Page 118 - ATHENS RIVIERA JOURNAL 2024

ATHENS RIVIERA JOURNAL
influence

ELEGANTLY

FUSING

Aglaia Vasila, T he power of Aglaia Vasila doesn’t just lie in her
achievements with Cava Halari and its growing em-
a woman of pire of stores. Her years of experience in the yachting
industry made her its main supplier, capable of deliver-
ing the rarest of her clients’ desires. Her artistic passion
distinction, special initiatives like the Choix Wine Concept Store, which com-
only enhances her strong business acumen, resulting in
seamlessly bines exquisite retail services with creative events. Bringing people
together and giving them beautiful experiences is her life’s purpose.
melds the allure What inspired you to create Choix Wine Concept Store in
one of the oldest preserved buildings on Leoforos Athinon

of art with the Pireos in Piraeus?
The area itself and its energy. I dreamt of this concept years ago,
and it was time to realise it. Art in all its forms inspires me every
refinement of fine day. The old merging with the new enchants me, as does enjoying
a fine old wine.
drinks—a passion I’ve merged everything I love into this space. Art, interior design,
lifestyle, wines, and spirits. They all relate to the senses. Anoth-
evident in the er thing they have in common is that they’re always timely and
creative regardless of age. I find them liberating and perfect for
experimentation.
unparalleled Choix At the Choix Wine Concept Store, a visitor can find spirits,
wines from across the globe, fine organic products from Greek
Wine Concept producers, as well as scented candles, paintings and sculptures,
charms, handmade clothes and accessories, elegant tableware,
Store by Cava and specially wrapped gift sets. What prompts you to main-
tain such a high standard of aesthetics?
I’ve been developing this aesthetic for years now by travelling,
Halari. searching, researching, observing… It’s my number one priority
in my work.
Choix by Cava Halari has the Wine Concept Store on the
ground floor and a new, alternative venue on the first floor
Interview by ELSA SOIMIRI
for hosting artistic, social, and corporate events. How did you
choose to marry retail with events?
Everything’s connected. A nice glass of wine and a special gift can
create beautiful moments, an event, you could say. At the same
time, art is subjective. It lets you express yourself. Wine and spirits
do the same thing, so it seemed natural to combine these elements
in an 1890s building that embraces it all in a powerful way.
As the soul and founder of the Cava Halari stores, what feed-
back do you have regarding today's consumers and their rela-
tionship with fine tastes?
RADIANT We live in a gastronomic country. This and the high-quality prod-
POWERHOUSE NIKOS KOUSTENIS ucts available at our stores create happy and demanding custom-
Artistic visionary ers. And we at Cava Halari raise the bar further as we support and
and groundbreaking provide them with the best. We assess ourselves every day. We don’t >
entrepreneur, Aglaia Vasila
never stops pushing Cava
Halari stores to new and
extraordinary heights.
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