Collectors Keep Returning to This Catholic Gift Shop Studio
 

What makes Art of the Icon different from other places selling religious art online? The answer starts with process rather than marketing. While many retailers offer Icons that amount to little more than printed images glued onto wood, this studio has spent over 40 years committed to traditional iconography, founded by the Vasarmidis family after they began painting in Crete with almost nothing but patience and skill. That foundation still shapes the way every piece is made today, decades after the studio first opened its doors.

How is that commitment reflected in an actual piece? Take the studio’s catholic icons as an example. They’re built on hardwood prepared with eight coats of Gesso glue, finished with a burlap canvas line drawing, and gilded in pure silver and 24k gold leaf. Why does this matter so much today? Because only three factories worldwide still follow this traditional method, making genuine pieces increasingly rare, and many buyers say the difference is obvious the moment they hold one in their hands. It’s a detail that’s hard to describe until you experience it directly for yourself, in person rather than on a screen or in a printed catalog somewhere far away from the studio.