The story

“Tréla!” Madness!, in Greek.

A French woman who decides to open a shop in Tinos selling antique furniture sourced from France and Greece, and restored by her own hand? Tréla!

But Tréla wasn’t a whim. Tréla opened in the summer of 2017. And deep down, Tréla had already been there for much longer, in Carol, the creator of this unique shop. The desire, the need to bring together several undeniable elements: a childhood passion, art studies, a love of history, a desire to share, love at first sight for Tinos, and a deep affection for Greek culture. A bouquet of convictions.

Childhood in the Charente region of France provided the fertile ground. A modest background where furniture was acquired from flea markets and junkyards, using what others discarded, and with a keen eye: one knows how to identify pieces, their appeal, and how to make old and new coexist. The first delight was a sketchbook from the 1920s, which she has kept ever since.

Her art studies reinforced her initial enthusiasm, providing expertise and knowledge, and solidifying her family’s deep-rooted appreciation for history, which included the helmet of a great-uncle gassed during the First World War. Carol firmly believes that the present is rooted in the past; we mustn’t discard the objects that bear witness to it, but rather the opposite. We must cherish and pass them on, for posterity and as a foundation for the present. The past doesn’t burden us; it enriches us.

The encounter with Tinos in 2009 was a life-changing experience. The desire to settle there, to find a home, quickly became clear. Carol spent five years exploring the island before finding her dream home. Transforming, renovating, and furnishing it became a priority. She drew up the plans, oversaw the structural work, and took charge of every detail of the decoration. She hunted for vintage treasures—ceramic light switches, 18th-century locks, light fixtures by Degué or Audoux-Minet…

The finished house and her weariness of Paris converged to bring her vision to life. Tréla opened in July 2017. It began with a handful of furniture, and Carol’s signature style was immediately apparent. Updating without altering. Revealing potential beneath the dust. In her workshop, she sanded, treated, and painted the furniture, preparing it for a second life. She knows its first life and shares it with visitors. Each antique piece is a story to be continued and shared; she leaves her mark on it. Changing the handles is already a way of taking ownership. Preserving the original patina, which testifies to its history, is one of the options. Even today, Carol wonders what has become of her furniture, what story it has become part of. There is a connection, an attachment.

The dishes, mirrors, vases, lamps, paintings, postcards, and other objects came later, as a natural extension. Always with the same focus: contributing to a narrative that is both personal and universal, a blend of small and grand history. Making sense, without demonstration and without dependence on the ever-present trend. Contemporary, handcrafted creations mingle with the old without disrupting it. The lighting fixtures produced by Benoit Audureau or The Gentle Factory, a Franco-Greek design duo, the ceramics of Katerina Latoufi, the vintage creations in recycled paper by Aris Sotiriou, but also designers with roots on the island of Tinos, such as Gilles & Catherine Gautry.

Carol also does bespoke work: finding a piece of furniture and transforming it, advising on home design, or even taking charge of the entire project. Each time, it’s about (re)invigorating something.

Carol still lives mostly in Tinos, only leaving to go antiquing. For the past few years, her search has broadened. For Tréla, she now travels across Europe by truck, from east (Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria) to south (Italy, Spain). The competition is fierce, the selection more limited, making those moments of love all the more precious. An Empire-style pedestal table, a draper’s table, a Rococo mirror, a Brutalist armchair, a pair of Mallet Stevens chairs, or a Kozani rug.

When Carol unpacks her finds back in Tinos, the wonder of the initial discovery returns. Just like when, as a child, she unearthed a sketchbook.

Madness? She smiles. “Douce!”