Athens-born Elena Kapompasopoulou graduated from the University of Patras, Greece, with a degree in architecture. She also has an MS in architecture and urban design from Columbia University in New York. Kapompasopoulouhas practiced architecture in Greece, Italy, the Netherlands and China. She has lived in New York since 2010, and in 2014, inspired by the city’s ubiquitous cement, she focused on applying the material into architectural jewelry design. Her focus is handmade, limited-edition jewelry that takes influence from raw materials and geometry, available in bold shapes and colors. As an architect, she employs innovative design and fabrication techniques, bringing to life the aesthetic qualities of materials usually dismissed as rudimentary elements of building design. Her jewelry challenges the conventional association of concrete with architecture, and familiarizes the human body with a material until now reserved for construction.
