We recently connected with Maria Kalomenidou and have shared our conversation below.
Maria, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
How to find your purpose is probably the most fascinating question of all because I think that most of the time we find it by accident!! In my case, Zelos Greek Artisan was born of my desire to spread a contemporary Greek version of love through food, bringing together two great passions of mine, cooking and design. Those passions came together over a decade ago while I was volunteering at Cincinnati’s Contemporary Art Center (CAC), where I authored a book on Cuisine-Art-Cocktails (a play on the CAC name). I loved that project, for it brought me together with artists, chefs & mixologists who paired their recipes with major works from the museum.
At the same time, I had been living away from my home country of Greece for over 20 years, yet was amazed to discover when I would go back every summer that there was so much innovation and creativity in Greek cuisine. But I saw none of that in the American Midwest!! That’s when I realized that I wanted to help turn the old clichés on their head, to introduce American audiences to the real Greece, to my Greek cooking, the contemporary and modern, yet still completely authentic flavors that I was discovering on each trip home. In Greece, food is so associated with love, with quality time with friends & family, even as it moves forward. I wanted to make sure I held on to that concept of love through food when I started my online marketplace, ZelosGreekArtisan.com.
The visual designer in me felt that Zelos Greek Artisan had to have a look & feel that would go beyond the cliches. I was determined to show Greece’s sunny, bright, contemporary side, really toning down the typical blue & white, island-themed version of Greece. Greek cooking also had a reputation for being time- and labor-intensive and that was another stereotype I wanted to break, sharing easy, fresh recipes that anyone could make. I’m also convinced that small-batch artisanal food is a healthier and tastier alternative to industrially-processed foods, which is why I only choose organic or all-natural products that are produced locally in Greece.
Looking for the right products to bring over to the States introduced me to the inspiring world of authentic Greek artisans. I wanted to showcase the zeal (zelos in Greek) that I found these small, often family-run businesses, and how they managed to thrive despite the deep economic crisis that gripped the country in the 2000s. I wanted people to experience a touch of Greek sunshine and all the clean, natural products of the Mediterranean diet from their own homes, those same healthy and amazing flavors I grew up with.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
My story spans three continents, several cultures, a few different careers, but the beauty of art & design and my love for my homeland were always a constant. I left Greece in my early 20s, first for Belgium, where I started working for the European Union and where I met my husband, who was from the Greek island of Chios (Chios is a very special place for me and my family, as our Zelos community knows!). While in Brussels I worked at the Press Service and took a break when my husband was offered a job in Venezuela. That was a wonderful experience, deepening my love of Latin culture, and when we later moved to Cincinnati, I immediately gravitated to a special circle of Latin American women, with whom I’m still friends to this day.
Cincinnati became another special place for me, as it was the place where I started a new career as a visual designer and further developed my love of art with my work at the CAC. I raised three children there yet felt the need to take them back to Greece every summer so they wouldn’t lose touch with their roots, so they could experience the love of grandparents and family, even though we lived so far away. That’s when I started realizing that Greek cuisine was moving forward, was becoming so much more innovative while still grounded in its healthy roots, but that wasn’t making it to the American Midwest! So I started ZelosGreekArtisan.com, with the help of my friend Pauline Manos. She is a Greek-American living in Brussels, and an experienced marketer and branding strategist. We were pretty determined and persistent (some would say stubborn!) and we quickly brought in a team of similarly passionate people to help us.
Entrepreneurship has been a wild ride, especially during the pandemic, where our online food business exploded. That adrenalin, the satisfaction from seeing your numbers grow, yet the truly heartwarming stories people shared of the difference our products made in their lives all keep me motivated more than five years after I first started Zelos Greek Artisan. I just love hearing how a gift box can remind someone of their grandmother’s cooking or a honeymoon in Greece. We’ve had It really is the people you meet that make running a small business so rewarding.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Being an entrepreneur and, let’s be honest, especially a woman entrepreneur, can definitely be overwhelming. But my top three tips are: (1) be razor sharp on your purpose (2) dare to take risks (3) nurture yourself and not just your business. The first point speaks to the need to stay really focused on your few strategic choices and also being clear on what you won’t do because you’ll be so tempted to go in a million different directions. Opportunities are endless, ideas come all the time, yet resources are limited so you have to be choiceful.
You also need to dare to take risks. Risk-taking may or may not be second nature to you and might be a skill you need to develop. I was lucky that I had a tendency to stretch myself, to stick my neck out. With Zelos Greek Artisan I took two big risks. This first was that our Artisans and their products had no presence at all in the US, they were completely unknown brands and in some cases foods. I also took a risk in committing to these Artisans that I could help them get set up in a very competitive US market, even though I was a start-up with no infrastructure, we were not part of a big distribution network (and still intentionally are not), we needed to develop convincing concepts & ideas to get Americans to try unknown products, some of which, like sea fennel, they had probably never heard of! But it’s paid off and five years later Zelos Greek Artisan is still around
My last tip for entrepreneurs, and especially women entrepreneurs is to nurture yourself as much as you nurture your business. That is not always easy, especially with a 24/7 business that is the reality of being self-employed. Yet we’re the creative heart and soul of our businesses, we bring the passion and the innovation, and if we burn out, our businesses will burn out. The classic example from air travel of “put on your oxygen mask before helping others” is so true. We need to force ourselves to take time out and recharge.
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
I think the biggest piece of advice I can give to people when they’re feeling overwhelmed is to listen to the people who love you. They’re often the first to tell you that you’re close to exhausting yourself, that you’re in denial about just how stressed and tired you are. My own advice is similar to my first tip for entrepreneurs: get clear on your strategic choices. What works for you? What gives you positive energy?
In my case, as you can tell by now, art & design are an important part of my life, so ducking into a museum or gallery, even if it’s just for half an hour, is an amazingly effective way to recharge. I still manage to carve out time to help organize art exhibits, which introduces me to new people and creative themes.
I also try to prioritize my physical wellbeing, for starting a business in your 50s is a different story than starting one in your 30s! I block my calendar for Pilates classes, long walks with my husband, annual hiking trips with my girlfriends. It’s not easy but maybe being an empty-nester helps a little bit.
In the end, you need to feel good about yourself, about the bold journey you’re taking, and hold fast to the purpose and ideals that drive you. It’s a very individual recipe, which is why I encourage everyone to find it out for themselves and then hold on to it as much as possible.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://zelosgreekartisan.com
- Instagram: @zelosgreekartisan
- Facebook: https://www.linkedin.com/company/zelos-greek-artisan/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/zelos-greek-artisan/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@zelosgreekartisan
