. Extremely well mannered and polite, he offered me a cup of coffee (in a vintage cup just like one my mother used to have ages ago) and we sat on one of the minimalist white sofas (in Le Corbusier style) that make up the few furniture of the atelier, matching the lovely 3D effect wallpaper on one of the walls. The whole place is painted in grey and white and decorated (sparingly) accordingly, in line with the winter collection. We talked a bit about how he wanted to change that and bring some colour in, to match the latest offerings and the theme, Theros - also his summer mood I must add. In no time we were talking like old friends (I found out he is from Northern Greece as well, Naoussa to be exact) and I felt really at home.
He had a fitting before I arrived there, with a Greek singer named Tamta for her new show opening the week after, and earlier in the day a couple of magazine editors were there for interviews and the new collection. He told me business was going well and the new clothes were greeted very positively from the Greek press and fashion people. I must remind you that his work is sur mesure - so you can find these exquisite pieces only in the atelier at 32 Kanari St, Kolonaki, Athens.
As enjoyable as our conversation was, it was time to look at the clothes as well. Contrary to the winter collection, the summer one seems infused with colour, even though in reality he is using only three: a caramel/copper brown, a dark navy blue and a lighter blue on denim that looks really old and washed but very uniformly. His fabrics are gorgeous to feel and exquisitely cut while his idea of using a huge batch of silk scarves to make up whole items or part of clothes was brilliantly used and informed rather than dominated the collection. I got to see his incredibly textured knits up close, where he uses 3 or 4 materials knitted together in one piece that looks delicate and feels airy to touch (and wear as well). The denim he uses in this collection has a bit of stretch in it of course; he cut it into a most beautiful evening gown that must surely become one of this season's hits (see last photo of the post). As for his leather, it is soft as fresh butter and even the details made with it on some outfits are meticulously stitched and cut, adding an edge to them.
I loved the fact that again men and women's outfits are equal in the collection - Dimitris does not focus on one part more than the other, while some pieces can be worn by both men and women alike. Some details of course are mostly for the catwalk effect or a client mostly interested in stage clothes than every day (like the heavily embroidered cuffs and collar on a male shirt or the long almost transparent sleeveless knit top shown on male models but being on the women's rack in the atelier). I absolutely adore the shorts and I definitely would have gotten one if I had the time to do the fittings (the prices are really good and very very very affordable). I promised myself I will get something from the next winter collection instead.
Dimitris told me he is working a lot with couples getting married. I loved the idea of a bride and groom getting something made for them in the atelier by Dimitris and recommend it wholeheartedly. Plus it will be something you will surely want to wear again and again and not let it hidden in the back of the closet.
I must also point out that the accessories are designed by Dimitris as well: brilliant belts and gorgeous bags were there, in matching colours to the clothing, while he told me of his bespoke service too. There are two bag designs in two sizes each, where a client can pick the colours she wants for it from a palette and it will be made for her in two weeks. This service is also available in Thessaloniki, at the boutique of Anna Kapsali, Stylefax at 19 Proxnou Koromila St.
After checking out all the clothes of the summer (and last winter's too) collection, it was unfortunately time to go. I promised my self to visit again when in Athens, and said goodbye to Dimitris, wishing him all the best - he really deserves it. If you find yourself in Athens, go and check the clothes - I bet you will not be able to resist getting a piece of the collection. And it is a keeper. Promise.
Photographer :Yiorgos Kaplanidis
Fashion editor: Manos Jojos
Make up artist: Christina Agatha
Hair stylist: Dimitris Sarantou
Models:Idan - vn models, Kelvin - d models
Graphic Design : Angelo Pantelidis.
A few words about the show (which took place ten days before Easter, in April) at Thision theatre, with about 150 special guests, due to the size f the venue (Dimitris always shows his collections during their proper season and not earlier as the clothes are made to measure and there is no sense in making them 6 months before). The show started with a dance, choreographed by Apostolia Papadamaki and performed by Ioannis Emmanouilidis and Maria Lambropoulou, dressed of course in Dimitris' clothes, bringing to life the painting by Michael Tsakounti, made especially for the collection and featured on the invitation cover (designed by Aggelos Pantelidis). Then the proper fashion show began with 30 models parading like an army of modern reapers, with music by Amateur Boyz and video art by Thanassis Tsimbinis.
The make-up was done by the talented make up artist Yiannis Marketakis with MAX FACTOR products. Hair was designed by Dimitris Sarantou and fashion direction by Manos Jojos.
