Meet Eleni Eleftheriou

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Eleni Eleftheriou. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Eleni below.

Hi Eleni, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

Resilience is something innate and also cultivated. My life experiences have cultivated my resilience, and it also feels something inside me that is unshakable. I am Greek American. My father immigrated from Greece to create a better life for himself and his family. The challenges that my family has overcome and persevered through have deeply instilled a resilience in me to do the same and to do my best to honor the sacrifices they made.

I’ve learned to face the challenges in my life head on. To value long-term over short-term. Running away or avoiding may bring short-term comfort, but I know if I face whatever it is as it comes that the long-term rewards of my efforts will far outweigh the short-term results. And that also means being patient. Maybe not seeing the result right away but knowing and trusting that it will be worth it. It’s the underground work that no one sees but you. The grit and resilience it takes.

Even when no one believed in me, I believed in myself. That fire inside me kept me going through my most challenging times, and it continues to be a driving force. I think I’m a seeker. I want to find limits and see if they can be pushed a little more. I want to peek behind the veil. I want to explore and learn and grow. I want to see as much of the world as I can. Experience all that I can. When all is said and done, I want to look back on my life and know that I did the best I could. When I look back on my life, I’m not going to say, “wow, I’m so glad everything was so easy and perfect!” I’m going to relish in the adventure, the rollercoaster—the highs and the lows. Those moments where I felt like giving up but didn’t, where I stayed true to myself and overcame challenges that made me better, stronger, and more resilient.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I am an entrepreneur, photographer, and Reiki/sound practitioner. I started off working in fashion – that was always my dream. I went to USC for my undergrad studying business. Then I did my Master’s at London Business School and got a job working at Hermès in their London office. In 2020, I pivoted. I got really honest with myself, and I wasn’t fulfilled in my career. My long-term vision was always that I would start my own business one day. So, maybe that would come sooner than later. Why wait? So, I started Syndesi, which means “connection” in Greek. It’s a place to connect to our roots, to tell the stories of where we come from, share local art, and support ancestral healing. This business feels like an extension of me and everything that I love—art, storytelling, spirituality, Greece. We launch collections from different artists in Greece, sharing their work and telling their stories. I visit and meet each artist that I bring to Syndesi. It’s important for me to understand their story and feel the authenticity behind their art before I choose to work with them. We have a new collection releasing soon with an amazing woman who is a weaver in Crete. I’m so excited to share her story and beautiful work.

I’ve also been on a personal healing journey that has led me to Reiki, sound and other energy healing modalities. I received my Reiki Master certification last year. I have started to incorporate these offerings into Syndesi and am now offering 1:1 sessions with clients. I’m looking forward to expanding this area of my business this year. I would love to start holding group events and even host a retreat down the line! Stay tuned. My newsletter is where you can find all the updates and where I love to spend time connecting with my community.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Authenticity, curiosity, and resilience.

Always stay true to yourself. There is only one you. That is what makes you unique. That is your gift. That is what will lead you to what is aligned with you. Authenticity is the most important quality to me and how I want to live. It’s synonymous with integrity to me.

Be curious and open. There is so much to learn. Listen. Be a student of everything. You never know where it might lead.

I touched on resilience in the previous question but keep going. Believe in yourself and know that what you’re going through will bring growth, strength, and a solidified purpose.

Alright, so before we go we want to ask you to take a moment to reflect and share what you think you would do if you somehow knew you only had a decade of life left?

Putting myself out there more and sharing my work. Because this business is such an extension of me and my heart, it can feel challenging to market myself. It feels exposing and vulnerable, so I’m just trying to push myself more out of my comfort zone. As long as I stay authentic to myself, I know I’ll be ok, but it takes practice and getting used to. I’m also just doing this all myself now, so I think it may be time to get some help—looking to hire for any bright, creative, driven minds out there!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.syndesicollection.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/syndesicollection
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/syndesi-collection/

Image Credits

Mattie Oneill Photography
Eleni Eleftheriou Photography