Project Description

Aris Sklavenitis is a young oenologist and a representative of the new breed of sommeliers from Greece. His work is very creative as he explores the wine industry. To reflect his personality, a very special set of personal business cards were created for him. A branding statement and for his networking and social gathering needs.

His open-mindedness and interest in the art of wine was interpreted in a sustainable project related to his profession. The idea was to create handmade cards by using recycled paper and real grape stems that would be in the pulp but also inlaid in small particles on the paper. A challenging experimental process with both opportunities and threats, to reach a radical outcome.

The stems used for this project are Xynisteri grape, an indigenous Cypriot white grape variety. They were collected from vineyards at the Vouni Panayia area in Paphos and sent to Greece for the production of the paper.

For the papermaking process, paper-making artist Marietta Kallona has cleaned, boiled and scratched the stems as to remain as intact as possible in the pulp. She created handmade paper sheets at 300 gsm that gave a batch of 500 unique business each with its own story.

The roughness and texture of the paper visually emphasize on the soil. The printing of details took place at Tind workshop where they were silkscreen printed with copper ink that was absorbed on the rough surface giving a subtle result.

Aris decided to take the idea a step forward. For the next batch of cards, a different grape variety will be selected each time, which will eventually lead to a different set of cards.