Design Walk 2008: an affair to remember...

The original idea was conceived, as many good ideas usually are, between friends over lunch at Thission. Three creative offices, talking about the Psyrri area of Athens, design and the teams gathered in that area and its surroundings. An idea that became a reality in January 2007 for the very first time. All participating offices would open their doors to visitors for three days. People from every strata of society could see their work, their surroundings and ideas and projects, talk with them and find out about creative people and their way to work! Showing projects created especially for this event, they could give their very best and have no limit to their creativity. I could not experience it that first time (and was so jealous of those who did), but this year I made it.

As the concept was collaboration, each participating office could bring one or more collaborators from Greece or abroad and make a common project. This proved to be a genius idea, as it allowed creative people from outside of Psyrri and Greece in particular, to participate. Secondly it gave everyone the chance to do their very best, proving that a great collaboration can yield excellent results far easier than one mind working alone.


Our first stop was at the Typical Mutations offices. They had Makebelieve as their partner in crime... and yes, it was a crime that we, the visitors, were asked to solve: Maria Roussou from Makebelieve was a suspect of killing Panagiotis Chatzidakis from Typical Mutations.

We had a briefing and then inspected the cleverly designed crime scene.


Then we were given some clues:


With the use of technological novelties such as mixed and augmented reality installations alongside visual and traditional techniques, we had to decide whether Maria was guilty or not.

Using a cell phone to identify a pattern

Checking a fabric weave

The results of the collective investigation were published the very next day in a specially designed web site. One of the most original and funny presentations!

Then we were on for another treat: the collaboration between Poor Designers and Dimitris Arvanitis, one of the pioneers of Greek graphic design.

Dimitris Arvanitis

Their theme was centered around a visual commentary, in a highly creative way, of Society and Hypocrisy. It was the most (if not the only) political work presented in the studios I visited.


The messages were strong and clear, usually infused with irony. The atmosphere was great and you felt you were in the company of old friends (in fact we met a couple of friends there!).


One of the highlights must have been the visit of Freddie Karabott and Michalis Kantzourakis, two living legends of Greek Graphic design. Surely a day to remember! (Their exhibition, Design Routes, curated by Dimitris Arvanitis, will be presented in another post).

Michalis Kantzourakis with Dimitris Kanellopoulos (from Poor Designers) and Dimitris Arvanitis

And the photo below to give you an idea of the crowds inside the office:


Then it was on to Design Shop, two floors below. The team here collaborated with French graphic designer Xavier Antin.


"The experience of being human" was presented by a non-linear, graphic installation, activating visitors' participation, providing them with clues, asking them to "connect the dots", in order to get the meaning.

Voting by placing stamps in the appropriate line...

This installation dealt with basic issues that define human identity, such as friendship, companionship, sexuality, vanity etc. I also found the surroundigs great! Kudos!


Then it was on to The Switch Design Agency, collaborating with Fabio Novembre, the famous Italian designer.





This team recently moved their offices from the second floor of the building they were in, to the third. This left an empty space that could be used in a number of ways. What could these be? The collaboration resulted in the concept USP (Useful Spaces in Psyrri).





The alternative uses of the space aim to contribute to the quality of life in the centre of Athens, taking under consideration the cultural elements, the urban environment and the current state of the Psyrri area.




The result was ten concepts for using the space, while at the same time visitors could vote for their favourite concept AND also propose new ones! It was an amazing idea, with great execution in pristine white surroundings with a touch of black and green.




Then on to a collaboration of graphics and fashion: Sereal Designers and fashion designers WALM, set up an iconoclastic game, starting with the forms that emerge from the counterpoint between the human body and its surroundings.

Setting up the Amazing Humanoid Circus, they recreated their forms in 3d, in a way that dilutes the sense of reality, uniting graphics and fashion in a changing project, aiming to give shape and essence to the (non-)existing.

It was great fun seeing all the colourful graphics created with the fashions as inspiration (and usually being part of them). A huge circular aquarium occupied the centre of the space, doubling as a fantastically big magnifying lens. The magnetic paper dolls provided hours of entertainment!



Moving on, as the night fell, to a trio of collaborators: Bend (Black & Decker), Designpark and No Logo!



All three involve themselves with graphic design as well as audiovisual projects. The result was the combination of them in various forms, presented at B Station, the transmission space for all three teams.


The space was like a makeshift club, with people being asked to make their own posters with various typographic methods, while they were being filmed.


The film was projected live on the windows of the building, making the experience go out to the streets of Psyrri.


I loved the raw feel of the space, the amazing desks and the energy in everyone while making great art to take home with them! The music was great too (Nektarios at the decks below).


Our final destination was the offices of G, collaborting with Company from the UK.
The concept here was very concise: The cogs. Cogs of a cogwheel, positioned parallel, tilted or t an angle to each other. They ensure safe function, correct gear ratio, ability to withstand the pressure of overloading, long shelf life and therefore offer a great degree of satisfaction!

Yours truly, making my poster...

