Occhi Concept Store - new address

Must be the season of new beginnings. Occhi Concept Store will soon be leaving 'Panther', Sarri 35, Psirri - Athens, for a new space a few metres down the road. To celebrate the move, an ongoing Treasure Hunt Sales Event is unleashed till January 31st, with prices ranging between 5 and 150 euros. As owner Anna Polydorou has proved to have a very good eye for some seriously cool Greek and foreign designers, it will be easy to hunt your own treasure.

During this period, Occhi will stay open on Sundays too, with opening hours forming as such:
Mon. , Wed., Sat.: 11.00 - 18.00
Tue., Thu, Fri.: 12.00 - 21.00
Sunday (23/1 & 30/1): 13.00 - 19.00

As of mid-February, Occhi's new home will be at Sarri str. #28.

Ma Chambre - new address

Like I said it was going to happen, Ma Chambre has just moved to a new 'chambre', at Skoufa 77, Kolonaki - Athens.

Image above, Mikaela Theofilou's piece on Skalidi's work at one of Ethnos newspaper recent issues - it's great to finally see fashion and local creation all the more often on newspaper pages. Fingers crossed, at some point it's going to move from the fashion columns to the business ones like it should.

Image below, mural at the new Ma Chambre, by graphics designer Paris Koutsikos. Wonderful touch.

Rere Papa 'change of address' sale

Rere Papa boutique, currently at Skoufa 62, Athens, is soon to relocate. New address is yet to be announced, however a super sale to mark this change is on as of today. Price range: between 10 and 120 euros, till January the 12th.

Visiting Ma Chambre

Finally made it to Georgina Skalidi's pink basement and before too long, I wanted her 'chambre' to be mine. Imagine a handmade clutch nest literally underground. Hard to miss these shoes too. 'Lujuria' by fellow Spanish designer Maria Arellano who amongst other projects, has designed a private collection for Madonna.
Georgina Skalidi's ballerina's were special too, flat, simple and cute, matching those clutches of hers like they should. (That's right, took a useless picture of them inside their boxes - scroll up to first image or pay her a visit)
Ma Chambre is soon to relocate I was told, same neighbourhood though -so if you're reading this let's say in March '11- check before heading over.

As for what I left with, well, it was what I went for all along, against ongoing transport strikes, protests, lousy parking and all odds.
Deserves a post of its own.
Soon.

Parking Wall

This is what the parking's wall at Karitsi Square, Athens, looks like these days. Any idea what's it for? Haven't got a clue but I like the colour on this massive block of cement.

Sotiris Georgiou - details

More than chess effect. Taking a closer look, it's zig-zag cut pieces of fabric, resembling those on sample cards by textile companies. Must have been a great deal of work to cut them individually and make them behave as one. Connotation is appreciated too.
Ever looked up whilst watching a movie at a summer cinema in the city? Seeing the buildings behind the jasmine trees surrounding the space is surreal. You are inside an oasis where cement cannot touch you as long as the movie is on. Or in this case, as long as the show is on. Again, loved the location.
Perfect versions of this hairstyle are not as simple as they look. And what on earth is this, holding it together?
Make-up artist (as well as musician and DJ) George Hatziioannidis is later on sharing the secret backstage:
It's elastic tape. Toolbox making friends with hair styling. Creative. And cool result.
Shoulder play. Sexy, especially in this '80s flavour, letting skin show. Thumbs up.
A tail-ed take on mens tees. Wear suits with tails when you play the piano at a gala. Wear t-shirts with tails whilst playing guitar in a band. Air guitar counts too. And yes, I'd steal it anytime from your closet.
Shoes in a suit. He's done it before, he did it again. Excellent. Sotiris Georgiou literally dresses the shoes for this show in some very interesting and well-made gowns. Hope they go to production. Saying that, the shoes he styled for his previous show were so successful, they received orders and are now out for sale.
Catwalk line-up. Always an interesting piece of paper. Choosing of the model who opens a show is a serious decision, no paper off the hat. So it happens that the first three names I can read on this are some of the most promising new generation Greek models right now. Close-up in future post.

*See shots of the actual show, here.

I see Jeremy Irons

So it's the beginning of last week, you are walking down Ermou Street, Athens and you are thinking "crickey, those post-holiday blues, I am having visions of sandy beaches, gigantic cocktails and Jeremy Irons".

Dunno where you got the first two from, the reason you saw Jeremy Irons though is because ...it was Jeremy Irons.

Apparently the Brit actor spent quite some time inside Shop (Ermou 112A), browsing the store and shopping goods from its lifestyle department. Turns out he visits Athens often and when in town, this is a 'Shop' he likes (sic):
Sadly, no snaps of staff and star as the first proved out honest and discreet as they should be (damn).

Angles

Selection of tests I did on how my camera shoots from various angles. Small tribute to my cotton playsuit too. Crossed my mind that not much else needs to be packed for a summer holiday. Visually challenging it's not, but sometimes, visually challenging I don't need.

Kalogeros, Paros, GR

Do I look blue to you?
Wait till you see these guys:
And this lot is turning burgundy by the minute:
That's because the first have rubbed against this natural green clay rock...
...and the second, against the red clay rock right next to it.
Green clay goes turqoise once dry. (fishy got the spa treatment too)
Red clay goes a powdery lilac. (I tried both)
I tell you, this is nature's most amazing and effective spa. And this is a proof that natural clay doesn't come in tubes at the store. It's really out there.
Enough to apply on every inch of your body, absolutely free.
Hair too. No kidding, this mud does wonders, leaving everything shiny and velvety when washed off - including your swim suit.
There's plently for everyone and that rock is massive, towering over a beautiful sandy beach. Or should I say "there's still plenty" as each year, to my horror, I see tourists being griddy and happily breaking entire parts of it to take home.

If in Paros, I strrrrongly recommend the beach of Kalogeros.

Tip: have an empty water bottle with you - the clay is activated once wet and carrying sea water with your hands will take ages!

For step-by-step directions on how to use it and what's in it, see last year's post.

Kolimbithres, Paros, GR

Kolimbithres is not about the beach. It's about the rocks. Clean, round and warm, nature's modern art in perfect shapes to lie on.
-dedicated to sweet A who's still at work.