An eco-friendly homage to Cyprus’ past

The local family giving new life to items so they can tell the stories of the past

By Philippa Tracy

Lots of people say they care about the environment, but do they really care about sustainability and history enough to buy things second hand? Possibly. Maybe not so much when they are buying fashion items. Who knows? In terms of household items, I recently came across a treasure trove of recycled objects in the Antiques Mall on the Kornos to Larnaca road. I quite literally stumbled across the shop on my way back from a day trip to Lefkara. After spending a good hour there browsing everything from wine glasses to carriages on a Friday afternoon, I was struck by how incredibly inviting and cool it all was, an eco-friendly homage to the past.

I ended up there by chance. I had a friend staying with me and thought she might be interested in visiting Lefkara, to see a traditional village where the women make the Lefkaritika lace and men the silver jewellery. After many years on the island, it was my first visit. Now I have found the WAZE app, I can literally go anywhere. While the village is very pretty, it would seem to cater mainly to tourists now. The obvious decline of the population, as young people move away for economic reasons, left me feeling sad at what will be the inevitable loss of something valuable from the past, in terms of centuries-old traditional skills.

On the journey back, my friend wanted to investigate a sign that caught her eye. The sign just said Antiques, in English and Greek. I might have driven past if my friend, who can’t resist anything antique, had not insisted we stop. Inside, I was amazed at the size and range of the items in stock, from household furniture, Victorian porcelain dolls, 1970s-style vacuum cleaners, old TVs, mounted, horned animal heads, plates, vases and paintings, to an interesting looking red table with foot straps that must have been an operating table at some point in the past. Andreas, who was looking after the shop, was more than happy to let us browse the three floors, answer questions (in between other customers), and give us a full tour of the shop and workshop.

In the workshop we met Andros, one of the owners and a skilled carpenter, who was busy renovating a number of beautiful old shutters ready for a new boutique hotel. He showed us some impressive machinery that strips the paint before the shutters are lovingly restored. Although Andros had just been to the dentist, and was clearly in some discomfort, he was more than happy to indulge our curiosity around some of the larger items, such as an impressive white horse-drawn carriage and a very old upright piano that apparently belonged to a famous pianist. I also found a set of two gorgeous side tables with patterned, tiled tops that would have looked great on my veranda. Unfortunately, Andros had just finished renovating them for someone else.

The website gives a wealth of information about the history of the business, the services on offer, and individual items of interest. It also includes a blog that is regularly updated with articles on a range of subjects designed to appeal to anyone with an interest in antiques; the most recent include pieces on the history of Capodimonte porcelain and the legacy of the Cypriot wooden chest. When I spoke to Andros’ son Panayiotis, he gave a bit more of the history of this multi-generational business, started by his grandfather over 40 years ago.

When the business started, his grandfather was a traditional carpenter and furniture maker, specialising in hand-made pieces. Panayiotis says his father, Andros, inherited his own father’s passion and respect for every wooden object he made and “learnt to value the stories they carry on.” He talks about how in passing objects on they can create the timeless character of houses. Andros now restores all the antiques and vintage items. Panayiotis enthuses, “we love to pass items to the next generation who will appreciate them.”

So, how important is the past? He says they were inspired to establish a shop “where unique items find new life.” He believes that in passing items onto a new generation, the story continues and new stories are made. One of the main interests of the business is in keeping the cultural heritage alive and sharing it with future generations. “Our mission is to bridge the past with the present and create spaces full of character and meaning.” His respect for history is clear.

Panayiotis does not do any of the restoration himself. He leaves that to his dad. While he is a certified evaluator of items, his role, along with his team, is to buy items as well as deal with the marketing, shipping, deliveries, the website and social media. The company originally only dealt with woodwork and restorations. However, they have been expanding every year and now specialise in antiques of all kinds. With the new website, they are also seeking opportunities to reach antique lovers worldwide. They have already had customers requesting items be shipped to Spain, USA and France. But they are able to ship anywhere in the world.

While people do bring them objects to sell regularly, they also do house clearances. Panayiotis is clear that not everything old is valuable but sometimes they come across some very valuable family heirlooms. They use their expertise to buy, to restore and to sell on. And regardless of value, “every item in our collection carries its own silent story.” Just like the white horse-drawn carriage, for example; a symbol of the past, dating back to the 1920s, a reminder of how people used to travel. The family spent three years restoring it and Panayiotis used it at his recent wedding. How exciting to be able to bring it back to life with such a purpose. This, he says, is “a perfect example of how we give objects a second life.” When he talks about preserving the heart and soul of a piece, it is clear he wants to save the past to pass on to the next generation.

I left feeling more optimistic than I had in the morning about the impact of the past on the future.

The Antiques Mall website can be found here.