Sofia Alexiadou took care of lighting (alluding to summer light) while the twin 2D gave a sense of a field of wheat on stage under the direction of scenographer George Asimakopoulos. The art direction was by George Nanouris. And of course Margarita Gourgourini was helping organize the whole thing. So much talent together!
Dimitris Petrou is a young and very talented Greek fashion designer. A few days ago he opened his showroom in Athens, at 23 Kanari St. in Kolonaki, where most Greek fashion houses are located and has a multitude of big-name designer boutiques from all over the world. He launched the showroom with a fashion show where he showed his winter 2010-2011 collection, called "Sur Mesure" (made to measure) for women and men. The photographs accompanying this post are from this collection.
His designs are all in ice grey, a totally monochromatic collection, toying with how the colour looks in different fabrics and textures. The results are spectacular. The way he plays with fabric is incredible, either in the way he cuts the clothes or the way he treats fabric, cutting it into small pieces which then he sews back together or cutting patterns with holes into the fabric to make a futuristic lace effect. And every woman outfit in the collection has it's male counterpart - although I would not suggest matching dressing up for a couple - avoid at all costs!
Every piece in this collection can be ordered sur mesure from his atelier - so it's like getting a couture piece for you in a fraction of the price. So go to the atelier and get yourself a piece of this collection. It's worth it.
Photos : Yiorgos Kaplanidis Fashion Direction : Manos Jojos Creative Supervisor :Antonis Kozakidis Hair : Dimitris Sarantou Make Up : MAC Models : Rossana , Panayiotis at VN Models
Video Art - Director: Tina Sardelas Hair : George Marascas Make-up : Tzeni Toumazatou Models : Haley , Christos at VN Models Creative Supervision : Antonis Kozakidis Styling Advisor : Manos Jojos
A few days ago I received this great e-mail from the well known in Greece CARTECO company, inviting the Greek designers from every section to sell their products through a dedicated website. I think it is a great opportunity so I post their "invitation" here:
CARTECO addresses an invite to GREEK industrial designers, graphic artists and artistic groups, who produce their products in small or large scale, manufactured, handmade or not, to a limited number or to order, and have a given business policy, to submit product details and information such as pictures etc. for sale in Greece and abroad through the new on-line store CARTECOSHOP.GR, which is under construction and will be soon on line.
The deadline is the end of February. It is not mandatory for participants to have a comprehensive collection or refined presentation, but certainly this will help. What interests us is for them to be able to guarantee quality and good design of the product and be consistent with our company and consumers. Be careful, we do not want to experiment with your ideas for the first time. We want ideas that are implemented and ready to fall in the market and become known to consumers. The product categories are general, i.e. objects, lighting, furniture, artwork, gifts, jewelry, silk screens, posters, textiles, etc. There is no restriction. Just be sure to get us all the necessary information quickly and to make us understand in as few words as possible exactly what it is that you do. The sales agreement for your projects through our website and our network is NOT exclusive and is not binding for any reason without any written agreement. Failure to accept the sale of products through our e-shop does not mean anything about the quality or the level of your work. We just cannot accept all the proposals or to cooperate with everyone. The products will be delivered to us finished, ready to pack for sale. Our company does not intend to enter a process of production, research and development of your project. If you are interested in selling or promote your products through our network, send us by e-mail to vpbartz@gmail.com the following:
Black and white photograph of the designer or group
Name and surname of the designer and the team
Contact details, telephone, email, website or blog, Address.
Small biography, information about previous activities, projects
Products that are likely to be released or sold in our market or other shops. Up to 10 photos for each product that we propose for sale in our online store at the required resolution. Variations of the product. Potential variety of colors, versions, designs, etc. Product description, dimensions, materials. Delivery time by order of the day and whether there is a minimum order. Method of payment to you, your team or manufacturer.
Sample if available (if in the end you are picked for the shop, you will be asked for one)
Category sales and use, eg Artwork, sculpture, gift, furniture, etc
Jpeg low resolution images (for web) in 2 sizes: 114X114 pix and 222X222 pix
Text (in 2 languages): 250-300 words (1500-2000 characters including spaces)
Once selected, we will contact you to discuss the details of our cooperation and to require additional material to be posted on the website. Thank you very much for your attention and interest in cooperation.
