Aegean Journey – WWD

After spending a number of household summers on Patmos within the japanese Aegean, not removed from the Turkish coast, Maria Lemos had had sufficient.

Lemos, founding father of the Rainbowwave showroom and Mouki Mou idea shops, has all the time cherished the style lovers’ island, which is dotted with non-public houses and hyper-styled leases, however she was additionally stressed and needed to expertise the island in a brand new, extra intimate, method.

So when Pagostas, a guesthouse in-built 1597 and owned by the monastery of St. John the Theologian, got here up at public sale, Lemos and her husband Gregoris Kambouroglou jumped.

They took a protracted lease on the property in Chora, the island’s capital, which is dominated by the 11^th century monastery. For hundreds of years the monastery has been a Christian and Greek Orthodox pilgrimage web site because it was the place the place St. John is alleged to have written his Gospel and the E-book of Revelation.

Though Lemos and her husband by no means got down to turn out to be hoteliers, they fell in love with the place and thought, why not?

“We each love internet hosting individuals and had already determined to spend extra of our lives in Patmos. It’s one thing we each actually needed — though we didn’t understand on the time how a lot work it was,” says Lemos, who’s Greek by start and who grew up between Athens and London.

Their undertaking additionally had a wider objective.

“The home belongs to the monastery, and that was probably the most fascinating half for us,” says Lemos. “We’re right here doing one thing that’s really not for monetary achieve. It’s extra a labor of affection and a method of giving again to the group.”

Kambouroglou, a retired orthopedic and trauma surgeon, took cost of the restoration. He labored intently with native builders and artisans and has turn out to be the de facto physician on Patmos which, like many Greek islands, solely has a small medical heart.

The couple tapped Leda Athanasopoulou, an inside designer who has renovated many historic homes on the island, to revamp the house in keeping with the couple’s imaginative and prescient.

They divided it into three giant bedrooms, renovated the loos and created frequent areas the place visitors can have breakfast, mingle over cocktails or gaze on the hills and horizon.

There’s even a spot to hearken to Kambouroglou’s giant assortment of vinyl information — Greek opera, classical and rock ’n’ roll — which he spins all yr spherical, says Lemos.

The music could also be his, however the refined, bohemian fashion is all hers. Pagostas is a spare, tranquil refuge straight out of an Homeric poem.  

“Patmos could be very conventional, and you might be dwelling in a spot that belongs to the monastery. We needed to point out a Greek lifestyle, and discover that cusp between custom and modernity,” says Lemos.

As well as, she requested herself, “’How will we reside with much less?’ Greece is about simplicity, in regards to the fundamentals — however these fundamentals should be trendy,” she provides.

The bones of the constructing are unique: there are stone partitions, vaulted archways, terracotta ground tiles, and steep slate stairs. The loos are trendy, and practically all of the homeware was made to order in Greece.

Sheets, linens and napkins had been woven by hand completely for Pagostas; the pottery was handmade by a trio of feminine artisans in Athens, and the glass was handblown in Crete. The silver cutlery is a uncommon exception — it’s from England. 

“Pagostas just isn’t rustic — in the event you’re doing simplicity, the weather and the elements should be fairly elevated,” says Lemos.

The inside designer sourced the furnishings from vintage markets in Athens, whereas different bits had been made domestically.

“After which there are a few touches which might be mine, just like the Bauhaus chandelier and a Swedish tapestry. They sort of like throw you somewhat bit,” says Lemos. “They match completely, however are sudden.”

Design is in her DNA.

Lemos started her trend profession working with John Galliano and Clements Ribeiro and later based London’s Rainbowwave showroom, which has been a launching pad for manufacturers together with JW Anderson, Marios Schwab and Carven. Ten years in the past she opened Mouki Mou, an idea retailer in London, and in Could she opened a second one in Athens.

Working with the panorama designer Helli Pangalou, Lemos and her husband planted jasmine within the courtyard and stuffed the walled backyard with plumbago, myrtle, and lemon timber.

The Naxos Apothecary, considered one of Greece’s high perfume and private care manufacturers, provides the natural bathtub merchandise whereas Lemos labored together with her outdated pal — and fellow Londoner — Lyn Harris of Perfumer H on a bespoke candle.

The meals is native to the island.

Breakfast may be brown bread with schinos (a kind of fragrant root) served with eggs, cheese, and yogurt. There are seasonal fruit juices, and jams that are made by Lemos’ mother-in-law from quinces, figs and different fruits. Honey is made with heather from the close by island of Lipsi.

Regardless of all of the arduous work, and the various journeys forwards and backwards throughout the European continent, Lemos is having fun with Pagostas as a lot as any of the visitors.

“Holidays have turn out to be totally different,” says Lemos, who spent New 12 months’s on Patmos for the primary time this yr. “I in all probability had one of the best vacation of the yr in Patmos in January. This complete undertaking has taken me into a very totally different context.”

Lemos has been spending an growing period of time in Greece. As she and her husband set about reviving the guesthouse, Lemos took on one other undertaking: Opening a department of Mouki Mou in Athens in Could. Though Athens is her native metropolis, she had by no means accomplished enterprise there, and says it has been an journey.

Mouki Mou is positioned in a ’70s constructing within the historic neighborhood of Plaka and has a view of the Acropolis.

Lemos once more labored with inside designer Leda Athanasopoulou. She additionally created a planted backyard on the huge roof terrace, which she plans to make use of for events, exhibitions and occasions.

As with London, the shop presents clothes, jewellery and life-style, however is totally different in some ways. Lemos says Mouki Mou is the primary trend idea retailer to land in Athens; the viewers is totally different from London, and the main focus is extra on wardrobe constructing and introducing worldwide designers to the market.

“It’s about exposing the Athenian crowd, and likewise the worldwide crowd in Athens, to an array of designers and makers that they weren’t uncovered to earlier than. In London, we stocked Lemaire however I finished shopping for it as a result of now it’s all over the place. However that’s not the case in Athens, so we’re promoting Lemaire there,” says Lemos.

She’s additionally stocking the French clothes label Casey Casey for comparable causes, and desires to introduce the London-based Toogood, which presents clothes, ceramics and furnishings designed by the multidisciplinary artistic Faye Toogood.

“I’m studying in regards to the Greek clientele. Like London, it’s about constructing a loyal buyer, and we’re starting to try this in Athens. The shock was that now we have a world following — which I hadn’t anticipated,” says Lemos.

“They’re all coming by Athens in the summertime months — individuals from Rainbowwave, Mouki Mou and Pagostas. The three are sort of merging, and the traces are getting blurred,” says Lemos.

Her universe of fashion simply retains getting larger.