Central Image: Yannis Bournias, HAK Studios

Open House Athens returns more dynamic than ever and for the 10th consecutive year, with a rich program of activities related to architecture and the city. This year, the motto is "Building Futures Together" with the institution giving a nod to sustainability for the first time, planning guided tours of buildings that are models of bioclimatic architecture in Athens. However, in addition to the main activities, open walks, filmed tours of architectural offices and tours of creative spaces will also take place, as part of Made In Athens during March 30-31, 2023. These are studios dealing with product design, fashion design, ceramics, engraving, risograph printing, artistic bookbinding, as well as jewellery making. The creators themselves will welcome you in these spaces, sharing a common passion for creating handmade items, with modern applications of traditional techniques. These are the studios:

Hak Studios

Alexandros Kotoulas, originally from Kastoria and a graduate of Design Academy in the Netherlands, combines his different inspiration sources as well as different production techniques in his design, always staying true to sustainable design with a variety of themes while rejecting seasonality. In addition to leather, handmade fabrics and clay are used to design accessories and objects that are equal parts decorative and functional. Read here what Alexandros Kotoulas revealed to us about his most recent collection entitled "Green Fields".

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Photo: HAK Studios

Anna Karountzou Ceramics

Each ceramic object by Anna Karountzou is unique. Combining her knowledge of the conservation of antiquities and works of art with her personal experiences, the designer creates organic containers with architectural forms, the raw material of which alludes to places with which she is connected, such as Oia of Santorini where she grew up. For these creations, traditional clay-making techniques are employed, while the finishing of these functional objects is done in such a way as to highlight the essence of the material and its connection with the earth.

Photo: Anna Karoutzou

Atelier MOTS

Atelier MOTS is located in Stoa Leocharous since 2020, after the "descent" from Thessaloniki where Maria Evaggelogianni had first created handmade silver jewellery. The aesthetics of these simple but impressive creations allude to the modernist world, modernist architecture and truth to materials but also to human proportions and the history of design. The space, which opens its doors as part of Made In Athens, is on the spectrum between shop and workshop and its location within a typical commercial stoa of modern Athens enhances this ambivalence even more.

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Photo: Atelier MOTS

Ifenin

It is an exhibition-interactive space aiming to preserve and promote Greek traditional and modern textile art, located in the centre of Athens under the Acropolis. In addition to the museum exhibits of old looms, educational programs and seminars, "Ifenin" also releases its own original textiles, from carpets and cushions to bags and wall decorations and the visitors can witness the entire production process unfold before their eyes.

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Photo: Narratologies, Discover Greece

Dolce Publishing

Dolce Publishing was founded in 2017 and is active in the design, production and distribution of art books and publications. It is a venture that directly supports new creators, through the production of exhibition catalogues, posters and collector's editions, as well as the organisation of workshops and participation in exhibitions. Their risograph prints stand out and seminars for this printing method are often held on the premises of the publishing house.

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Photo: Dolce Publishing

KAKURU Jewelry

The unapologetically Greek style of these handmade jewelry pieces is the expressed passion of the founder of KAKURU Jewelry, Elina Kakourou, for the tangible and intangible elements of the country, which are matched with different emotions. Silver, gold, but also olive wood from Sparta, are combined in elegant creations that praise the Peloponnese, the place of origin of the founder. The team's workshop and store, designed by Urban Soul Project, distinguished by organic forms and an ever-present inspiration from nature, has been operating since 2017 and is the place where everyone shares the same passion for creation.

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Photo: Urban Soul Project

Sealed Earth

This ceramics gallery and workshop is aimed at everyone who wants to express themselves through clay, using traditional and modern techniques. The objects created here are unique, with a playful aesthetic and organic forms that are made either by hand or by special 3d printers. The functional or visual works are made by various artists who collaborate with the gallery, which organises individual and collective exhibitions as well as seminars and private visits.

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Photo: Niklas, Sealed Earth

Not Today Jewelry Studio

Maria Falara enjoys every step of the process of making a handmade piece of jewellery and she tries to convey this through the aesthetics of her creations. Applying traditional and eco-friendly techniques, this slow fashion homage brand draws inspiration from pop culture, cinema, music, travel and nature, and releases collections of rings, necklaces, earrings and other accessories in silver, gold and bronze, in geometric, abstract or representational forms, with attention to detail and provision for the jewellery's gradual transformation over time.

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Photo: Not Today Jewelry Studio

24 Goat

The vibrant colours and handmade design of 24 Goat's tote bags, t-shirts, sweatshirts and prints "light up" Dimitrakopoulou Street in Koukaki. Eirini Soile creates each original engraving design with graphic elements that evoke the feeling of the handmade, inspired by the environment around her: everyday life in Athens, songs, food, summer and sunlight. The brand name came from her first design printed, in 2017, as a personal gift to a friend who was born on the 24th.

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Photo: 24 Goat

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Stella Panagopoulou and Valisia Gotsi promote ethical and sustainable fashion design through their studio that produces timeless clothes that stand the test of time, rejecting passing trends. With a nomadic minimal philosophy, each clothing collection they design is inspired by a city in the world and specifically by its architecture, cinema and traditions, elements that relate to the brand's philosophy but also the idea of deconstruction in which the designers believe.

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Photo: Vasileios Papageorgiou

Binary Ceramics

Yiannis Vogdanis, the founder of Binary Ceramics, has a passion for exploring the boundaries between analog and digital. He experiments with the forms, patterns and vibrations he observes around him with the help of a 3D printer. The various series of ceramic containers, lamps and mugs that have been released consist of fluid shapes that can stand as sculptures in the space while remaining functional at the same time, and they either have a shiny finish or reveal the raw layering of the material (porcelain or clay).

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Photo: Adorno

Alexia Kokkinou – Artistic Bookbinding

Alexia Kokkinou's studies on different forms of art, from interior architecture to graphic arts technology, played a key role throughout her many years of experience in artistic and mechanical bookbinding as well as book conservation. She found her means of expression in the book, which she co-creates with the help of traditional tools. The space where her workshop is located belonged to her teacher and bookbinder Georgios Foskolos, who handed it down to her. In this space, she also hosts bookbinding seminars.

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Nafkratousa

It is a small women's clothing business that transforms, through design and by hand, fabrics into dresses, blouses and trousers in simple lines and earth tones.

For the full Open House Athens 2023 itinerary and visiting hours, click here.