About Us
MARIA-TINA KARAMANLAKIS, BFA, MFA is a Greek-American designer and goldsmith with 6 regional Emmys and 12 international BDA awards in graphic design and art direction. Maria-Tina brings her award winning talents in art and design to the jewelry world creating museum quality handmade pieces.
Maria-Tina's "future antiquities” ----jewelry handcrafted using ancient methods and metals, made to last for centuries ---- are inspired by the spiritual icons of her Minoan ancestors (2500BC-1500BC). Connecting the modern wearer to the ancient forces of life, love and happiness, Maria-Tina's pieces capture the essence of that wearer in iconic beauty and strength.
All jewelry is made in Maria-Tina's studios in San Francisco and Marin County, California.and comes in solid gold, 24 kt. vermeil, sterling silver and ancient bronze; some feature precious and semi-precious stones each in laid by hand.
"I want to give my collectors Classic Style with a little bit of Opa!" says Maria-Tina.
Write Maria-Tina at jewelry@Maria-TinaVision.com or text/call 415.299.1442
More info below the video and pics. Thank you!
Watch our video
Greek Island House Party!
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"Oh Cosmic Light, let my soul smile through my heart and let my heart smile through my eyes, that I may scatter thy rich smiles...
"Paramahansa Yogananda"
Maria-Tina Jewelry™ designs are created by six time Emmy Award
Winning designer, Maria-Tina Karmanlakis. Maria-Tina has been voted the best in the world for art direction, design, and/or set styling a remarkable 12 times by her peers at BDA (Broadcast Design Associates). Her “Open Floating Heart” necklace was presented to the top 10 female nominees for the Oscar Awards in 2007.
Maria-Tina’s jewelry is inspired by the art and culture of the ancient Minoan Civilization (c.2500 B.C.) on the island of Crete, where Maria-Tina’s ancestors lived in a matriarchy that produced over 6,000 generations (1500 years) of peace---the longest continuous period of peace in recorded history.
In that environment the Minoans produced some of the greatest art and jewelry ever created. Maria-Tina’s work is expertly modeled on the masterpieces of Minoan and Greek culture. When Maria-Tina was young she marveled at the jewelry she saw in Museums like the Benaki Museum in Athens, the Heraklion Museum in Crete, the Smithsonian, Washington D.C. and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. But of course, the originals belonged to the museum’s collection, and she couldn’t buy them.
So instead, Maria-Tina creates her own museum jewelry, “future antiquities” which she makesin 22 karat gold and Sterling Silver, then inlaid with precious gemstones: diamonds, rubies, sapphires and more. Each piece is an exemplification of the beauty and richness of ancient treasures of prehistoric Crete¹s Minoan civilization and ancient Greece, synthesized with Maria-Tina¹s personal passion and vision.
Maria-Tina has exhibited and/or sold her artwork in the Oakland Museum of Art, Strathmore Hall Arts Center in Bethesda Maryland, The Lowe Art Museum, Coral Gables, Florida, The Museum of Contemporary Art in Miami, Florida, and at the New Gallery at the University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida. She has also shown and sold at trunk shows and festivals throughout the United States, Canada, Britain and Europe.
Courtesy Eric Hoffhines Photography / Painting by Maria-Tina Karamanlakis©2022
Maria-Tina designs in multi-media. She has enjoyed success as an art director, a glassblower, a goldsmith, a painter, a sculptor and an illustrator. She is the designer and illustrator of the highest selling book in the Getty Villa Museum, “Written in Stone”.
In broadcast television, Maria-Tina has worked with a number of clients including ABC, NBC, CBS, TNN, FOX, Telemundo and Univision television networks where she createdthe whole look and branding of networks, network programs, news shows and the private companies of individual celebrities.
She is the first woman art and design director in the history of Hispanic Network Broadcast Television, and one of the first designers to work with the Quantel Paintbox Digital Graphics computer which revolutionized television broadcast design at both network and local levels.
Visit www.Maria-TinaVision.com to view Maria-Tina's design portfolio.
Many thanks and a big OPA to our team, friends, and collectors for their support!
Location photography by Barbara Robbins, jewelry studio photography by Eric Hoffhines, business consultant Larry Alan Leigon, videography by Carolyn Neer, Santorini Donkey & videos by Maria-TinaVision