About me
When I was little I used to spend Summers with my grandma, at her house in the countryside, in the North of Greece. In early Summer grandma used to take me for “herbal walks”. Summer was traditionally the region’s herb picking period. So there we were, early in the morning or at noon, (depending on the herb to be picked) me with my cotton bag and grandma with her apron with the huge pouch, walking up the hills of the area to collect our “magical friends”, as she would call them. Just like two honey bees going from one herb to the other. I was fascinated! Herbs of different colours and scents were waiting to greet us.
Grandma used to say:
Be friendly to them and they will be friendly right back at you
and..
Treat them with respect. Take only as much as you need if you want to greet them here again next Summer
After hours of attentive picking we would return home for the next step. Dividing them into categories. Herbs for infusions, herbs for infused oils, herbs for tinctures, herbs for salves. And then the fun would start. Bottles of infused oils set in the sun, ingredients being mixed, jars being filled, scents all around. It was magical!
When grandma passed away I was still very young. I experimented a lot. When I became a mother I moved to the countryside as well. Different region, more to the south, new scents to discover, new “friends” to make. A new project to work for, old knowledge to be shared, new things to learn. My partner, my daughter and I became residents of Evia Island and co-created the Stagones neighbourhood, along with friends with which we shared the same goal.
To live close to Nature, to work with natural materials and start building our house and our new life. And then another project emerged, the Hara-Goe project, inspired by our personal need to create a friendly place where our creativity could be manifested. An educational, cultural and artistic hub. Music and crafts. I started expressing myself through art (Jewelry making). Combining art and my love for herbs I started puting old and new together. The herbs I was growing were happy and as I had already tried plenty of recipes so far, I felt confident enough to prepare remedies for my family and child, like grandma was preparing them for us. She was trusting Nature. So do I!