Hot discounts at the hottest time of year!

Its that time of year again when our skilled artisans simply deserve to spend quality time with their families after a hard year's work!
The heat is on in Greece for good.. in more than the Celsius scale! And rest is the best way to prepare before another battle this September. The sky is blue, the sea is soothing and there's nothing new to us-Greeks about comedy and tragedy - all an inseparable part of life.

While we're on a break, and dipping in the rich Aegean blue waves, your orders get a bonus of 25% off all our prices - That means that by waiting to receive the items just a little longer, you get an incredible 1/4 of our prices off for your valued custom!

Customer service will still be open to answer any customer questions by email.

Details about how to participate in this super-deal can be found at special discounts and promotion codes (the offer is 25% at the time of publishing but will finish if you wait longer than August 20th or so)

An old house entrance on the island of Kythnos 

I love acorns?

Now this does sound typical of Snoopy (I love peanuts?) - for those of you have been around for long enough to remember.. Gosh I sound old.. but actually this entry is about less retro than the 1970's comic strip and actually very much happening today..

To get closer to the point, I heard of somebody recently which actually has a true passion and a true plan for reviving a local traditional industry in Greece on the picturesque island of Kea in (naturally in Greece), which is not far from the Athenian mainland. It was only yesterday however that I was invited over to try her famous acorn cookies to learn a lot more about the story 'hands on'!

Baking acorn cookies with kids from the village

Marcie, a dynamic Californian woman who has lived on the island for many years has taken a challenging initiative to revive the agricultural development and the contemporary use of acorns for all sorts of purposes. She recently raised over a whooping $10,000 on the internet alone via kickstarter for this precise passion. The acorn which grows abundantly in Kea, was once a strong sector and a main source of income for the locals. Since the development of tourism and the drastic increase of the value of land however, the locals lost interest completely in this agricultural activity. What is most interesting is the incredible number of uses that acorns can be used for which I never imagined previous to hearing of Marcie's passion and eating her acorn-cookies and home-made wine at the Red Tractor Farm

The interior of one of the cottages on the Red Tractor Farm

As she explained to me acorns offer a pigment for dying leather (shoes, bags etc) which is far superior to any other method of dying and treating leather. Acorns can also derive flour which can be used to cook numerous foods with and these are only just some of the uses.. Marcie has not only raised funds to equip the community with machinery able to harvest them, she has 'cooked up' old acorn recipes and acorn recipes of her own! She also keeps a journal to keep the world up to date with whats new in her project.

Marcie and her husband Kostis (who is Greek and from Kea) own a beautiful farm called 'The Red Tractor Farm on the island which is very much a part of their family history. It is exquisitely serene and hosts numerous visitors from around the world every year offering each visitor a large number of activities and to fully enjoy the true less 'touristy' atmosphere of the island.

Well done Marcie, keep up the excellent work!

For today, we cannot but mourn..

At these historically difficult times for Greece, there is little that can be said to alleviate the grief and pain for the strike against the civilized world in the heart of historic Europe. For all those passengers in life who have passed through Greece once or a few times in their lives and felt the warmth and the blessed-by-God earth and sea of the aegean, words have no meaning. The light of truth is everywhere, between the passenger and Him. Who has not spoken with Him under the sun of the Aegean? As a ritual, each traveler has been allowed this moment.

Such is the warmth of Greece. The calm depth of simplicity, warms the heart, and happiness, comedy and tragedy become one. Such beauty makes engages everyone. Indeed even the gods of Olympus were permeable receptors of such passion, weakness and the humble beauty of humanity. We are not gods, we are human yet with many flaws. We, the Greeks (or Hellenes) understand the essence of freedom and civilization and we have been credited for this. Indeed we envisaged 'Europa' in our myths as an artiste persuaded and subdued by the tempting reincarnation of Zeus as a Bull. This was the true Greek myth. This is what makes us Hellenes. As Alexander the Great advocated, taught by Aristotle, 'He who is a Hellene is not so by birth right but by choice - as every man is free have Hellenic thought'.

Greece has been humiliated but it is not finished. It is too wise to forget, and it has struggled too much in the past to give up. Greece is NOT hopeless because it is a country rich in history, and having history is having wisdom and belonging. Wisdom is to learn from one's mistakes and to set the example for those mistakes of others. Those who carry a little of Greece in their hearts or in their memories must always find room to smile.. for the sun is still shining on us.

For today however, we cannot but mourn.

Greek Jewelry Shop is proud to be featured on the cover of "The Jewel of Persia"

It was around six months ago, when I received an unusual email request sent a satisfied customer.. nothing unusual so far except that this particular customer was Roseanna M. White the author, who was particularly keen on gaining permission to use one of our family's very old jewelry designs for the illustrative cover of her new book The Jewel of Persia

I was very flattered indeed that our Large silver torc bracelet, an all time classic which my uncle Lefteris Vaphiadis last adapted in the 1960's had been selected to perceptively enhance with its presence, a thrilling new book written by an already successful author.

I was also pleasantly surprised that the integrity of the author was such that she did go to the effort of requesting proper permission acknowledging the bracelets copyright (instead of grabbing some images from Google the easy way). Despite what the proper legal route to such endeavors may be, as an artist myself that makes original jewelry designs, I can only congratulate her on this behavior. This behavior being commendable, subsequently has a lot to say about the way the author treats and respects her historic research which is beautifully blended into her novels.

As one reader/reviewer has written already: "I love how Roseanna intertwines history with fiction is such a way it is hard to tell where the truth ends and fiction begins. She has lots of historical information listed on her website to help you see how she wove her story around those facts. She is very clear on what she created and what is factual. It is done so beautifully that it is easy to see how it could have happened."

To be honest, as the book has only just been launched, I have not had a chance to read it yet as my copy is on its way directly from the author (I am very excited!!) , but judging by the book reviews on amazon the novel is already a great hit!

More eloquently said.. by the great Manos Hatzidakis

I just realized that what I tried to describe as the beautiful feeling of spring in Greece (in my last post), has already been said, more poetically, more eloquently and at least 40 years in advance by the brilliant composer Hatzidakis..

Greek Jewelry with summer nostalgia

Its not too long ago that these shots were lent to us to photograph from the extensive ancient greek jewelry collection of greek jewelry shop.

The view of them on sandy beaches and on the poolside brings a sigh.. even to me, the photographer.

Why is it that Greece and the Mediterranean is so incredibly blessed in the summertime.. Longing for the Spring and Summer-time. The smell of dryness and hint of herbs in the air... the anxiety and longing in the atmosphere to finish work and enjoy the rest of the day - while the day lasts long into the night.

In Greece you know it has finally arrived when you have that warmth in the air in the late evenings and through the sound of children playing in the 'plateias' (squares) at 8 or 9 o'clock in the evening. No one is in the mood to sleep or let the summer slip away.. yet it always does and now is the time to start looking forward to that tingling feeling of summer again

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