santorini, finale

while on santorini we also visted the city of oia. i took a few photos outside an antique and imports shop that carried beautiful contemporary work, lots with a byzantine feel. lots of rich colored stones and pearls, high carat gold, and filigree inspired settings.
i also wanted to mention that in fira, sanorini’s capital there are jewelry shops all over, but there is actually a street called “jewelry street” where every shop is dedicated to jewelry. most of the stores carry fine jewelry, lots of 18 and 22k gold, lots of diamonds... pave set stones seem to be very popular, along with mesh and woven wire. many owners and shop salespeople stand outside when things are slow, chatting with each other and inviting passersby to come in. this was all fascinating to me.

tomorrow...crete.

thanks for reading.

santorini, part 3

one evening after a delicious dinner and beautiful sunset, we began a search for gelato and ran into 2u on the way. this little shop was full of great contemporary jewelry, including modern ethnic and folk art pieces, costume and trendy styles, and some very simple, minimalist work. the variety was fantastic! i was most excited to see in person the work of one of my greek guest stars, katerina ioannidis. i bought a very simple black cord necklace with tiny silver charms in the shape of branch coral.



next up...my final santorini post then on to crete.

thanks for reading.

santorini, part 2

the first day we were in santorini, we walked to fira, the capital, heading straight to the caldera rim to see the view. however, i was pleasantly sidetracked by koukla, a shop i had found during my many greek jewelry internet searches. i was so excited to find it! the shop is owned by two sisters, avge and olga, who just love jewelery. i struck up a conversation with avge and had such a good time chatting with her. (yes, she did ask me if i had a shop of my own.) she even visited my blog and website while i was there. so nice. i spent a lot of time looking at everything. the layout of the shop and the displays were thoughtful and uncrowded. the work was eclectic and very appealing, a great mix of contemporary, handmade work.
the next day i went back and bought a necklace and two bracelets by joanna cave. koukla was definitely my favorite jewelry shop in greece! here is a picture of the cute packaging and the pieces i bought from koukla and 2u (another great jewelry store in santorini that i will talk about tomorrow).
thanks for reading.

santorini, part 1

we spent a lot of time on the island of santorini and therefore i am going to break-up my jewelry-related experiences into parts. one of the most interesting spaces i visited was the studio/store of prodomos libatetzoglou, built into the side of the cliff.
it definitely had a cave-like feel, but because it was well lit it was inviting. the space was divided into three sections with arched ceilings. two of these sections were devoted to jewelry display while the other was his studio. my favorite display was of his rings, each held standing up with a close-pin. i have no pictures, though, as he had "no pictures" signs posted. i did have a great talk with him about being a jeweler and i bought these earrings:


thanks for reading.