To make the idea of cogs and collaboration a little bit more concrete, there was a great table in the middle of the room, with lots of blank pages ready to be transformed by the visitors into works of art, custom-made posters for the event itself. Using stencil cogs and coloured pencils and markers, people drew and drew and drew, having fun and collaborating!


I am really sorry we did not have the time to visit the rest of the participating teams. I hope next year I can make it to all of them. But here is the list of those we did not have the time to see:

3 in a Box (GR) + Stylo Design (UK)

Bios (GR) + Belio (ESP) + Raster-Noton (GER)

Mnp (GR) + Ed Gill (UK)

Mums Design (GR) + Maria Alipranti (GR)

Oxy (GR) + Eggandspoon (GR)

Pi6 (GR) + Human Empire (GER)

We Design (GR) + Nobek Zeistein (USA)

The poster advertising the parallel events to Design Walk

A very big and heartfelt thank you to all participating teams and artists: we had a great time, opening our eyes and minds to new ideas , concepts, people, and filled up our batteries with lots of creative energy. See you next year!



Photos by Maria Roussou, Dimitrios Kanellopoulos, Design Shop, The Switch Design Agency, Bend, Rena Nikolaidou.

What is a doe doing in a cabaret?

Tonight, at Cabaret Voltaire, in Metaxourgeio, in Athens, a very special performance will take place. My dear friend Elafini (meaning small deer in Greek), aka Eleni Mitsiaki, and Christina Spiliakopoulou, will take us into the magical world of Kurt Weill and the decadent Berlin cabarets of the 30s, all through to glamorous Broadway and Hollywood.


I will not be able to attend, but am jealous of those attending... Do not miss this!

Cabaret Voltaire, Marathonos 30, Metaxourgeio, Athens
+30-2105227046, Sunday 10th of February, 22.00
Entrance 12 Euros (drink included)

And to get you in the mood, four great singers singing Weill:

The incomparable Milva sings Pirate Jenny:

Legendary Lotte Lenya sings Surabaya Johnny

Gizella May singing Pirate Jenny:

Ute Lemper sings Je Ne T'aime Pas:

And Ute Lemper again singing Mack The Knife:

The most beautiful baby in the world!

Yes I'm being a smug and very very proud uncle!!!! Isn΄t he gorgeous?
To him: "May your life be happy and healthy and safe - I will do whatever I can to make sure it is that way! I love you little baby!!!"

Dedicated to my newborn nephew!

To my little newborn nephew, born only minutes ago, I dedicate this (from his dad's favourite singer):

Has anyone ever written anything for you
In all your darkest hours
Have you ever heard me sing
Listen to me now
You know I'd rather be alone
Than be without you
Don't you know

Has anyone ever given anything to you
In your darkest hours
Did you ever give it back
Well, I have
I have given that to you
If it's all I ever do
This is your song

And the rain comes down
There's no pain and there's no doubt
It was easy to say
I believed in you everyday
If not for me
Then do it for the world

Has anyone ever written anything for you
In your darkest sorrow
Did you ever hear me sing
Listen to me now
You know I'd rather be alone
Than be without you
Don't you know

So, if not for me, then
Do it for yourself
If not for me then
Do it for the world
Poet...priest of nothing
Poet...priest of nothing

(lyrics and music by Stevie Nicks)
Photo by Anne Geddes

I love you little baby... welcome to the world and I promise I will be there for you. Always.

1st Children's and Young Adults' Bookfair in Athens - the report

As promised, here is a post about the 1st Children's and Young Adults' Bookfair at the Helexpo Palace in Athens. We had to set up the stands (almost half the show actually) in only two days, facing some difficulties (missing stuff, crews not working as they should), but having great collaborators and co-workers, the impossible took place and the show opened on time and looking great!

Above, you can see the stand the National Book Centre (EKEBI). It was placed strategically at the entrance of the exhibition (which took the space of a whole floor of the venue), welcoming the visitors with a nice yellow paper bag filled with goodies.
Then it was on to the stand of The Hellenic Literary and Historical Archive (ELIA), which housed a small sample of their huge collection of old children's books, toys and accessories - oh the memories they brought up!


Of course I'm only referring to other people's memories, I'm much too young to remember all this stuff (not!)


Exactly opposite the previous stand, was a space dedicated to the two Greek nominees for the Andersen Awards 2008, Voula Mastori (for writing) and Vassilis Papatsarouchas (for illustration). I had the honour of meeting Vassilis, he's an extraordinarily talented young man and merits his own post (coming soon).


While the original drawings of Vassilis Papatsarouhas were exhibited in this space, Voula Mastori was present to read her stories to lots of children gathering to listen to her. Hence the colourful pillows scattered on the floor.

Now I swear this was designed before Kylie released her In My Arms video clip!

The Netherlands were the honoured country. That meant only one thing: using lots of orange for the stand! And of course we could not have missed tulips! We had many of them, both real (100 orange flowers flown in from Holland especially for the show) and also on a big poster on a wall in the middle of the stand, near the green patch:


To celebrate, we had some "Dutch Treats", as the Dutch called them: original drawings from the most famous Dutch illustrators of children's books. This small exhibition within an exhibition was a feast for the eyes both of children and adults, with the works of Dick Bruna taking centre-stage.