One Man Show, or better known to me and his friends as Tassos Papaioannou, is a very talented illustrator/graphic designer/decoration designer/comic artist/comic publisher/radio producer/DJ (phew what a list!). He is one of the few Greek illustrators included in Taschen's yearly edition "Illustration Now! Vol.2". His work has been featured in many prominent greek newspapers and magazines, he has designed logos and graphics for many greek companies, done studio sets for MAD TV channel and has been the man behing Giganto Books comics publishing house (as well as an established comic artist himself).
He is working freelance now and send me his promotional package, which you see in his photos. It features a series of cards in various sizes, printed with illustrations that he has done over the years, accompanied by various favourite quotes. All of this is enclosed in a silver foil semi-transparent envelope. I love his work and I hope you will like it too! You can contact him here and read his blog here.
Taking the InterCity Express train to Athens last Friday afternoon, I was overwhelmed with the thought of a great weekend approaching: meeting friends that I had not seen for a while, going around the creative design studios in Psyrri and around to see their new ideas, experiencing once again the Athenian nightlife - once more, like last year, I was going to be Design Walking! And as I arrived in Athens a little before midnight, I had to postpone the walk for Saturday. Instead we went out to Grand Dame and Hoxton, the first a major disappointment (Kolonaki crowd transplanted to Gazi with 90s music, expensive drinks and rude service), the second a classic choice for the area with good music and interesting mixed crowd.
So, after a strong coffee to wake me up, I took my host to down town Athens to shop some ribbons (sometimes it feels weird to know more shops in Athens then the locals) and we were ready to start walking! So our "boots" took us first to Designpark and their Lettair concept.
What am I doing in the photo? Trying to design something with light into thin air, so that a camera can capture it and project it onto the wall right next to it. The Designpark team had made four fonts in this way, which they had printed onto black posters and shared them with us, along with others printed with words made with the fonts. Needless to say I picked the "bad" word out of them to take back home!
We then headed off to Design Insane. The name prepared us for something crazy: instead we discovered a cosy office space painted in bold colours and decorated with inspired posters about changing the world, which was their motto. The guys had moved into this space almost less than a month ago and warmly welcomed us into their office. We talked a while about the current situation in design in Greece and they invited us to a party that night with the famous Cast-A-Blast cooperative. We said we might come and left with their beautifully designed leaflet, which opened becomes a poster with their motto.
The mural decorating the main space of the Design Insane offices - impressive.
Do you agree with the quote above? I surely do!!!! This is written on the stair wall going up to 3 In A Box offices - one of the most beautifully designed spaces we visited (and one I had not been able to visit last year). Their concept was Homopictographicus - presenting, through pictograms, the evolution of mankind's history from pictopithecus to homopictographicus sapiens. Fun and simple but it felt like going to a museum.
Then we visited MNP. Under the Observation concept, they had us all sketching in freehand as it is one of the major ways of observing what is around you (one which my friend Richard Haines makes so elegantly in his blog). When we visited, our model was a belly dancer, resplendent in her red embroidered outfit.
Of course, when I see blank paper and pencils, crayons, pens and brushes around, no one can stop me drawing - so that is what I did!
Thankfully our model was very obliging and posed wonderfully, while oriental music filled the air. More people joined me as I was advancing with my work.
Here you can see the almost finished sketch - I decided to let it unfinished as it looked better to me - the guys from MNP posted it on the wall along with the other sketches by their visitors - this is a photo of it I found in Facebook, taken by Michalis Baboussis:
I was eager to visit G's offices: last year, their Cog concept about collaboration was so much fun and I had made my own art there. This time, their "Glows In The Dark" concept transformed their almost white space into a black hole (actually half of their office space was covered in black). With a black light and lots of day-glo markers, they encouraged us to let out our creativity onto their walls, floor, furniture, ourselves - you name it!
It was a bit difficult to find empty space to write, even at the ceiling!
Slowly getting used to normal light again, we headed off to Sereal Designers and their Jukecity. 50 buildings, 2053 inhabitants (all with song lyrics in word balloons), a Godzilla, 300 policemen, a group of aliens, seven dancing queens, numerous records, thousands of notes and cables... a dream scape was painstakingly created into their studio, drawing admiration shouts from everyone visiting - but their impressive eye-aquarium was the piece de resistance!
The buildings had even air conditioning units incorporated! The advertising billboards on the terraces were sometimes very inspired, like the one with Madonna advertising "Magdalena's Sex Shop"!
The guy above is singing (?) Moby...
Where the streets have no name...
The aquarium from the back - you can see the goldfish swimming!
The flock of doves being fed by a granny - how many hours did this take to make?
