Dispatch from Sifnos, Greece

Everything you need to know about the Sifnos pottery circuit; ceramic chimneys and folk museums; an epic film series; and a 6th-generation captain’s house

At first glance, it might be difficult to discern the differences between the many beautiful Cyclades islands in the Aegean. Whitewashed churches against a sparkling turquoise sea; charming ancient seaside villages where bougainvillea knows no bounds; aromatic wild scrub with rosemary and thyme; capers growing from every crack; endless sunshine. Sifnos has all of the above, but like anywhere with thousands of years of history, scratching the surface reveals a deeper story. In Sifnos, that story is centered around a longstanding tradition of pottery—dating back to Cycladian times and built on generations of collective knowledge and heritage skill—is still visible if you know where to look.

Along many of the trails, you’ll find churches that are unlocked, and you can peek your head in to appreciate the art-filled interiors.

A kind of age-old Sifnian folklore suggests that these workshops of old— tsikalaria —were sneakily tucked into hidden coves and hard-to-reach places to protect the ceramics from both pirates and the Meltemi (I’ve experienced the latter and can easily imagine a fierce gust of wind whipping through an open-air shelf and knocking everything flat). Once you’re attuned, you’ll notice all manner of decorative ceramic details across the island, including terracotta chimney toppers (flaroi)— a signature flourish of Sifnian vernacular architecture. In Hand contributor and craft-scouting extraordinaire Annie Waterman of AOW Handmade just returned with a report on her favorite pottery workshop (where these embellishments are still made by hand, according to tradition), plus a distilled guide for exploring this special island.