“The International Union of Friends of the Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain” (also known as “Thyateira Union”) is pleased to announce its partnership with the renowned Greek jewellery designer, Elena Votsi. With a mission to support actions in the field of social care and in particular the provision of support, care, empowerment and strengthening of the elderly, Thyateira Union employed the talent of Elena Votsi and asked her to create an exclusive jewellery collection to help raise money for meals for elderly persons living below or at the poverty line.
The first piece of the collection, “Gouri 2023”, a good lucky charm said to protect and bring good luck to the person wearing it for the year ahead, was designed pro-bono by Elena Votsi and may its message - “love, health, happiness, luck, faith, hope” - resonate with us.
“We reached out to Elena Votsi because we were looking to partner with not just a well-known jewellery designer but someone who shares the same values and passion for helping others and thinks creatively as we do. However, the delivery of this project is not the end of our partnership; currently we are in the process of designing a capsule jewellery collection which will be launched and become available to purchase in the coming months from the Elena Votsi online store and from Thyateira Union”, shared Maria Tsifti, Head of the Coordination Committee of Thyateira Union.
Elena Votsi said, “I am incredibly excited to embark on this partnership build on the principles of charity and solidarity as I believe it enables us to make a small but significant difference to people’s lives”.
The partnership will be officially announced at the Thyateira Union Pre-Christmas Brunch taking place at MFlavours restaurant situated on the 9th floor of the Athens Capital Hotel – MGallery Collection on Saturday December 3rd at 12pm.
The Pre-Christmas Brunch is also dedicated to a good cause. All the proceeds from this event will be go towards treating 150 elderly residents living in care homes across Attica to a Christmas meal at the award-winning restaurant MANTRI (Best European Restaurant 2021) in Ano Glyfada.
About Thyateira Union
"Thyateira Union" is a charitable, cultural, and social organization with multidimensional action that supports the humanitarian work of His Eminence the Archbishop of Thyateira and Great Britain, Exarch of Western Europe and Ireland, Mr. Nikitas and aspires to function as a connecting link of all Greeks in the Diaspora with the Motherland. Its main goals are the solidarity and the respect of our fellow human beings, the promotion of Hellenism and the continuous promotion of Greece on the world map of culture.
About Elena Votsi
Elena Votsi studied painting at the School of Fine Arts of Athens, under Dimitris Mytaras. At the same time, she did an apprenticeship on mosaics under Giannis Valavanidis. During her five-year study cycle, she was lucky enough to work and be inspired by an artistic environment where the most prominent Greek painters and visual artists taught and created their masterpieces.
After graduating from the School of Fine Arts of Athens, she continued her studies, with a Onassis Foundation Scholarship, at the Royal College of Art in London and in the class of David Watkins, from where she obtained a Master of Arts in Jewelry & Metal. During her studies in London, she won a second scholarship from the Royal College, and graduated first in class, winning the Bakri Memorial Award.
Collaborations
Elena Votsi started her collaborations in the first years of her studies at the Royal College of Art, when she was selected to design and manufacture jewelry for the William Chan fashion show in London. This was followed by important collaborations, such as the one with the Zolotas House, the design of the commemorative gift for the Summit of the Presidents of the European Union and the design for the "Key" of Hydra.
Her first major international collaboration occurred when the president of the Gucci Group personally selected her and invited her to Florence, where she joined the Group’s staff, designing jewelry and items for the famous Italian Firm. This was followed by her collaboration with the National Gallery, the Acropolis Museum, the Benaki Museum, the Museum of Cycladic Art, the Historical Archive Museum of Hydra, the Ghika Gallery and the Vasilis and Eliza Goulandris Foundation. Ongoing collaborations. Added to her overseas career was her collaboration with Ralph Lauren, for whom she designed jewelry for his shows and stores.
In the years 2018 , 2019, 2020 and 2021, she had the honor to design the Democracy Award, established by the Municipality of Athens and awarded during the Athens Democracy forum, organized by the editors of the New York Times and the newspaper "Kathimerini". In 2020, the National History Museum, in collaboration with Piraeus Bank, assigned her to design the commemorative medal 1821-2021 for the anniversary of the celebrations of the 200th anniversary of the 1821 revolution. In 2021, for the same purpose, she designed the medal for the Municipality of Hydra. However, the milestone in her career was the redesign of the medal of the Olympic Games for the Athens Olympics in 2004.
Awards
The Bakri Memorial Award was the first in Elena Votsi’s career and accompanied her graduation in first place from the Royal College of Art in London. This was followed by two first “Couture” Awards in Las Vegas, USA and a first InDesing Award. For her contribution in culture, she has been awarded by the Municipality of Hydra and the President of the Hellenic Republic, while her work has been included twice in the 100 most important jewelry designers and pioneering modern designers.
She designs her own collection of jewellery and accessories under the brand ‘Elena Votsi’ available to purchase from https://elenavotsishop.com
