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BIO
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Hi there :) I am Despina Manousaki, born ('93) and raised in Rethymno city of Crete. After my Biomedical Engineering Bachelor in Athens, my journey took a beautiful turn when I discovered my true passion for the Arts.

From my childhood, creativity and painting have been my companion, but in Greek high schools there is no room for these, so I kept them in silence for a long time. After my graduation and working in corporate environments, my inner voice was screaming for expression and creation. That was the moment when I welcomed goldsmithing to my life and the metals fascinated me with their hardness and plasticity. 
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JEWELRY & PAINTING
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But to make beautiful jewelry wasn't enough for me. I wanted to make pieces which could represent my inner worries in this society and at that point, I faced a wall. How can I fit meanings like struggle for life, humanity or state crimes, into the small dimensions of a jewelry? And if I make it, how is it possible for someone to wear this symbol?

It took me some years of search and experiments to find out that my ideal symbol-jewelry has to stand together with an artwork. The freedom that painting gives me to express all my worries, by generating my universes on canvas, returned to my life to give me the solution. Now, the artwork shapes the object, which carries all the meanings within.
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WORKSHOPS
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No one has ever achieved anything completely alone; everything is a result of cooperation. I truly believe it. Every single connection in this life, has led to who we are and what we have achieved until today.

And here is the importance of workshops. Workshop, for me, is a space to connect, where we all together explore our skills, expand our boundaries, and inspire each other. The combination of your ideas with my technical instructions can lead us to unique creations.
And I find this magically beautiful :)