03/06/2026
New designs incoming! This new body of work will be celebrating the historic island of Chios, where my family originated. This first set of designs in the Chios collection is inspired by the mastic tree and the tears that fall from it in the form of Mastiha.
Chios Mastiha (or gum mastic), the unique product that has shaped the natural and human environment of the Mastichochoria area of southern Chios, as well as the productive and economic history of the island. Mastiha is the aromatic resin of the lentisc tree (skinos in greek). This evergreen bush grows wild throughout the Mediterranean, but, curiously, southern Chios is the only place where it produces Mastiha.
A blessing and a curse. Production of Mastiha gave people of the island a valuable resource to cultivate and benefit from but it also attracted many imperial invasions and occupations throughout history due to mastics health benefits and popularity.
Every design in this collection will be visually inspired mastic tears and cast in cuttlefish bones, which gives the metal a wood grain like surface, tying the whole design together as a celebration of the Mastic tree.
