In our column Meet a local we present interesting individuals from different professional fields living in Belgrade. The idea is to get to know some locals and their favorite neighborhoods and venues in the city.
Please introduce yourself to our readers:
In the evocation of dreams, earliest personal memories, and intimate beliefs, the raw and noble core remain true: impatient hedonist, child of “mixed blood” with Serbian-Greek-Macedonian origin, born in Belgrade in the 90s.
At heart – led by the fever of gypsy nights in spring and the unstoppable desire for a vibrant lifestyle boiling from innate nomadism.
At base – driven by intuition, curiosity, attracted to new mystical and powerful intentions and playful experiences, constantly balancing on the fine line between tameness and wildness, sharp mind and fairness.
Textile and apparel designer by night, a Product Owner by day
Has there been a new project lately?
Currently being in the process of revamping the 12-year-old project called ”Restyle Workshop” with my old dear classmate Jelena. This naive, extremely fluid idea, born during a late-summer-night tipsy brainstorming session by two students of textile and apparel design, evolved into an independent project with which we performed at student festivals all over Europe. This pioneering concept from back then, which is now a very common theme, dealt with consumer behavior and how it relates to fashion and how it affects other areas of life and mental bios.
A hidden passion for analog photography originated in my early childhood and led me to a more tactile, physical approach to creating an image. Charmed by the hours spent in the pungent metallic-smelling darkness, I enjoy experimenting with process manipulation and am constantly adapting my DIY darkroom to meet the needs of my living bios.
What do you like about Belgrade?
The charm of Belgrade lies in the beauty of its imperfections. In this mystical and seductive energy that simultaneously destroys but also builds, that conquers and resists being submissive. I love its madness in every phase, the smell of its wet streets, the sunrise through the lens of Branko’s bridge, the silence hidden behind the sight of sculptures of pre-war buildings, the seductive scent of linden, and the lunacy of the flowers and the synesthesia of energy and emotion it creates.
Where do you like to go out?
After being in hibernation for a while along with the rest of the world, Belgrade has slowly but surely reignited the same pre-Covid clubbing euphoria. Ecstatic dancing moves can be tasted in the air from the numerous open-air dance floors such as the Bitef Summer Stage, Ponton 20/44, or the Drugstore Garden. The culture of nightlife, which combines hedonistic ethos and culture bios, the culture of nightlife is sacred and an integral part of the city’s cells.
5. Name 3 of your favorite restaurants in the city?
0. Dijagonala Zaplet (still feeling heartbroken about this place)
1. Saloon 5
2. Bistro Grad Hometown Food
3. Mezestoran Dvoriste
6. Where do you drink coffee?
Coffee is an integral part of the chromosome of every person from this region and has a special significance in our cultural heritage.
The seductive smell that permeates the fresh, uncooled bedding, and the meditative state when you take the first sips – is simply a hiding place for the secret ritual of downloading all daily thoughts, feelings, impressions, and dreams.
Belgrade, the fourth largest capital in the world in terms of coffee consumption, justifies its position with the fantastic quality and variety of great places like Przionica, Filter, and Hotel Beograd.
Where do you spend your leisure time?
From an early age I have had an indescribable curiosity and enthusiasm for traveling and exploring new places, meeting unusual landscapes and people, and gastronomic gems. Besides art, it is something that heals my soul from life and all the misfortunes that life can bring us. I usually like to spend my weekends out of town exploring a new place, mountain, or area I have not visited yet… And of course, there’s also the ever-present desire to return to some old passions like fencing and horseback riding, to make my free time as active as possible.
Name your 3 favorite locations in Belgrade and justify your choice.
Jaram na vodi – it’s a definition of my ‘summer glass globe’ that keeps the summer euphoria and preservers sun-kissed feeling all year in you.
Crnotravska Street – my shelter of peace and part of the daily pilgrimage that helps me filter out thoughts and feelings and let them linger until they mature.
Ada Medjica – summer infusion and source of the euphoria in the melancholic moments of the lack of hippie adventure and the energy of Ada Bojana.
Writer. Blogger. Traveler. Researcher. Electronic Music Lover.