About Lara Melachrinou
Lara Art was the brain child of Athens-based designer Lara Melachrinou, who was born and raised in the Greek capital.Lara studied Interior Architecture at AKTO in Athens and went on to receive a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts from Middlesex University (London) and a Master’s Degree in Interior design from Florence Design Academy (F.D.A.) in Florence, Italy. Throughout and after her formal education, Lara has worked and collaborated with many cutting edge established Interior and Jewelry designers.
Lara founded the company with the philosophy "It's not just style, It's lifestyle," meaning that what we wear and what we see affects how we feel and how we live. Therefore we should wear and surround ourselves with objects (particularly colors) that make us feel good.
However Lara is not only learned in the sciences (architecture, chromatology, psychology) she also has an affinity for folk traditions, charms and ancient symbols, which have a long history in the minds of humans. Likewise, she’s been inspired by ethnic and modern cultures from all around the world and as a result Lara’s designs are eclectic and offer something for nearly everyone.
Simple in some ways, intricate in others, Lara’s creations juxtapose classic themes with modern styles, somehow making the antique look sleek and seamlessly blending functionality into the aesthetic.
When designing house interiors, Lara doesn’t simply decorate. She combines what is useful with what is appealing. Her goal, she says, is to make the house into a home using whatever means necessary to accomplish that end. Whether it makes use of an urban style or a country style or both, it doesn’t matter as long as it is effective. The individual elements are there to serve the greater whole. Beauty and harmony are, according to Lara, the guide and the goal.
Similarly, Lara’s jewelry blends retro with contemporary and is accessible to most women because it is meant to be worn both casually and formally. The individual pieces can be mixed and matched or worn alone. As she says, the purpose of her jewelry, like her home designs, is not only to look good, but to make people feel good. That’s where a little mysticism can go along way. Why not have a lucky charm on your keychain or a blue eye on your bracelet for protection against others dirty looks, especially when they also look so good?
As a result of her unique appeal, Lara Art products have been widely distributed domestically in Greece as well as internationally in Europe, New York, Lebanon, and as far away as Australia.