About
The Workshop
For more than 20 years our Workshop has been producing unique Christian items fashioned in much the same way as did Luke the Evangelist who crafted the first Christian icons.
Monk Alipios has been living most of his life in a monastic cell of Mount Athos. In this tranquil landscape he started carving on aged wood well-known icons of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Our Lady and the Saints. This Heavenly inspiration resulted in carvings of excellent detail and quality. We, his family, felt that should bring his life’s work to the Christian world and beyond.
After studying the history of iconography as well as learning from the wisdom of Alipios and his fellow monks, we started making copies of these carvings using three natural materials: beeswax, mastic and incense.
For more than two decades now, our items have been enjoyed by thousands of people worldwide. They can be purchased directly from our on-line store, from specialist shops, Churches and Monasteries all over the world.
What makes our icons, plaques and crosses particular unique is their odor! One of the three key ingredients is incense from Mount Athos.
As a result, when you place them on your wall, the spot around will emit a distinct odor which will certainly bring to mind a traditional Church or Monastery!
The larger the icon the stronger the odor will be!
Our Materials
The materials with which our icons are made are pure and natural, and are sourced only from Greece. No other ingredients are used, save these three:
- 100% natural yellow beeswax we collect from beekeepers of the Greek country side.
- Mastic (Μαστίχα ) from the island of Chios. Mastic is natural gum/resin that comes from the mastic tree (Pistacia Lentiscus). These trees grow only in the southern part of Chios. It is the ingredient that hardens the unique mixture, and makes the final product strong and durable.
- Incense is the ingredient that gives this heavenly fragrance to our items. The only type we use is that which is produced by monks of Mount Athos. It is one of best quality incense that is available on the market.
By choosing only natural, local, Greek materials, our products retain the authentic, feel and scent of Mount Athos, and the spirituality of ancient Christianity.
Our Procedure
Because we use only natural ingredients, which may not always be precisely identical from batch to batch (this is especially true of the beeswax!), there sometimes might be slight variations in the mix of materials used. However, our process evens out even these minor differences, and the outcome is always impressive and of highest quality.
We make moulds from the wood-carved prototypes of monks, and especially of the artistic and painstaking efforts of Monk Alipos. The moulds are made of very flexible and durable plastic which capture every tiny detail of the original, and are frequently replaced to assure the quality of the final outcome.
The workshop has a foundry where the ingredients are heated and mixed and the liquid material is poured. When the mixture has set, it is gently, carefully lifted out of the mould, and must be left to cure for a full three days. During the course of those three days our craftsmen must finish by hand all the details of each item.
Our Customers
Our many customers have been so happy with our unique icons, their responses have ranged from delighted to moved. Examples of our customers’ responses can be seen on the right column of our website. These are genuine testimonials from our official etsy.com shop and can also be seen here
Facts
- Each of our items emits a Heavenly fragrance
- Absolutely worldwide unique items only produced by our workshop
- Deeply spiritual items that make excellent gifts
- Pure natural ingredients
- Incredible feedback from customers
