Alexandros Kotoulas grew up in Kastoria, a place known for the production of fur clothing and accessories, and after his studies at the Design Academy in the Netherlands, he worked at Louis Vuitton. Applying his knowledge of leather and the valuable experience he gained abroad, he managed to become known in the fashion world with the first brand he created in 2013, called Alexquisite: the handmade Voyager Backpack was manufactured in Thessaloniki and made its way around the world. This year, remaining faithful to domestic design, Alexandros is reborn through his new venture called HAK STUDIOS.

The title (Handcrafted by Alex Kotoulas Studios) directly refers to the multiplicity of craftsmen, construction methods and different objects. In addition to leather, handmade fabrics and clay are used to design accessories and objects that balance between decoration and functionality. All creations are handmade, by local artisans who pay attention, among other things, to sustainability since an effort is made to save material. In fact, the collections of HAK STUDIOS will be characterised by a variety of themes but not seasonality, in order to give promote the responsible purchase of timeless products.

ALTAR, BRASS HOLDER | Photo: Yannis Bournias

The first collection is described as “Colour Fields”, and indeed it's about landscapes of colour that vary in scale: from elegant geometric clutches inspired by the art of Elsworth Kelly, to organic ceramic flower pots and airy fabrics. Alexandros Kotoulas himself will tell us more about his creations and aesthetics.

AMALGAM, RUG / THROW | Φωτ: hak-studios.com

A minimum of 3 weeks is required to craft each part that makes up the Altar vase. Nevertheless, you prefer the completely handmade process over the industrialized one. Why;

This is the way I learned to design and craft objects and I find it to be the most consistent for the materials I work with. I really like to see the "hand" in the final object, and for better or worse this process is usually more time-consuming and expensive.

For the "Colour Fields" collection you draw inspiration from another area of art, outside of design. In general, what can inspire you?

Usually, the two fields I draw inspiration from are art and nature. I try to translate the colours of a painting or the forms of the natural world into a product, aiming primarily at the ergonomics of the object but also the ability to recognise the source of inspiration.

THE GREAT TOTE | Photo: Yannis Bournias

It’s hopeful that a fashion (and not only) brand rejects seasonality in favour of sustainability. What other features make your design sustainable?

With this collection, I managed to be able to create all the objects as close to the studio as possible. Both our ceramics and leather as well as textile products are the result of small family workshops in Attica. Supporting these artisans is one of the brand's goals because unfortunately, although the country had excellent artisans, in recent decades there have been very few left, often making any production in Greece impossible. I think this is also a matter of sustainability.

In your previous brand, you showed great interest in textures, studying how people touch and view them. How did you develop this aesthetic under the HAK STUDIOS project?

This is not something that has changed. The core of the brand is the same. Textures, colours, and forms, but also how they all coexist to create a piece of clothing or interior product, is something that has never ceased to interest me. You can see it in AMALGAM RUGS for example, where different fabrics come together and create a patchwork of colours and textures. Or even in the ECLIPSE CLUTCH, with the play of colour between inner and outer leather.

ECLIPSE, CLUTCH | Photo: hak-studios.com

The truth is that it would be difficult for a space of a small new creator to host both ceramic and leather production lines at the same time, so collaboration with other workshops becomes necessary. Of course, you prefer this approach for other reasons as well. What are they? Do you think that this logic of cooperation could evolve Greek design?

There are many materials that interest me. Leather, fabric, ceramics, wood... It would be impossible for me to acquire the know-how and experience required in all of these to be able to execute the designs I think of myself. At the same time, working with each of the artisans I work with evolves my initial design to a great extent, making it many times more ergonomic, easier to produce and thus a more correct product.

Photo: hak-studios.com

What is the concept behind the design of your new digital identity by Semiotik Design and Dimitris Koliadimas?

With the Semiotic team, we had as an initial goal the renewal of the brand name so that it could more accurately communicate all of my work. The previous name (alexquisite) was the title of a project that started during my studies and it no longer represented the direction of the brand, especially after the introduction of new materials and products into the collections. Dimitris Koliadimas, knowing my work all these years and because we had worked together before, was the most suitable to give body to the identity that the brand now had.

Photo: hak-studios.com

You state that you are in a stage where you are expanding the materials with which you create. What other material would you like to work with? What else are you planning for the near future?

I worked a bit with metal in this collection by making a brass structure instead of a vase, the ALTAR BRASS. It is a material with great rigour, which creates clear forms and could easily communicate ideas that I have thought about.

Many thanks to Alexandros Kotoulas and we are waiting for his new collection.

hak-studios.com