Melissinos Art -The Poet Sandal Maker, Athens

Let me start off by saying the sandals are great quality, and an awesome customized souvenir to take home after a trip to Athens. However my experience definitely fell short of the excitement I had going in after reading the many rave reviews online. I went in during off season, and there wasn't any other customers being attended to during the time I was there. The employees were VERY quiet, and didn’t say much to me when I was there, mostly just the occasional “try this on”, which I found made the experience feel a little rushed and awkward. Melissinos has a few employees there customizing and putting together sandals which is very interesting to watch. The whole process is definitely very exciting, but unfortunately the lack of personality in the room definitely was disappointing. Melissinos himself cashed me out, but while I was there that was the only part of the process he was there for. Overall it was a very underwhelming and awkward experience for me. However I do love my sandals and have put many walking miles in them since purchasing them and they have held up quite nicely even after accidentally getting caught in the rain in them. While in Athens I also stopped onto Olgianna Melissinos’ sandal shop, and I had a much friendlier and equally personalized experience. With VERY similar-if not the same quality sandal. So if you’re looking for an alternative I HIGHLY recommend her shop.

My wife and I purchased some sandals here. They were custom made to fit our feet. The people working there were very knowledgeable and did a great job. Absolutely love the sandals.