About Myself

"Researching, harvesting, mixing, trying out, elaborating, presenting – that's art combined with craftsmanship." Anina is the founder, owner, and creator of Garden of Ios, Agora Café by Garden of Ios, Bib Shop, and the Museum “A Journey to Ios.” Rooted in Ios since childhood, she draws inspiration from the Aegean sea, the sun, golden stones, the island's strong energy, and free spirit. Feeling indebted to Ios, Anina desires to give back to the island. With experience in private and corporate high-end events, Anina transforms dreams into reality. As an award-winning film-scenographer, her passion lies in creating sensory-engaging spaces. Her interest in gastronomy began early, running a school café at the age of 16. During her time at the beaux Arts in Dijon, France, she gained access to the secluded world of the greatest wine families in Burgundy's wine country. The four establishments under Garden of Ios reflect Anina's vision and philosophy. Personally handling all design and architecture, she considers it the synthesis of her 30 years of creative work. Despite recent comments suggesting "there must be 10 Aninas around," Anina clarifies that she accomplished everything alone – vision, architecture, setting, design, furnishing, planning – everything from researching and finding objects to producers. She also created all the recipes for the sweets and tarts. In another life Anina works as an Film Production and Costume Designer.