The Dick Bruna drawings - the bunny is Miffy, his most famous character.

The Dutch Illustrators ("Dutch Treats") exhibition

There were of course more spaces designed especially for children (it's a kid-oriented show after all!): an amphitheatre for presentations of books, also the Children's Corner, which was a place to play and read and listen to people reading books. It was decorated with books hanging from the ceiling (remember the fish?) and fantastic hats with books fixed on them!


This space incorporated a smaller amphitheatre and also had a fun poll: why do children read books? Two separate polling stations were prepared, one for children and one for kids, who voted by dropping a small orange (what else?) ball inside the appropriate tube. Of course children saw this as a game (and why not?) so the results were a bit, er, "fixed", by children throwing the balls like playing basketball, over and over again, into the tubes! Great fun!


Right next to this was the space dedicated to Museum of Greek Children's Art, with lots of space for workshops for the kids. Of course they loved to doodle with markers, crayons and coloured pencils on paper or other materials, even the tables themselves!


My friend Enteka presented his new book here, but more for him on a special post (soon!). Right next to it, there was a room dedicated, tongue in cheek, to an imaginary writer: H.P. Lagavulin, thought to be one of the best knows writers of children's fiction (a total fiction in itself of course). The entrance to this teen-corner was a circle!


Many events took place in here too, one of the first having a great lady telling a story to the kids, while making special sound effects using water poured from a carafe to five glasses on top of a drum. The children listened to her transfixed! The whole room was decorated with thirteen illustrations (the years supposedly passed since his death), made in honour of the non-existent writer H.P. Lagavulin by seven Greek illustrators, while seven Greek writers wrote in his memory.

Another space was designed by the illustrator Antonis Aspromourgos, consisting of four rooms, one after the other, each showcasing a different art through books: theater, music, painting, sculpture. Each had a different colour and soundtrack, giving children a unique experience.


Many of the biggest Greek publishing houses had their own stands in the exhibition, also organizing events and activities, one of them being the Wandering Park: children carrying potted plants and banners, protesting about greener cities, in an effort to make the children more sensitive to environmental problems.


There were happy children faces (and parents too!) everywhere you looked! I saw lot of visitors both times I was at the show during its working hours, unofficial numbers are 100,000 visitors in four days, which is an amazing feat! It is definitely a very optimistic sign about children (and their parents) in Greece! I also had a great time myself, meeting very talented and interesting people and also seeing lots of friends visiting the show - let's do it again next year!

A loss for Greek photography

Dinos Diamantopoulos left us today. One of the best Greek fashion photographers, and also famous for his glamorous portraits, especially in black & white, he defined Greek fashion photography for many years. Every Greek star longed to be photographed by him, confident that they would be at their most beautiful and glamorous when the final result was published.

Elena Koundoura back when she did what she does best:modelling

I liked his work a lot, although I preferred his fashion photographs to his portrait work. The insecurity of the star that was over re-touched always troubled me enough to see through the vain poses and empty looks into the abyss of the subject's soul. Maybe Dinos did the same, and that is why he tried his very best to make them look perfect. Too perfect.

Spyros Poros

His website with lots of photographs is very good and you can also see his biography there. He will be missed.

Elena Nathanail

Pemy Zouni

Vicky Koulianou for a fashion spread-also in the two photos below.

Rallou Manou

The formidable Melina Merkouri

Magnificent Milva

Muzine Party 01.02.08

I was lucky enough to be able to attend the Muzine party, open for all readers and friends last Friday night at Ianos Cafe. It was a delicous affair, with the weather helping a lot, and people arriving in great mood, to meet up close and personal with the people who makethis particular magazine so special. Some of the editors played their music selections for us, which was one of the best gifts they could give us (although some of them were too lazy to do it themselves ;-)...). There were lots of interesting and beautiful people attending, not only friends but also readers who came to show their gratitude and support to this special endeavour, although some of the Ianos personnel made their very best to ruin the experience (but didn't). My personal thanks to Nektarios Lambropoulos (the publisher) for inviting me and organizing this along with Ianos, and of course to my friends in Muzine: Eleni, Markos, Makis, Aggelos, Maria, Manolis and the rest of the gang: you're the best, keep going! Next stop, Thessaloniki!

Yours truly with Eleni Mitsiaki (who writes beautifully for Muzine) and Cartoon Dandy-Yiannis Tsioulis (who writes beautifully for other magazines).

Natascha, Emanuela & Margarita looking lovely!

Mr. Fotis Vallatos

Cartoon Dandy with gorgeous Anna

Yours truly taking photos!

One of the editors, Ion, heats things up with his immaculate playlist!

Amazing hair from Dafni and Mariza

A mysterious lady looking for something...

Fotis playing with the camera...

Is Aris Karampeazis conspiring with Eleni and me? Who knows? Stay tuned (not)!

Photos courtesy of Stratos Bacalis and Cartoon Dandy