A champion of authenticity

Kimon Frangakis is a journalist, the founder of Sophisticated Media and the editor and manager of Andro, a website for the modern-day thinking man, which covers cultural topics to lifestyle choices. Through Andro, he presents craftsmanship events, dedicated to handmade products and their makers. Every morning he co-hosts the daily breakfast radio show on Pepper 96,6 FM, and has had the privilege of interviewing artisans. He is also the organiser of Ladies Run, a philanthropic sports event for women only, which takes place in and around Astir Beach and the Four Seasons Athens resort. For 10 years, he was the Director of the prestigious STATUS magazine in Greece and a publishing consultant for GQ Romania. He was also the founder and co-organiser of the Spetses Mini Marathon.

Craftsmanship adds poetry to everyday acts. It turns the mundane into a ritual. It makes life more beautiful and meaningful, especially in our streamlined, automated digital world.

As a journalist and publisher, I have always had a passion for the authentic in every field, from a loaf of sourdough bread to a complicated wristwatch. Although I am not an expert in arts and crafts, I am a keen amateur of all things handmade. I have had the opportunity of presenting many artisans and artisanal products on my website, on my radio show and in specialised events.

My work as a journalist and publisher is essentially digital but our guiding principles are artisanal: small scale, attention to detail, authenticity. For the Homo Faber Guide, I have had the pleasure and honour of working with Despina Geroulanou, who sits on the Benaki Museum board of Trustee. The Benaki Museum’s contribution to the preservation and renewal of traditional and contemporary Greek crafts is literally paramount.

Excellence is not only hard to define but quite possibly pointless if it takes the ever-elusive form of perfection. Artisanal products are “imperfectly perfect”, and therein lies their true beauty. If by excellence we mean forever striving to surpass one’s own talents and capabilities, then it is a fitting term for the efforts of a craftsman who is forever learning, forever perfecting, and at the same time carrying the mantle of his craftsmanship for the next generation of artisans.