Antigoni leakou was born and raised in Athens. As a child she always imagined herself in the field of Arts. Later on she discovered that she also liked disciplines that required technical skills, so she was trained as an art conservator at the University of West Attica. To complement that with theoretical knowledge she also studied Theory and History of Art at the Athens School of Fine Arts. She worked for many years in both fields, as a conservator of antiquities for the Greek Ministry of Culture and as an assistant curator in contemporary art exhibitions. During the same period she also started funneling her creativity through designing and creating jewelry.

What started as a hobby, initially, finally became the primary focus in her professional life. In 2008 she teamed up with the artist Laura Perez-Ortega to create “Alanima”, sharing their fascination for unexpected color combinations in contemporary handmade jewelry. In 2012 she moved to Kalamata and joined Dimitris Virtsionis in his workshop. She designs fresh and funky, eye-catching jewelry that simply cannot pass unnoticed. Her work is characterized by vibrant colors and curves combined with geometrical patterns, a contradiction which she loves and which often leads to abstract forms. She believes that joyful and playful designs have a positive impact on people’s mood and her best reward is seeing them taking pleasure in wearing her jewelry. Her artisan, handcrafted jewelry often draws inspiration from the traditions and folk art of Latin America and Africa, but also from modernist movements like Fauvism and Expressionism. She also enjoys hand-picking and matching all the remarkable sea pebbles which are subsequently transformed into “Oh my pebble” jewelry. Her designs respect the natural forms and emphasize the aesthetic qualities of the raw material.