Iordanis Poimenidis: From Guardian of the Past to Creator of Metal Dreams

With the Locals — life is like a movie, protagonists is ourselves.
Iordanis Poimenidis — 18 Sep 2025

The light that day in Katerini cut like a thin knife — not cold, but honest. I followed Iordanis because he had a walk that belonged to old things: a slow, inspecting step that smelled of oil and coal dust and of afternoons spent coaxing life out of metal. He is, as I soon learned, a keeper of stories and old tools. He goes almost every day to the flea shops — the paliatzidika — searching, rescuing, and composing. That morning, he took us into a small universe of forgotten objects and left us with the kind of images that stay in your pockets like a secret.

Act I — The Hunt: Katerini’s Flea Markets and the Birdsong of Agathoupoli

We started at the edge of town, moving like soft thieves through dusty aisles. Three old shops later, Iordanis would find the tiny iron piece he needed to make a bird. The region itself has a strange soft obsession with birds — there’s a birdwatching center at Agathoupoli, and you feel that history in the way people name their alleys and the way the coastline opens toward the Thermopylae of migratory routes. For travelers seeking niche experiences — think upcycling art in Greece or an intimate metal sculpture workshop — this is the kind of local gravity that pulls you in.

The flea shops are full of small tragedies and second chances: typewriters with letters stuck like teeth, a half-working Zenit camera that smelled like its previous owner’s hands, a metal kettle with a handle that had once belonged to somebody’s kitchen ritual. Iordanis knows the language of each object — how it was used, how it was forgotten, how it might live again. He buys, he saves, he carries the past forward like a careful thief of time.

Act II — Sparks, Fire, and Creation

Before reaching the workshop, we made a stop at Paralia Korinou at MAGYCO. This was Iordanis’ recommendation — “They have good gyros here,” he said. Christos ordered a pita with pork gyro, I went for a pita with chicken souvlaki, and Iordanis asked for a half portion of gyro. It came fully loaded — fries, tomatoes, onions, everything — and it was so big he couldn’t finish it! Tip: if you’re hungry, a half portion here is more than enough.

Back at the studio the room smelled of hot metal and frying memories. Sparks mapped out tiny constellations as Iordanis filed, ground, and soldered. He works like a sculptor who still guards the past — literally. On many mornings you can find him at the Korinos – Tumulus A archaeological site, where he works for the Hellenic Ministry of Culture. Perhaps this is why his art carries such reverence: every piece feels like a dialogue between the past he protects and the future he is shaping.

Act III — Gifts, Machines, and the Quiet Joy of Passing Things On

Generosity follows him like the smell of coal. After the studio work, he drove us to the sea and treated us to a meal — not as a performance but as a normal, human offering. Then, in a corner of his workshop, he made us pick presents: a Zenit camera in great condition, a typewriter that still had a ghost of someone’s letter on the keys. He gave the camera to Christos, a 20-year-old chef who loves the mountains and the sea and makes things with his hands. The camera was the same model Christos’s grandfather had gifted him; the find felt like a recovered conversation across generations.

We also bought, half-and-half, a small coal iron — likely pre-1950 — which we plan to restore and test. If the result pleases us, we’ll try the same with other objects that deserve rescue.

Act IV — The Origin Story

In his own words: in 2006, coming back from his work at the archaeological service, he read a banner about a sculpture symposium and went to see. There he saw a work ( “Orpheas” by Papagiannis & Vrittias ) made of recycled materials — a lyre from an agricultural seat, a beard from a spade — and was transfixed. Until then he had made useful objects: clocks, candle holders, hangers. After that day, an artistic mutation began: fish, birds, small idols that nod to ancient Greece and to ordinary labor.

Iordanis Poimenidis: “I was making useful things — clocks, candle holders, hangers. I saw their work and I wanted to learn. From then on, an artistic mutation began. I make fish, birds, small idols that remind me of ancient Greece.”

Why This Matters — Upcycling, Memory, and Experience Pieria

This story sits at the intersection of several things I care about: local knowledge, craft, and the slow, stubborn practice of making. For travelers who want something beyond postcard tourism — for people searching “artisan workshop Pieria” or “upcycling art Greece” — this is a lived example. For locals, it’s an invitation: if you have a tool that is gathering dust, bring it to someone like Iordanis. Let it become something else. Let it tell another story.

As a travel writer and curator for Experience Pieria, my aim is to stitch these small human acts into a larger map of experiences — workshops, walks, and encounters that make a visit to Pieria linger. Our activity listings will soon let you reserve a spot to meet makers like Iordanis, to work with metal, to learn the patient language of restoration. These are not just classes. They are invitations to carry home a piece of Pieria that you helped make.

Watch the Film — Video

Language: Greek (English subtitles coming soon). Music credits: Gustavo Santaolalla — “De Ushuaia a La Quiaca” • Explosions in the Sky — “Your Hand in Mine” (Instrumental Background). Please note music is licensed/credited in the video description.

Practical Notes for Those Who Want to Come

• Best for: Travelers seeking immersive artisan experiences, photographers, craft-lovers, and locals who want to revive family objects. Keywords you might search: metal sculpture workshop, upcycling art Greece, things to do in Pieria.
• What to expect: Hands-on work with reclaimed metal, stories about craft and archaeology, the chance to take home a small piece or a repaired heirloom.
• Local tip: After the studio, grab a gyro at Paralia Korinou — portions are generous and the half plate will often be plenty.
• Find him: Iordanis still works for the Hellenic Ministry of Culture — you can often find him at the Korinos – Tumulus A archaeological site. Meetings at the workshop will be announced through Experience Pieria listings.

Closing — An Invitation

If you came here for a checklist of “things to do in Pieria,” this is not a checklist. It’s a small door. It opens into a workshop warm with reclaimed heat, and inside there is a man who keeps tools alive so their stories can be retold. It’s a place for travelers who want to exchange time for meaning — to get their hands dirty and their stories richer.

We are building experiences like this on Experience Pieria, and soon you will be able to join this workshop through Experience Pieria. Stay tuned — follow us on Instagram and Facebook to be the first to know when bookings open.

My hope — selfish and sincere — is that stories like Iordanis’s will encourage more locals to express themselves, and more visitors to listen. I will keep bringing these pieces together: the objects, the people, the small towns, and the meals shared on a wind-sweetened shore. If you’re reading this and you have an object that needs a new story, bring it with you. If you’re local and you make things with your hands, let’s talk. This corner of Pieria is quiet, generous, and brimming with salvageable miracles.

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Giorgos Gizelis

Travel Writer & Founder of
Experience Pieria

Exploring Pieria & Greece one story at a time — sharing authentic places, people, and tastes.

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