Meet Yiannis Vogdanis | Multidisciplinary Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Yiannis Vogdanis and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Yiannis, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I always knew that at some point I will have my own studio. Being able to work at my pace and style was something that I could not compromise. That being said, I had to work for companies and universities until I had the proper set of skills and confidence to be able to venture on my own.

When the idea came three years ago to start my own business around 3D printed ceramics I design, I knew it was the right time for me to embark on this adventure.

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
What I do comes as a consequence of the curiosity and drive I have to explore the world around me. My brain, tries to understand the complex systems that exist around us, how they form, and how they interact with each other. No research is meant to be easy, and that’s not the point. If it was easy, most probably it was not worth it enough. When you really enjoy doing something, you don’t think about it in terms of hard or easy. It is what it is, and you go along with it because you enjoy the ride. That’s how I overcome the “challenges” by not giving them a negative connotation, just embracing them, because they are the ones that give meaning, disappointment, or joy. I have learned a few things along the way and there are more to come, an important one is that we should not be so sure about what we have learned because we might change it soon. One thing that I would like to share is that we should believe in ourselves and our ideas. Not blindly, but by questioning them and proving them right or wrong all the time. I think what is important, is to ask questions and try to find our own answers. This is what my work is for me in so many ways. I ask my own questions and I have to find my own answers to them.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
So, I live in Athens, Greece. Athens is an amazing, lively city, and has a lot to offer. If a friend came over to visit, though, I would take him away from the city for a few days. We would go to see the landscapes and the villages with their beautiful people and traditions. We would eat in small taverns where people take their time but also offer you their time, authentically. To see a place for how it really is you have to go to these places not the big cities, there everything is indifferent. We are lucky to live in a place with so much history and natural beauty, and that is what I would try to show to my friend.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
For me, more than a person or a specific book, my shootout goes to all the people who have shared their knowledge openly. I did go to different universities, and I also have a master’s degree, but most of the things I know I taught myself by reading or watching videos online. The collective knowledge of our species is out there, for free, and it is in our hands to tap into it or not. Most of my knowledge in robotics, programming, design comes from online resources, from people who I never met in person, but were my teachers, and I am grateful to them.

Website: www.binaryceramics.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/y_vogdanis/