Unexpected Pairings

Blooming designs and chocolate creations in an unexpected pairing of brands.

In the 1970s, my home base was still London, but I made frequent visits to Greece, time sweetly stolen from the stultifying everyday routine of normal life. These were tinged with a sense of giddy expectations and ebullient wonder. The skies were always blue here even in February in comparison to London’s semi-permanent grey backdrop. The broad and graceful street where we lived was, and still is, bordered by fragrant orange blossoms and there were exuberant carnival parties which my parents would recount to me when they came home at night.

Athens seemed to me, a teenager, the capital of revelry and amongst my parents’s friends, I recall an elegant couple, Fivo and Danielle Razis.

Now my story fast forwards just over forty years to the locked down Christmas of 2020 which a friend gifted me a lusciously etched gingerbread candle whose smell made the whole house smell like a bakery.

I soon found out the brand and traced its stunningly pretty founder Klimentini Vasilopoulou. When we met, she felt instantly familiar and then she told me that her grandmother Danielle sent her love. That did make me feel my age but it also brought back warm memories and I am delighted to include Klimentini in the Cabinet.

I have always loved Thessaloniki for its vibrancy. I recall roaming along Tsimiski in the damp and vaporous evening air. I alighted upon what seemed a temple of sugary illumination, Agapitos pastry shop. Displays of the local “Panorama” triangles and crisp phyllo pastry sweets saturated with syrup, crammed the windows. It was a beacon of warmth and indulgence on that chilly night.

Klimentini

Klimentini Vasilopoulou is the designer of remarkable bespoke decorative objects embellished with her original, vivid illustrations and drawings. These decorate objects, such as trays, boxes, candles and tableware.

Klimentini treats each of her designs as a small piece of art, and she finds ways in which her drawings are captured and unfold on each of the objects she offers.

Klimentini studied graphic design, illustration and advertising in Milan, thus heeding her artistic inclination. It was however her passion for decoration and the desire to create unique designs, which led her to launch her very own brand.

Her first creation was for a friend who wanted a bonbonniere for a christening. It was this design that launched her presence in the home design arena and sparked her passion of turning original ideas into products.

Klimentini treats each of her designs as a small piece of art, and she finds ways in which her drawings are captured and unfold on each of the objects she offers.

She cherishes the creation of personalized items, the bespoke, unique designs made for specific individuals, moments, or circumstances.

For the realization of her products, she collaborates with various Greek suppliers who materialize her unique designs. Her plans for the near future are the introduction of porcelain items as she is fascinated by art de la table and the various objects and crockery which are found in a table arrangement.

Agapitos

Agapitos is one of the most renowned patisseries in Greece. Apart from offering a huge variety of pastries, it is also famous for its specialization in chocolate making. Their chocolate creations are unique and imaginative, with a great range of mouth-watering flavours and combinations.

They use the finest quality of natural ingredients for their recipes and are not afraid to experiment with original combinations of flavours, keeping vibrant a more than 77 years’ long heritage of chocolate making.

The company was founded in 1944 by Agapitos Valogiorgis. He developed recipes that made his pastry shop, in the centre of Thessaloniki, a famous destination. Today, more than 77 years later, Theodoros Valogiorgis continues to be inspired by his grandfather’s vision. He fulfils this passion every day, creating handcrafted chocolates, applying the finest techniques in chocolate making and utilising prime ingredients from around the world.

Agapitos offers fine pastries and chocolates which are delicious and with extravagant visual presentation. Tradition is one of their core values, yet they embrace innovation with new products and flavours, such as their dark chocolate with mint bar, considering every chocolate an individual work of art.

They use the finest quality of natural ingredients for their recipes and are not afraid to experiment with original combinations of flavours, keeping vibrant a more than 77 years’ long heritage of chocolate making.

This is the first of our stories called “pairings” where we showcase two brands which we think are mutually complementary. Agapitos’s delicious chocolates nestled within a divine Klimentini box, are an ideal Easter pairing.