Pantelis Melissinos’ handmade sandals, for years now, have been walking around the world. They’ve been to remote corners of the Earth, unlike him, who -like a modern day Socrates- never leaves Athens.
His art workshop is full of poetry, music, theater and of course sandals!
He was born and raised in the shadow of the Acropolis of Athens, in an artistic environment. His father Stavros (son of Georgios Melissinos, founder of the business) was a 2nd generation sandal maker and also a poet, who introduced the art of Ancient Greek Sandals to the modern fashion world, in the mid-50’s.
Pantelis’ formative years were spent inside this historic sandal workshop, where he listened to famous people talking about philosophy, poetry and art.
Early in his life, he studied classical piano and painting and he always found “refuge” in his writings and poetry.
In 1980, at the age of 20, he moved to the United States and studied at the famous Parsons School of Design in Manhattan, where he received a BFA in Illustration and an MFA in Painting. There he also wrote and staged plays for his fellow students and later became Artistic Director of the Greek Cultural Center in New York. He has also worked as a costume designer for many years, mainly in the ancient Greek repertoire in Athens.
He has made many solo exhibitions, as a painter, and his works are in collections around the world.
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