If you’re visiting the Greek island of Zakynthos and love hand-painted ceramics, then you should visit the Sigouros Pottery Shop in Zante Town. Also visit the workshop at Machairado to see the pottery being made.
I’ve been visiting Zakynthos (also known as Zante) where my sister lives for over 20 years. I add to my ceramics collection on each visit to the Sigouros Pottery shop in Zante Town.
Aware that they also had a workshop where you can see the pottery being made and painted, I’d never had the chance to visit it until last summer.
We drove our hire car out to Machairado, which is a 15 minute drive inland from Zante town. This visit was combined with a stop for some wine tasting at Oenolpi Winery which is close by.
Read my article and watch my video about the Oenolpi Winery here.
I have quite a collection of ceramics and other beautiful objects from my travels. What I love about the Sigouros designs are the soft colours and shapes and the slightly abstract motifs inspired by the natural beauty of Zakynthos. You’ll see the blue fish, the olives that grow everywhere and the lemons and pomegranates that grow in many gardens.
Visiting the workshop at Machairado
If you want to visit the workshop at Machairado, they’re open most mornings. You may want to call into the shop in Zante Town if you’re passing to double check.
When we wandered into the workshop, we found the downstairs shop with all the ceramics on sale. Owner Sigouros Golemis came down to invite us upstairs to the workshop. He must have spotted us arriving as he has a bird’s eye view from the front window where his pottery wheel is set up.
Upstairs all the pottery is laid out to dry and awaiting painting before it’s fired in the kiln in the garden. We watched Sigouros in awe as he deftly threw pot after pot. It was slightly hypnotic watching him perfectly create the same shape over and over.
Then we watched as the equally skilled lady etched the designs onto the bowls ready for painting and firing. Afterward, Sigouros let us peep inside the kiln where all the ceramics were being fired.
Sigouros told us that he was starting to think about retirement. He said that he could feel his fingers and hands getting tired after 25 years of throwing pots.
Do take look at the video below which I hope will inspire you to drive out the the Machairado workshop if you’re visiting Zakynthos.
Click here to see the embedded video above
Download the Sigouros Pottery, Zakynthos Video here [MP4]
Read Next
Read about our wine tasting at Oenolpi Winery on Zakynthos, Greece
More things to do on Zakynthos
Saving the Caretta Caretta turtle on Zakynthos,Greece
A tour of Romas Mansion on Zakynthos
This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com
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Ralph Lavelle
Wednesday 19th of April 2023
Very nice article - we've only just arrived this year (been coming here for 20 years too) and already I've been in to buy a couple of kafedaki cups and saucers. Every time I'm here I get something. We write about Zakynthos too, at https://kouklahouse.com in case you're interested.
Heather Cowper
Wednesday 19th of April 2023
@Ralph Thanks for your comment and glad to find a fellow Zakynthos lover
Driving around Zakynthos, Greece | Heather on her travels
Wednesday 15th of August 2012
[...] to be drunk at the end of a meal with coffee or desert.A little way down the road there’s the Sigouros Pottery Workshop where painted pottery is made that’s also sold in their shop on the main street in [...]
The Sigouros Pottery on the Greek island of Zakynthos | The Indie Travel Podcast | Travel magazine, travel info and free travel guides
Wednesday 18th of May 2011
[...] the island of Zakynthos; the lemons, fish, pomegranates and olive groves. You can read more about Sigouros Pottery on Zakynthos here. In high season, Zakynthos is a popular holiday island with hotels and other holiday accommodation [...]
Zante or Zakynthos - sightseeing around the island in Greece - Podcast | Heather on her travels
Tuesday 31st of August 2010
[...] pottery being made and hand painted at the Sigouros workshop at Machairado or browse in the shop in Zante [...]
melissa_fl
Monday 17th of May 2010
wow such beautiful pottery! they make for a great gift? i researched and saw that zakynthos is not that far from athens only like 4 hours away! im gonna be visiting athens in june and after seeing ur video and reading ur entry i think i may squeeze in a few days for zakynthos. but generally im overexcited about going to athens i mean the capital of democracy! wow! and such great events take place in the city, there are like numerous concerts taking place in athens while im going to be visiting. generally i try to keep up with whats going on in the city through www.facebook.com/cityofathens its such a useful guide for me!