Article: A foodie road trip near Melbourne, The West Australian newspaper. “Every day in Barwon Heads is a good day,” Maria Malakellis declares as we stand outside her lifestyle store, Kiitos Living by Design, in the seaside town made famous by its starring role in the television series SeaChange.  A supremely elegant dynamo in a printed Marimekko dress, Maria started Kiitos more than five years ago in Barwon Heads, and now has a second store in nearby Torquay. They’re both a short drive from Geelong, where I woke this morning, in a suite as big as a ballroom at...

Written by Domenica Aside from being a beautiful coastal location, Barwon Heads in Victoria is home to Kiitos Living By Design – www.kiitos.com.au – a stunning designer homeware, gift, fashion, and textile gallery store. Kiitos selects stock from around the world based on ‘aesthetic beauty, design merit, recognition and functionality. Their list of brands is nothing short of amazing and includes designer brands such as:  Acapulco Chairs, Architectmade, Alessi, Basil Bangs, Blunt Umbrellas, Design House Stockholm, Eva Solo, Fink & Co, Funkis Clogs, Helgo, Holme Gaard, Iittala, Marrimekko Make Me Iconic, Marc Pascal, Menu, Muuto, Oclock Watches, Playsam, Saltwater Sandals,...

When searching for a career, people always offer the advise to find what you love to do or are passionate about and turn it into a job. Maria Malakellis, founder and owner of Kiitos in Barwon Heads has certainly made a success of her passion for beautiful design and all things marimekko. Maria was unemployed and at a loss of what to do when she realized the potential of an unused and unrenovated section of an old service station. One month later the bare shell was transformed into a beautiful and inspiring shop with a lovely, lively and passionate Maria...

Last month, what I thought would be a quick stop off in Barwon Heads turned out to be an enjoyable and lengthy few hours of window shopping and browsing. Never did I expect to stumble across such an array of good looking cafes, and well put together homeware/furniture stores in this boutique strip of shops! Being from Sydney I am constantly surprised by the towns surrounding Victoria and what this state has to offer…. you can also read about ‘Rigby’s Homewares’ , a store I was intrigued by in the B.Heads .. BUT TODAY I wanted to introduce another favorite find of mine...

It's rare when a shop and it's owner are so entwined you can't separate the two. Kiitos - Living By Design owner Maria Malakellis chatted to The Geelong Freelancer about her passion for timeless design and creating a Barwon Heads shopping experience never to be forgotten. As they say, out of hardship springs opportunity. In 2008 Maria Malakellis was living in Melbourne and jobless, having been made redundant from her real estate sales job at Melbourne Property Developer. She soon realised her new-found freedom opened up the perfect opportunity to return to her childhood town of Barwon Heads and bring...