Nota participates in "Athens Trigono"
Nota Masselou was one of the 65 people who were photographed by AKTO’s photography students as part of an initiative by “Athens Trigono”. The project, which was recently presented in a photo exhibition, included a range from traditional black and white photos of shopkeepers in their stores, to "fresh" artistic views of ACTO students, who worked intensively for two months. The portraits, along with a mini-interviews, will also be published in a catalog under the title : "People of Athens Trigono".
Here is what Mrs Masselou said in her interview:
I was born in the Isthmus of Corinth and I came to Athens when I was 18 years old. From the very first moment I loved very much what I did. I was born to design fashion. In my school notebooks I was already sketching garments. Since I started designing Nota sleepwear,, from the very first day, I have been passionate about my job. Today, I design with the same joy and with the enthusiasm I had when I was 25 years old. That is how I feel. I choose the materials and I start designing, then we sew the original samples and then we organize the photo shoot. That's what we every collection. My team, helps me a lot for the creation of the models and especially with the digital stuff, starting from CAD sketches and patterns, ERP software data, the e-shop content management system, etc. Today, clothes have a "digital" identity, which becomes every day more and more important, operationally and commercially.
I began to work in a lingerie company, managing their design office, and when they closed, I started “Nota” with my husband our company in 1962. We sell nightdresses, pajamas and robes. In the beginning we even made underwear, but we stopped. From the first six months of our business we managed to sell our sleepwear in Ermou Street, which was then the best road in the city. We started by selling wholesale and in 1975 we opened our first store in the corner of Academia and Voukourestiou Street. It was a boutique with an avant garde interior design, with exquisite trends, which still did not exist at the time in Greece. Until the outbreak of the financial crisis, we wad sixteen branded points of sale throughout Greece, both boutiques and corners in department stores.
We are exporting in almost forty countries. Our style is not for the masses because we are targeting boutiques and high-end department stores. Only in some countries, including Russia and Japan, we have distributors who give us big orders. That is how we survive, as the Greek market has shrunk. Our basic material is cotton or cotton modal, which are natural materials with fibers, while in the old days we have been using silk, but we use it less because it is overpriced.
Nota is based on Leocharous Street since 1974, when life in the area was still quite different. Things were nicer, there was a honest and friendly relationships with the neighbors. Soon all that changed. Leocharous was badly maintained, the oldest residents and businessmen were gone, the sidewalks were destroyed. However, since the urban redevelopment project, our life and mindset has changed and we think that we are working somewhere else. This area is part of our life, this is us. I feel that I belong here more than I do in the area where I actually live. That is why we are trying to improve the environment around us as much as possible. We would like to have more regular maintenance and cleaning as well as residents and businessmen working together, to take care of the renovated public space.
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