Costis Bastias

Avid traveller and passionate photographer, there is little else I find as exhilerating in life as exploring the world and discovering unseen places, cultures and people.

As a kid, I set my heart on visiting every country of the world. As I grow older, I feel content that this is a dream that will never come true completely, and there will always be new and exciting places to visit and people to meet.

Photography to me has a soul of its own, and a magical way of cupturing the essence of things, waking up memories for the person who took them as well as the person who views them. It has happened to me, another's photograph to wake up emotions in me that I was unaware of and set me off to a wonderful journey - and this is my inspiration for sharing my art with the world.

I grew up in Athens and attended an international school. I did the International Baccalaureatte programme, then set off to England to study Management at Warwick, and later on do my MBA long distance.

I have always tried to get my hands on projects that I found challenging regardless of the field. I have worked in finance, retail, operations, branding and strategy consulting.

A few years ago, I decided the only way to be trully creative with my work is to do something of my own, and along with good friends Dennis and Deppy, created the Red Spinning Top cafe. The Top is the most expressive of the projects I've undergone until now, and one that pushed my creativity in a more artistic direction as everything at the Top is homemade and handmade by us, from food to furniture.

Creating the Top from scratch made me thirsty for the arts, and I am trying to make time and energy to follow my passion and take a course in design. Ideally I would like to take some time off to travel and study abroad once again, a true escape from the daily grind!