Eu·ryd·i·ce | \ yu̇-ˈri-də-(ˌ)sē \
: the wife of Orpheus whom he attempts to bring back from Hades
Article by Studio BLUP features writer Anna Kioumourtzi.
It was one of those grey London afternoons when I called Eurydice or Yurichat (@yurichat), as her audience knows her, and we started what would turn into a very interesting dialogue. Eurydice is a young Greek woman with a unique creative vision, the founder of the popular blog Chatoyant21.com. She creates photographic memories and fashion content, under an artistic prism. She started her journey from a small town called Volos, somewhere in Thessaly situated midway on the Greek mainland with an exceptional view of the endless sea. There, she discovered her inner creative self, who, as she told me, was long hidden in a forgotten place of her mind, due to the fact that life happened.
In love with life’s details, the smell of flowers and the greek sun; Eurydice is inspired by her heritage and the women in her life. Her mother, grandmother and even the women before them whose life, character and style eventually formed what would be the present day “New Greek” woman aesthetics. For Eurydice, every garment, piece of furniture, accessory or even the buildings surrounding her, have history and the memory of that is applying a haunting sentiment which revives the artistry which is concealed, according to her, in all of us. Romanticism and the lost Greek authenticity which flows freely under the epidermis of society are some of the elements which stimulated Eurydice’s retro thought to revive and reshape the image of the Greek girl. And like that, she created #thegreekgirl.
“The world can close their eyes and imagine the exuberant Italian woman or the elegant French girl, but nobody can really think or conceptualise the Greek girl. This absence of imagery is what made me create this hashtag. Especially if you think of how many influences and culture the modern greek woman suppresses in her everyday lifestyle”, she said. With the Greek society being highly influenced by American culture surrounding aesthetics, music and way of life an important aspect and the spark has been lost or subdued, thus creating a popular yet identical image which in the end of the day, lacked character and substance.
She remembers all these forgotten Sundays with her mother and grandmother, watching old Greek films, seeing all these female icons, dancing, loving, living in passion and claiming what they want but with an essence of kindness and elegance. A feeling of femininity which was fragile but yet powerful and natural. It’s not by chance that she was awarded the ‘Best Natural Style Blog’ by Marie Claire Magazine (Greece) in 2018. Her relationship with all things natural, sustainable and vintage is what her image and style consists of. Notions such as family, friendship, love and human interactions fill her life with happiness and she lives in her own movie with a unique soundtrack. Her liberator, companion and partner in crime is motivating her, capturing her every moment and bringing her visions to life. They make for the perfect pair with her partner Antonis Agrido (@antonis.agrido) being a fashion photograher.
“It is one of life’s blessings to be able to work and communicate in such a unique way with your partner”, she admits.
Eurydice walked me through her process on how she managed to remain creative, explore and not give up on her vision during the darker days of Covid. Consistent lockdowns, curfew measures, locked cinemas, theatres, museums and galleries made life even harder; as the only way to interact with art and culture was through a computer screen or a walk in an empty Athens. She moved there recently, in order to be closer to the epicentre of culture and art in Greece. However, things did not unravel as expected.
“We shouldn’t lose our courage, our passion or boldness. Not ever. We need to have faith, trust ourselves and our instincts. They guide us somewhere for a reason and I believe that once we find this, we’ll have the courage, we can do anything we put our minds to”. Finding new ways to express herself, she bought herself some canvases and started painting.
Having never tried painting before, with Picasso, cubism and all the forgotten but simultaneously well known Greek painters like Nikos Eggonopoulos, Alekos Fassianos or Yannis Tsarouchis, in mind Eurydice started painting. She started creating shapes and forms which eventually became a new form of inspiration. She listened to a lot of music, her current favourite being “Μια αγάπη για το καλοκαίρι/One love for the summer” by Kaiti Homata, which she chooses to listen to every single day. Starting each day fresh, she works out, calming her body and soul with yoga or pilates, trying to find balance in all things.
For her, a walk to the open food market every Saturday or a stroll through sunny old neighbourhoods of Athens made her survive this challenging time. ”I didn’t really feel trapped. It was a transitional stage for me, exploring a new city in complete stillness.’
As the pandemic continued, as another creative outlet she started experimenting with cooking, sharing her recipes with her followers. “I come from a family who owned a small local fruit market business. I firmly believe in supporting your local community and shopping with a standard of quality not quantity”. Promoting shop local, supporting small markets and creative communities, is how she was raised.
“The Greek creative community has so much potential, and so many creatives doing amazing work. I hope to meet more people post pandemic, to connect and collaborate. Supporting each other is very important in this competitive environment. As a society we need to move away from tokenism and small privileged groups of people. We need to come together for a greater vision. Creativity is everywhere and inspiration can come in so many different forms and ways which you least expect.”
She is currently living her dream, thriving as the marketing and communications manager for Greek brand Nidodileda, a brand embracing her vision of natural beauty, the modern muse of the Greek woman and the essence of elegance.
“That is what the Greek girl is all about”, she explains talking about her day job, “She is an essence, an energy. It is not so much about constructing a standard or telling the young girls how to dress or do their make-up. It’s a vibe. The modern Greek woman has something from the past, but she transmits it to the present with a unique modern way. Keeping her authenticity without imitating an old trend or image. She is more than just an ancient archetype with sandals and olive branches in her hair”.
As we finish up, Eurydice tells me that she hopes to travel, explore and broaden her vision of what #thegreekgirl is, while also showing it to the rest of the world. Pandemic or not the world is always going through a crisis but that should not stop us from creating and trying to make our dreams come true. “We live in the world we choose to create”, she continues, “Being inclusive, authentic to ourselves and our vision is the most important.” While Eurydice is from a small country deep in crisis, somewhere in the Mediterranean, she does not give up. After our chat this was the most important message – to find inspiration in your everyday life, to love and dream and believe you can do it.
Article written by Anna Kioumourtzi [@sheizanna]
Want to write for theblup.com? Contact talent@studioblup.com