AthensGuide: Shopping in Athens

Tamara's Creations

Tamara's Creations is in Psiri on Agios Theklas Street just a few doors down from Melissinos, The Poet's Sandal-shop. If you are looking for colorful original designed hats, handbags and more, totally unlike the typical tourist stuff you find in the Plaka and Monastiraki, her shop is worth seeking out. This is her story:

I was born in Germany, Munich. In the age of 2 we moved to Greece (Agios Nikolaos, Crete), later, after two years Rangoon (Burma/Myanmar) to Athens and Thessaloniki.

I started sewing when I was about seven… With small pieces of material which were left from my mother’s works making us children clothes, I made things for my dolls; later I started with clothes for myself, when I was about 14 years old I earned some money from sawing for other people simple things.

Meanwhile I finished my studies, I worked in the tourism-branch, I was drawing signs for shops etc., I started translating and teaching Greek to foreigners and German to Greeks, then I was a journalist in the German newspaper in Greece, “Athener Zeitung”.

I never stopped though creating with textiles, a material I really love. It has such great varieties, except of the colors, it’s the density, the strength, the flexibility, how it feels and looks, like smooth and shining or rough and hard etc.

Besides clothes for myself, my family and friends I started with more “artistic” things, like patchwork, funny or complicated bags and hats, pillows, etc., either as presents or to sell at art-bazaars.

Though I did so many other things, my dream since I was a little girl, was to have a shop, where I can make and sell my own creations. The first attempt was 1986 in Rethymno, Crete, where after almost three years I had to admit that I could not make enough for living of such a shop in the province. I moved to Athens. But till I finally managed to open that shop I was dreaming of, I had other jobs, which I actually really enjoyed, specially being a journalist for ten years.

Meanwhile I continued going with my creations to bazaars and without actually realizing I was preparing the ground for “tamara’s creations” by learning more about textiles, how to use them, where to find them, where to open the shop etc.

Finally I opened 2003 a shop in Psyrri, which didn’t work at all. I thought, before giving up, I’ll give it a last try: In September 2005 (“Technientos”) “Tamara’s Creations” in Agias Theklas 13, in Psyrri, started and is going better and better…