She grew up playing with her mother’s fabric scraps from the famous fabric shop of the family or running around the vineyards belonging to her uncles in Crete, who are famous winemakers having received several awards from all over the world for their wines.

Elli Lyraraki was born and raised in Athens but she traces her origin in Crete, at a small village of Heraklion, Crete, called Alagni, or Alagonia as was its name back in the olden days. It is well known that a large part of the ancient Greek mythology was formed at the sunny island of Crete.

Zeus, taking the form of a bull, abducted Europa and brought her to Crete. Their union gave birth to Alagonia, the designer’s birthplace, her homeland. To you, the abduction of Europa may simply be a Renaissance painting but for the designer whose mother tongue is Greek, the word Europa indicates the woman with the wide eyes, who can look wide!

Thus, it is under such wider perspective that the designer from Alagonia named her collection of numbered, handmade footwear introduced to us for this year’s season, during fashion week.

Elli studied music and interior design in order to respond to the needs of the family business, which she took over; then, 8 years ago, she and her family moved to Chania, Crete. Together with her husband who was well aware of the old art of making sandals, they set up a small workshop where they began creating handmade leather sandals. The couple design and make handmade leather sandals, wedge-heel shoes, ballerinas, bags, earrings, bracelets and necklaces.