We then moved right around the corner to see the videos made by the Play team. Their Loop concept had seven people making one single video, each one taking over from the last frame of the previous creator, making an unusual film. The small clips shown on other screens in the studio were very entertaining too! The gallery SCAN2ER is beside the Π6 studio which was next in our route. Achilleas Fakiolas makes incredible lighting fixtures from Plexiglas, that are more art objects then utilitarian stuff. I could not make up my mind which one was more beautiful, they all were very impressive. Below you can see his work "The Prayer":
This group below is based on various blue artistic interpretations: the films Betty Blue, The Big Blue and Blue Velvet, Claude Debussy's De L'Aube a Midi Sur la Mer.
Our next stop was Π6. And suddenly we found ourselves in a playground: the concept "Ready Or Not, Here I come" or "Ftou Kai Vgaino" in Greek, allowed them to fill their studio with games for us to play: board games, life games, politics games, love games, street games, solitary games, team games, memory games and many more, drawing parallels between actual games and things that we do in reality.
We finally arrive at our friends, Poordesigners, exhausted but also filled with that sense of elation when you meet creative people and see their work displayed for you. We knew their concept beforehand, having seen small previews online some days ago, but the full force of it was overwhelming: the team created a company called NoProb, that makes objects to relieve the stress that engulfs people in their everyday mundane life. The result was a series of hilarious videos as advertisements for the objects they made, all in bright pink of course and the objects themselves displayed on their podiums:
The Internet loss kit displayed below should be a staple in every house!
What is this guy doing to my dear friend? Watch out!!!
After spending lots of time there drinking the InstantZen shots from test tubes and eating InstanZen cookies and candy (in multicolors of course), and getting an amazing set of coasters (illustrated by T-Drom and printed by Giota - thanks guys!) we made the trip two floors usptairs to Design Shop, one of the three studios that started Design Walk three years back.
At seeing lace doilies hanging on walls and from the ceiling, at first I thought my mother had gone through there the day before - then their concept became more apparent as we saw the banners made with repeating patterns.
Step And Repeat: that was the concept here, everything displayed was made with that process, mathematical patterns and motifs found in nature and repeated in art, architecture, design and music. They even had a computer where one could make his own pattern and see it instantly repeated infinitely onto another screen:
Here is the pattern my friend did, finished:
At that point we decided to call it a day, regarding design walking, and the hour was a bit after the normal closing time for the creative studios - they have to rest too!!! We did not have many places left to go, so we went for diner at Kouti, a lovely restaurant in Adrianou street. Excellent food (I recommend the chicken with orange and sesame seeds and also the orange pie) and very interesting decoration with angels:
We headed for home satiated, rested a while and went out into the night - first stop was the brilliant Pop, where they make amazing cocktails (Zombie is a smash), play great music and one can see many interesting people gather into its minute space. Thanks to my friends for taking me there, I had a blast (and thanks to Vassilis the barman!). The skies starter raining cats and dogs then and I barely made it to Hoxton again, soaking wet...
Sunday started sunny and warm: I went with friends for a coffee at Urban in Glazi, where I had to wait one hour to have a waitress come and take our order and another hour for her to bring it. Of course she made a mistake: instead of a double cappucino, she brought me two cups of cappucino... I then went to visit an architecural show at Benaki Museum at Pireaus street, about the Greek Residence from the 20th to the 21st century - interesting buildings, boring display. After having rakomela and dakos at Pseirra in Psyrri (of course) we headed to Typical Mutations and their Origami project: in three seperate videos they taught us how to make three different origami objects. The visitors then were videotaped and made part of a digital video to be uploaded online after the end of Design Walk. Their project of last year was much more creative and intriguing, but the guys are so likeable you forgive them everything - and the origami stuff rocks!
That was the end of our Design Walk this year. My opinion is that apart from a few teams, the overall inspiration was not as good as last year's, an opinion shared by many others that I talked to these days. Not all projects made people actively participate and some seemed hastily made to justify their participation. Of course all of them have their day to day projects to work on also, but I think that if they all had made the effort they had last year, everything would have been that much better. The feeling of camaraderie and friendship that permeated everyone was there this year too, we saw lots of friends, met others for the first time and promise to come back next year for more!!!
P.S. I did not have the time to see The Switch Design Agency and their OFF.ICE project as well as the collective exhibition in Bios from studios not situated in the Design Walk area - what I heard from other people who did visit was very positive. I hope I can see everyone next year!
