X.C.I.V: April 2011

Thursday, 28 April 2011

Maroulina an Icon of Jewelry design

When I had My shop on Mykonos a lady commented on how similar my work was to her husbands Grandmother Sophia Thanopoulos, better known as Maroulina. That was how I was introduced to her marvelous creations...and this will always be the biggest compliment concerning my work!
   Maroulina, was born on November 7th 1908 in Russia. She moved to Greece when she was 4. She described while she was young how the sea used to throw at her feet an assortment of materials, from sea shells, driftwood, fragments of glass, crab claws and so on, and how all had been polished and shaped anew by the genius of the sea, these items were to become her precious materials.
   Maroulina was self taught, in 1943 she started making espadrilles, bags and dresses,in 1953 she decided to try her luck in Mykonos (her mothers island) and opened her shop <Maroulina's little shop>.
   Two years later a young man walked into her shop and asked why she didn't make jewelry, she laughed at the time, but she would never forget him.
  Her list of clients were to include Greta Garbo, Elizabeth Taylor, Ursula Andress, Julie Christie, the Begum Aga Khan, Mary fairbanks, and many more.
   What makes her special to me is not that our stories are so similar, including us both being scorpios and that we are both self taught and discovered our jewelry making passion on Mykonos. What makes her special to me is her uninhibited use of fantasy, never sticking to one style nor conforming to fashion, her work is free, timeless and totally fantastic.
   I could find very little about her on the internet, which actually makes her even more precious....but here are some pictures of her work from her self named book.....Maroulina.