What’s clear is they’re more than boutique hotels. They fuse art and hospitality in an interesting way that engages both the larger community and those staying there. How does the hotel, the members-club portion, and the art that’s exhibited relate to the design community in Athens? 

It’s a good point that Mona and Shila are not just hotels. Sometimes it feels like the hotel part is just the excuse to do all the rest. [Laughs] 

From the beginning, we were very interested in working with local Greek designers. We have close relationships with the artists that have joined our art collection, especially in the field of ceramics. We occasionally commission pieces, and these collaborations have been truly enjoyable. We get to sit with the creators in the making process. 

The House of Shila collection is a body that is growing and evolving with the spaces. The aim is that visitors and guests will feel inspired and discover new perspectives. We want the artists to use the spaces as a stage of their own, as their showroom. They can host pop-up shows, they can bring their clients. That's the part we are excited about the most: collaborating with talented individuals across all fields and making use of our spaces. 

How would you describe the Athens design community or scene today? What’s been the change in the last five to ten years, as there’s increased attention on the city as a rising home for modern and contemporary art in Europe, with events like Documenta and the proliferation of ideas through Instagram and the internet? 

Documenta 14 was the milestone that put Athens on the map. It is such an important art fair and it brought people to spend time here and get to see the city from another angle. 

For most travelers, coming to Athens was a quick stop at the Acropolis before catching the island ferry. This is no longer the case. There are many artists that have settled and continue to move here. It's really a great moment to have all these different minds and cultures coming to Greece and giving, too, not just consuming. 

New galleries opened, which brought a new wave of art. Design has become much more interesting. More and more we are realizing the importance of beautiful objects and of investing in something of value for our homes. Perhaps after the experience of being locked-in during the pandemic, it created that need for elevating the interior world. You can see how galleries are also now moving towards the design angle. 

Shila opened in 2020, and you expanded and opened Mona in 2022. How did your business respond and evolve with the pandemic? 

Shila was planned to open that spring. Although it was a bit of a blow to the entire hospitality industry, it was actually helpful to start slow, and open in June and take it step by step and perfect everything we’ve had in mind as a concept and not be overwhelmed. 

That year was meant to be the biggest year in Greece for tourism. They were expecting a lot of people. For us, in a way, it was a blessing in disguise. It also helped us creatively to realize how much we would like to engage the Athens community, the Greek community, and not just tourism. 

The angle that we always thought we will have actually took priority—events, art exhibitions, creating this hub for locals. 

What are your sources of inspiration, and how you get out of a creative rut? 

There’s a lot of things that I get inspired by. Film, photography, a piece of music, books . . . there’s such a vast catalog of things. 

Traveling definitely tickles me in that way, and pushes me to see new things. I never underestimate, even if it’s like one day going somewhere. On return, my channels are more alert to receive. 

And also design—definitely beautiful spaces, beautiful things, are very inspirational. Even just taking a walk. Usually I try to take a walk in the day to break the work just for ten or twenty minutes. These walks are very important. They feed me, then my mind is blank, and I notice things that may be inspiring to put into some projects, which can be something seen on the street or a store. I think it can be anywhere. 

What is your day-to-day like in this role? 

Every day is different. I think there is a mix of research, meeting with artists, streaming a lot of images in my head to create the visual language that we want to showcase, discussing our next event. Also a lot of practical stuff—observation, making notes about how things work and how things can be improved. Then seeing physically things that inspire, which is important for my work. 

What’s the biggest challenge to running this type of business? 

Hotels are live organisms that run 24/7. There are things that can happen at any moment. Just being alert and dealing with whatever might. 

We have an amazing team, and everybody’s very passionate and treats these projects like their home, so that is really helpful. 

The other challenge would be that you want everybody to feel happy once they visit your place. Sometimes you cannot make everybody happy. I wouldn’t say it’s a challenge because it has nothing to do with convincing someone about something, but it’s more about constantly receiving criticism of something you’ve created. You learn to take the good things from it, and you learn to improve. I think it’s actually a constructive challenge. But it is something that happens on a daily basis.