MELISSINOS SANDALS
The Melissinos Sandals would have never made it into fashion’s stylish world if it was not for the unexpected passing of Georgios Melissinos -founder of the business. Ironically the death of Georgios opened up new horizons for his sοn, Stavros.
STAVROS MELISSINOS – THE POET SANDAL MAKER
Up till then, Stavros Melissinos had been an only-child, growing up in an upper middle-class family. A family proud of its glorious past. Their history goes back 1.200 years – mid-8th century CE. Some of its earliest members established the House of Melissinos. One of the noblest and most powerful families of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire.
Anyway, when his father died, Stavros felt like the most helpless person on earth. His entire world came crumbling down. He was a twenty-four-year-old ambitious young man, studying at the Stavrakos School of Cinematography. Suddenly all his dreams came to a halt.
SOPHIA MELISSINOS
Luckily, Stavros was already married to Sophia Yaakova. Sophia was a young Greek-Russian beauty -a tower of strength. She hailed from a good family of businessmen from Chios (island). Her mother was Russian – from a family of landowners, in Rostov Veliky.
HIS MOTHER’S WISH
Before his marriage and his artistic ambitions, Stavros was in the army. He had considered a career in the military. From his mother’s side, he came from a long line of notable army officers, generals and fighters of the Greek war of independence from the Ottoman Turks. The famous war of independence hero, Demos Tselios was his great-great-great grandfather. His mother always wanted him to serve his country. She hoped that her son one day would become a distinguished army general. Unfortunately she died when Stavros was still a child. Her wish was never realized because her son found the army very stifling.
A NEW CAREER
Stavros had always aspired to be a famous filmmaker, but after the death of his father he had to quit his studies. Life’s events forced him to take over the well-known family business. It was the first time in his life that he had to really worry about the future. But did he really? Stavros was always a very optimistic person. Nothing would stop him.
THE MID-50s
It was the mid 50s and all the Greeks were still trying hard to recover from the II World War. The senseless brutality of Nazi Germany had left Greece with a ruined economy and about 550.000 dead people. Young and old, men and women had died due to famine, diseases and warfare. The Jewish community of Salonica alone had lost 60.000 men, women and children. They were lost to the gas chambers and were now gone forever. Alas, history never stops repeating itself, in one way or another!
THE MELISSINOS FOOTWEAR BUSINESS
The Melissinos Footwear Business was established in 1920. Despite its popularity it also faced a lot of problems after the death of Georgios Melissinos. Stavros tried to keep the business alive and not to fire any employees.
THE POETRY
Things were really tough in post war Greece. Stavros’ business was going from bad to worse. To escape from the hardships of reality, he started writing poetry again. That was something he had also done a few years earlier, when he had served as a young officer in the Greek army. But that did not help him at that particular moment,You cannot really make a living as a poet. Poetry is not a money-making occupation. Art, in general, helps your inner being and keeps you going, but it rarely feeds you.
THE ENGLISH ANGEL
Then, all of a sudden, everything changed. It was like a fairy tale. A tall, slender and beautiful English lady –like an angel- walked into his store. She asked him if he could make a few pairs of Ancient Greek Sandals for her dancers. At first, he was sort of annoyed, like someone abruptly awaken from a deep sleep. Stavros was busy with the writing of some difficult verses; he did not want to bother: “Leave me alone” he thought to himself; he tried to refuse.
THE LUCKY DECISION
Sophia, his young wife, stepped in and said “You better do it”. “Should I?” he asked. The English lady kept looking straight into his eyes for an answer. “I have no choice…if I refuse my wife will kill me” . Then, he laughed and said: “Socrates faced the same problems with Xanthippe, his wife”. “I know” retorted the English lady “Xanthippe was an unsung heroine…if it was not for her, Socrates would have never been the Socrates we all admire” 
. Stavros translated to his wife, Sophia, the English lady’s reply. Sophia agreed and said “I’ve been telling you this all along, behind every great man there’s always a greater woman”.
THE FIRST ANCIENT GREEK SANDALS IN MODERN TIMES
Stavros Melissinos made the six pairs the ballerina ordered. The sight of the ancient Greek sandals was something else; he loved them. He liked the idea so much that he made a few more pairs for himself. He hung those sandals in the display window. The rest is history; the Melissinos Sandals were born.
The first American tourists, who saw those ancient Greek looking Melissinos Sandals, posing charmingly in the display window, were so impressed that not only did they start buying them like hot cakes but they started coming back with friends and relatives. “Here” they would say “Here is the only place where you can get the real deal…the Melissinos Sandals”. The orders started pouring in and Stavros said to his workmen “This is a sign, we better stop making the usual footwear and start making these Ancient Greek Sandals”.
It was the first time since the collapse of Classical Greece that the ancient Greek sandals started to walk again. First, they walked the streets of Athens. Next stop: the Western World and a few years later, the entire globe. They have walked from Alaska to the Sahara Desert; yes, they’ve walked there too. To paraphrase the famous song: “These sandals are made for walking and this is what they do!”
FAMOUS CLIENTELE
Stavros counted the Beatles and Jackie Kennedy Onassis, among his famous clientele.
PANTELIS MELISSINOS ART
His dream once was to travel the world. Now, the whole world comes to him. We are talking about Pantelis Melissinos of MELISSINOS ART – THE POET SANDAL MAKER. Pantelis is the son of Stavros and the third generation sandal maker. He is also poet, like his father. He studied Fine Arts at the famous: Parsons School Of Design, in Manhattan. As if that was not enough he is also a composer -a true renaissance man, whose sandals are famous worldwide. He is now known as “The God of Sandals”.
HIS WORKSHOP
Pantelis’ workshop is a true contemporary landmark. Thousands of foreign visitors arrive in Athens, each summer, and head for the Parthenon. Then, a great number of them descend the Acropolis hill and go straight to Pantelis. In his workshop, the visitors can get his famous handmade and custom-fit leather sandals, which come complete with some words of Greek wisdom and poetry. Copies of his poetry are available at the workshop, which is decorated with his artworks.
THE RICH & FAMOUS
The rich and famous never stopped visiting. In 2011, Dr. Jill Biden, The former US Vice President’s wife came here, together with her daughter, while her husband, Joe Biden was still in office. Pantelis Melissinos made sandals for them and their friends, under the watchful eyes of the American Secret Service. Sarah Jessica Parker, Lilly Tomlin, Bob Saget got their sandals here, as well. Pantelis has been featured on CNN and The New York Times, among other famous news and entertainment media.
Pantelis Melissinos
Athens 2004