Profile - Anaktae

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OUR STORY

A chance encounter through a mutual friend in 2009 sparked a creative connection between industrial designer Dianna Karvounis and architect Vivian Philippa. Our shared passion for the sublime artistry and timeless aesthetics of Greek antiquity soon evolved into a fledgling business.

We called ourselves Two is Company, a reflection of our close collaboration and complementary skills. As our business expanded, our work evolved from architecture and interiors to encompass furniture, lighting, rugs and decorative objects.

In 2018, the moment had come to rebrand our growing company. Our increasingly international portfolio and expansion strategy called for a new name that better expressed our brand values and global outlook. A name that distilled our Greek heritage but spoke to the rich scope and scale of our work.

ANAKTAE derives from the ancient Greek word anaktor, meaning “palace”.

We devised a variation that reflects our brand’s exclusivity, individuality and feminine quality: the “ae” suffix is the female first person plural in Greek. In Minoan and Mycenaean Greece, the anaktor was much more than a royal residence: it was the heart of civic and cultural life, where the most skillful artists lived and worked alongside the ruling elite. Potters and priests, soldiers and sculptors, playwrights and philosophers, kings and courtesans all had their place in these self-contained universes – creative powerhouses where the acme of ancient Greek civilization flourished. So too, our studio embraces artisans and connoisseurs dedicated to the pursuit of perfect proportions, quality craftsmanship, and contemporary classics. Distinctive and unique, ANAKTAE has an intangible mystery that transcends expectations and categorizations.

Our logo represents the continuation of our creative journey. The interlocking lines and angles resemble the sophisticated layout of the anaktor, a geometric maze of corridors, ante-rooms, temples and chambers. Inspired by the Meander or Greek Key, one of the most recognizable motifs in ancient Greece, it also symbolizes victory, unity and infinity. Named after the mythical river Meandros, it embodies the ebb and flow of ideas and the everlasting bonds of love and friendship – the perfect metaphor for our enduring but fluid partnership.

PRACTICE

We compose, construct and curate interior worlds

Anaktae bridges the disciplines of architecture, interior decoration and product design. From furniture to lighting, objects to interiors, all our work has a distinct aesthetic that emerges from this integrated approach. Our creative alchemy creates a whole greater than the sum of its parts, where form and function are aligned.

We are inspired by context and craftsmanship

Based in Greece, we collaborate with international property developers and home owners, retailers and hoteliers, architects and decorators, as well as cultural foundations, museums, and galleries. Although our work is global in scope, we are passionately detail-driven, overseeing every stage of design, production and installation. We specialise in bespoke solutions and every piece is hand-made to order.

We build relationships, not just spaces and objects

Each project is a new relationship. We engage in a creative dialogue with every client to develop a shared vision for their space. We work with hand-picked suppliers whom we trust to deliver the highest quality materials. We have forged partnerships with the finest craftsmen in Greece, ensuring that everything we make has the same flawless finish. We are inspired by the people who live with our products and inhabit our spaces.

Our Athens showroom doubles as a creative laboratory where new ideas, prototypes, and collaborations take shape. We welcome studio visits by appointment.

OUR PHILOSOPHY

We create modern classics

Our design philosophy draws a line between the classical and contemporary. Mining our Greek heritage, we refine archaic symbols and structures to develop striking new geometries. Pairing shapes and patterns to their essence, we create archetypal forms whose dynamism derives from their innate harmony. The ancient Greeks called it “the golden ratio”, the perfect balance between proportions and volumes. Grounded in history yet with a timeless quality, we make the past feel present.

We believe in the power of understatement

Our studio ethos is profoundly simple. Our designs are characterised by abstraction, using natural materials such as bronze, marble and wood with minimal adornment. Poised between austerity and sensuality, our statement pieces complement all types of interiors. From ancient Greece to art deco, mid-century modernism to contemporary minimalism, our aesthetic influences are deep and diverse.

We distil ideas into meaningful designs

This clarity of purpose extends to all aspects of our design process. It takes rigorous research, specialist artisans and many subtle iterations to reach solutions that appear deceptively straightforward. Striking a balance between the intuitive and conceptual, our objects and spaces convey their own enigmatic but unmistakable atmosphere.

FOUNDERS

Dianna Karvounis is an industrial designer with a Bachelor of Arts from Sarah Lawrence College and a Master of Industrial Design from Pratt Institute in New York. She previously ran her own design studio producing furniture and lighting for high profile clients such as Nike, Grecotel Hotels and Astir Palace.

Vivian Philippa studied Architecture at the National Technical University of Athens. Her broad experience includes theatre and museum design, the restoration of historical buildings, hotel refurbishment and landscape design

Our creative partnership grew organically, kindling a new philosophy of space that is always evolving. We share a deep appreciation of craftsmanship, a prolific work ethic, and take pride and pleasure in perfectionism. Our collaborative approach is founded on mutual respect, openness, and trust, qualities that define our relationships with all our associates and clients.