Platsakis comes from a long line of woodworkers; his father and uncle started their workshop back in 1963 – his father working on furniture and his uncle on joinery. Since, however, Platsakis has taken the family business in a different direction. Now, he personally designs and then hand-makes elegant furniture and curates refined interiors. From concept to drawing to carpenting in his workshop, Platsakis pours his energy into every step of his work, from start to finished piece – always unique, sophisticated and exquisitely executed.

His greatest pride, it seems, is inside the workshop. Everything that comes out is hand-crafted with hand tools but his most rewarding projects are “100% hand-made” – that is, truly using just hands. “Some curves, some designs, can only be done by hand. These are always the most interesting.”

His workshop is also a site of experimentation, and, amazingly, experimentation has been his only source of training. “I’m always learning and getting inspiration. I know what I like but I’m always interested to see where a new design will take me.” A quick survey around the room confirms this: incredibly varied but effortlessly crafted pieces fill the room in a range of styles. But his favourite? “I love to work with marquetry” – the precise, delicate and incredibly complex French technique which requires expert handling of materials as thin as 1mm to create massive, impressive, imposing designs with smooth, clean finishes.

A tour around his workshop reveals something obvious about Platsakis – his steadfast place in the artist community of Chania. Three beautiful murals adorn the walls of the studio. “I have a friend who sometimes asks me for wood for his own constructions. One day, as he was waiting for me to cut some for him, he had begun to draw on the walls. An idea came to me – why don’t we create an exhibition on the walls of the workshop? So we invited two other artist friends and each of them made a mural.” This is not the only time Platsakis and his work has been involved in the broader art community of Chania. He also hosted an electronic music exhibition with sounds he created from wood-working. It’s an unexpected contemporary, wholly different usage of his artistry which reveals an adventurous, playful man.

But, does he consider himself an artist? “For me, ‘artist’ is a big word. I prefer to say I am just a carpenter who has some opinions and style. I know many people who have excellent carpentry skills, unparalleled technique, but they don’t have a sense of style. This is very important; you need to be able to visualise the true analogues of the design as you work. But to me, I’m just a carpenter.”

Thank you to Vassilis Platsakis for his time, for sharing his work, and for kind entry into his studio.