Made In Athens: Explore The Living Traditions
While Athens may be best known for its ancient ruins and modern energy, plenty of tradition runs through the city. Found within its labyrinthine downtown neighborhoods is a thriving crafts culture that bridges the past and present.
A world of leatherworkers, potters, weavers, milliners, and instrument-makers whose skills span generations can be found throughout the Greek capital. Here is a guide to the traditional crafts you can explore while in Athens:
Weaving Threads Of History
In the area below Syntagma Square, fabrics, ribbons, lace, and silks tell stories of bygone eras. The art of weaving and embroidery is intertwined with Greek identity, from Athena, goddess of crafts, to Penelope's legendary loom in the Odyssey. At SEN Heritage Looms, a hand-weaving collective founded in 1872, you can find traditional linens and intricately woven children's gifts in a listed neoclassical building.
Nearby, Ifenin offers hands-on workshops with foot-powered tools, while the Museum of Greek Folk Art takes a deeper dive into the cultural legacy of textile design. For something truly immersive, the Mentis - Antonopoulos Passementerie Museum in Gazi revives a 150-year-old tradition of tassel-making and silk spinning, while the Argalios Atelier invites visitors to try their hand at the interlacing method of weaving, taking home a handwoven memento.
Modern Clay, Ancient Soul
Pottery is one of Greece's most enduring art forms. Today's ceramicists are as creative as their Classical predecessors, turning baked clay into works of utility and beauty. From elegant amphora-inspired pieces to playful contemporary tableware, studios across the city breathe new life into the medium.Â
Try your hand at pottery or browse at Yfi in Petralona, Trabala Studio in Koukaki, Dotahart Athens Art Lab in Plaka, or Threesome Ceramics in Pangrati. At Attic Black, near the Panathenaic Stadium, artists replicate ancient techniques to astounding effect. And in Monastiraki, Mon Coin Studio showcases the best contemporary Greek ceramic design. For a dose of context and to learn more, the Pottery Museum in Keramikos offers exhibitions and workshops tracing the evolution of ceramics in 19th and 20th-century Athens.
Leather That Lasts A Lifetime
Once a common sight, leather artisans still thrive in the central districts, throughout the streets of Psirri and Monastiraki. From cobblers hand-stitching shoes in tiny shops to workshops that carry on the proud tradition of sandal-making, leatherwear remains a tangible link to Athens' creative past.
Head to Roumeli at 5 Pittaki St for ornate tsarouchia (traditional Greek clogs), or to Nikolas Germanos in Exarhia for chic, contemporary handmade footwear. Karras Handmade Leatherwear offers custom bags and belts from its base in Psyrri. But the true stars are the sandal-makers like Ancient Greek Sandals and Melissinos Art, who craft stylish, mythology-inspired pairs just steps from the Acropolis.
Melodies Carved From Wood
In Athens, behind every bouzouki or lyra is an artisan whose hands have shaped not just wood but heritage. In Exarhia, names like Nikolaos Brass, Dimitris Vasiliou, and Panagiotis Toulikas are synonymous with master craftsmanship.
They build and restore everything from violins to traditional folk instruments. Further afield, Kleo Drums in Nea Smyrni creates bespoke percussion instruments, and the Museum of Greek Folk Musical Instruments in Plaka houses more than 1,200 pieces arranged by the way they produce sound.
A Hat For Every Mood
Once a common sight, milliners are making a quiet comeback in Athens, blending old-school elegance with modern design.
In Kolonaki, Katerina Karoussos handcrafts hats using natural fibers and timeless techniques, while Savapile in Psirri has been shaping straw, silk, felt, and cloth into stylish headwear since the 1960s. The hat-makers of Athens can help you find the ideal piece, from a casual sunhat to statement pieces.
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