“A crazy girl with colourful fur-skins everywhere in her black & white house… ” —This is going to be me in a few years…
My name is Eleni Oikonomidou and I was born in Drama, Greece. Now I am at the end of my BA in Fashion Design & Technology at T.E.I. Technological Educational Institute of Central Macedonia (Department of Kilkis). Let’s say that a small dream came true. After a lot of experimentation on denim and dying techniques, I was introduced to pelts in a fur class at my university. After that, the dreams turned into reality as the creativity with the techniques and designs had begun. Every day I sought to improve my skills but it was never enough for me. My teacher told me that only with hard work are you going to have the results that you desire. So I refined my knowledge and I won a place at Kopenhagen Fur, Imagine Talents 2018 to represent my university and my country on the catwalk. However, the biggest honour for me, came when I created my first fur coat all alone and that is the reason why I sent my application for Fur Summer School 2017. As for the future; well… no one can tell what it holds for us…
“Innovation and Creativity. Two words with big essence”
After the trip and the meet up with the participants, we were separated in teams and suddenly everything was on fire. We were five people from all over the world who had come to the Fur Summer School 2017 for one reason, FUR. This was the start of a brainstorming session with fur as the centrepiece by using only your mind and your hand. We did some research and we decided to make a backpack “with a twist”. A backpack that no one had ever seen, even in their wildest dreams. Also on the list was a low-cost fur vest, using the “waste”, and recycled leather. However, the most creative thing was the Furry USB Cable. When we presented our idea to the audience, they told us that we have to make our imaginative company a reality. The team was working perfectly, just like the hand. Each one was like a finger, if you cut one off, the moves are more difficult and nothing is ever going to be the same again. Every person in the team was important and unique, he couldn’t be replaced.
“Aspire to Inspire”
I am young enough to stand out, but old enough to be an inspiration. With these words I‘ll try to motivate someone to be a member of our team. FurEurope and IFF, choose people from all over the world who are interested in fur, and they give them the opportunity to shine and take a little magic from this unknown world, full of creativity, sustainability and innovation.
Thank you everyone!
PS1: Many thanks to Jessica, Alexandros, Giulia and Meiling for being the best family for these days
PS2: Many thanks to Vasilis, Nikos, Panagiotis, Adam and maybe someone that I have forgot