Kostas Horianopoulos
boat builder
They say that when we are born there is a star that lights upon us and follows us. Anyone who knows Kostas Chorianopoulos can state that his star shone a bit brighter when he was born. Don’t imagine great honors and glory. In fact one could say that he has been “unappreciated”. However, if you look closely you can tell with great certainty that he is extremely gifted and he has a fire burning inside him, a passion that he serves in every minute of his life, from a younger age and lastly his ability to create the masterpieces that he has devoted his life to.
When he was in preliminary school he grabbed his first piece of wood, when he went to visit his grandfather and his brothers, who were great shipbuilders with their own shipyard in Marathokampos Bay situated in Samos. Plenty of their creations are still sailing across the Greek sea. By their side, Kostas was taught about their art, but not their secrets. The times were difficult and the sense of education was perceived differently from what we know today. Nevertheless, what they taught him is to love his art deeply. Since they weren’t sharing their deepest secrets with him, he became more determined and passionate to try and discover them on his own, in any way possible. This quest of his lead to a long course and finally made him able to compete with the greatest craftsmen of his line of work from all over Greece.
Still this was not enough for him and the fire that used to and still burns inside him. What he did not learn at a desk at school, he learned by discovering and gathering knowledge from any possible source. Today, Kostas is the proud owner of a rich and broad bibliography about traditional and modern shipbuilding. He is designing and at the same time building what he envisions, since apart from mastering the theory of shipbuilding he is also a great craftsman. Moreover, he is cognizant of unimaginable traditional techniques which has been long lost and forgotten in the course of evolution. Every conversation with him is not only a source of knowledge for the person who listens but a source of inspiration as well fueled by his passion.
Today he still lives in Patmos and he is working at the island’s traditional shipyard.
