Why and when did you open the boutiques in Spetses?

I’ve been in love with Spetses since the age of 13. I would come to Greece from Italy to visit my father and we spent our summer vacations there. All my best childhood recollections are on the island, my summertime memories and fondest friendships have all accumulated there over the years, and I have never stopped visiting. After 25 years working in the challenging industry of luxury fashion in Italy and abroad, I felt I needed the chance to do something on my own, on my beloved Spetses Island, in Greece. I opened my first local boutique in March 2010 and my second in March 2016. These boutiques were a haven away from my previous working life, The years that followed became a permanent goal and thus my new life was born!

What was your experience working for luxury fashion brands in italy?

It was extremely stimulating and demanding at the same time. I gave priority to my professional career and succeeded in many executive positions mainly in the luxury shoe business for brands such as: Bruno Magli, Prada, Helmut Lang, Tods and Hogan…the experience and know how cultivated the desire to create my own business, and no other places would have been better than my favourite island, in my other homeland: Greece.

You opened two boutiques during an economic crisis. did that cause problems?

Indeed, Greece was well into the economic crisis when I opened my first boutique The Closet, luckily that did not strongly affect my business. I was able to overcome strong difficulties. Being there and living the day to day running of the shop, understanding clients needs and wants were all so important when building the business. Also, I try to make sure to bring products that have not been seen before, as well as staple pieces, and always keep prices within an affordable range.

Do you run the stores all year round?

Thankfully the season is quite long. We open around 25th March and close at the end of October each year. In wintertime I travel extensively to source new items. Every season I make sure to propose new selections of original products that mainly reflect my personal taste, but always keeping in mind my clients’ taste and hope they will love my decisions!

How did you create the stores' concepts and atmosphere?

I strongly believe that details make the difference: therefore I designed my own logo, which represents an old type of closet and I also designed a real closet, made by a carpenter to go in the centre of both boutiques. The light-switches are old porcelain types, which I brought from Italy. The island feel also played a major role in shaping the boutiques’ wonderful colours and architecture. Solutions are not always expensive but finding the right items can transform a shop into a really unique and welcoming space.

What can we find in your stores?

My motto is my personal taste, so my two stores have items I personally choose or that I design myself. I have ladies’, men’s and kids clothing, footwear, accessories, home wear, perfumed items, ceramic original souvenirs, everything you can imagine! My two boutiques are “the closets” of my own taste and aesthetic, tailored to my clients’ needs and wants.