Czy przeprowadzka do Grecji może zmienić życie? Przeczytaj opowieść Jacki Luton: od menedżera ds. obsługi klienta do projektanta biżuterii.
Przeprowadzka do Grecji: warto podążać za swoimi marzeniami
Z różnych powodów decydujemy się na przeprowadzkę do Grecji, ale większość z nas tęskni za piękną przyrodą, słonecznymi dniami i (po)wolnym życiu. Niektórzy planują przeprowadzkę etapami i latami, a niektórzy podejmują szybkie decyzje.
Moje pierwsze spotkanie z projektantkę biżuterii, Jackie Luton, miało miejsce na lokalnym rynku w Stoupa w listopadzie 2018 r. Jej historia jest inspirująca i może pomoże i Tobie w podjęciu decyzji o przeprowadzce.
Jackie pracowała jako menedżera ds. obsługi klienta w firmy narzędziowej w Anglii do 2002 r. W tym samym roku przeniosła się do Grecji, a kilka lat później zaczęła projektować biżuterię artystyczną z miedzi.
W swoim domu niedaleko Kalamaty założyła własne studio, w którym produkuje biżuterię z miedzi, którą następnie pokrywa specjalną emalią. Jackie sprzedaje biżuterię latem na rynkach lokalnych i od niedawna rownież na Etsy (platforma do sprzedaży szeroko rozumianego rękodzieła).
Każdy kolczyk i naszyjnik są wyjątkowe w intensywnych kolorach łączących błękit i szmaragd: jak małe kawałki, morza i nieba. Przeczytaj jej opowieść o przeprowadzce do Grecji.
Menedżer ds. obsługi klienta w Anglii został projektantem biżuterii w Grecji
EK: Kalimera Jackie. You have been working with handcrafted copper jewelry for many years. Tell us a bit about why you use copper in your jewelry.
JL: Kalimera Elwira. I have always been creative and love making things and I am always on the lookout for things to upcycle. I started out using copper as I had some old plumbing pipe available which I was sure could be made into something. I found that I really enjoyed making something beautiful out of virtually nothing.
I have painted for many years using a variety of different mediums have now started to incorporate colour into many of my hand crafted copper earrings and copper pendant designs using special enamel paints that give a hard glassy like finish on the copper with fabulous iridescent colours.
I also love the natural colours of the copper itself and enjoy experimenting with different methods of getting texture onto the copper (and have ruined many of my kitchen implements!), I also like to incorporate sea glass and various semi-precious stones.
EK: What is so special with cooper?
JL: Did you know that the average home contains 400 pounds of copper that is used for electrical wiring, pipes and appliances – I could certainly make a lot of pairs of earrings from all of that! Copper is a very eco-friendly metal – it is 100% recyclable and nearly 80% of the copper that has been produced is still in use today and it can continue to be recycled without any changes to its properties. In fact, it retains 95% of its original value.
I have come to love the versatility of using copper and find the hammering process quite therapeutic. Several people have since donated old copper pipes to me so I have lots of raw material available.
EK: How about copper and Greece: can you tell us a bit about the history of this material?
JL: In Greece, copper was known by the name chalkos (χαλκός). It was an important resource for the Romans, Greeks and other ancient people. In Roman times, it was known as aes Cyprium, aes being the generic Latin term for copper alloys and Cyprium from Cyprus, where much of the copper was mined. The phrase was simplified to cuprum, hence the English copper. Jewellery made from copper featured heavily in early civilizations and the earliest known piece of copper jewellery dates to the eighth millennium BC. Copper was associated with gods and goddesses and became so valuable that it was used as money – first as natural lumps and then as coins.
EK: I know it’s a very general question but: why did you decide to move to Greece?
JL: Both my husband and I are sun worshippers and have always dreamed of living somewhere sunny. Whilst on holiday in the Mani we stumbled across an old house that was for sale and the owner showed us around. This got us thinking about moving seriously and we started doing some sums to work out if we could manage financially without working. Within 6 months we had sold our house in UK and bought a house in the mountains near Kalamata.
EK: What was most the difficult when you decided to stay in Greece permanently?
JL: I really thought that I would be a fluent Greek speaker within a few years but I am still struggling with the language. Every so often I start to try again to learn more but I find it very difficult. The Greek bureaucracy also takes a bit of getting used to, you need to be prepared for everything to take a long time and have lots of paperwork stamped and signed many times over.
EK: A lot of people are very creative. Do you think the beauty around us helps us to develop our creativity?
JL: You are right, there are so many talented and creative people in the area. I think perhaps it is because the pace of life is slower and people have more time to do things they enjoy. I certainly get a lot of my inspiration from living here in Greece. For example I have my sunset collection which is inspired by the many fabulous sunsets over the Messinian bay that I am lucky enough to see from my home.
Thank you Jackie for your time. Publikacja på raz pierwszy na stronie Husigrekland.se
