According to mythology, the goddess Athena, as the protectress of fine arts and handicrafts, invented the loom and offered humans the weaving art as a gift. During the Minoan period, this art flourished and was passed on, from generation to generation, thus preserving these special techniques unchanged until modern times as well as until a few decades ago, when it also offered a kind of self-sufficiency to every household that had its own loom.
At the end of the summer 2020, we visited the village of Anogia, in Crete, where we met one of the last weavers, weaving on her loom. Despite her old age of 87 years, she had such an eagerness and passion, beating the motion handle and rolling the cloth roller so skillfully, thus weaving and creating a unique piece of art, that we were so impressed. As a result, we came up with the idea to offer our help, to the extent that we are able to, in the survival of this unique art, rooting back in the depths of the centuries.
It is inspired by the traditional Cretan backpack, the so-called “Vourgia”, which Cretans carried throughout the centuries. It is a total handmade product, whose front part is initially woven on the traditional loom. Then, and after being specially processed, it is joined with the leather parts, creating the final product.
It is a modern version inspired by the heritage of centuries.
Ηandmade leather backpack, made of premium full-grain calf leather and handmade local textile made on the loom at the front side, offering 4 inside pockets for your personal items.
⬢ Small: height 35 cm * length 30 cm * width 15 cm | height 13.77 in * length 11.81 in* width 5.90 in
⬢ Medium: height 41 cm * length 33 cm * width 16 cm | height 16.14 in * length 12.99 in* width 6.29 in
Metallic Elements: The rings, grommets, rivets and hooks are made of high quality durable materials mainly in black nickel color.
Production Time: Our products are custom-made and may require five to seven business days from the date of order for their making.
Process: We take the best and of highest quality hand-colored fabrics from Greek textile mills and our leathers are hand-picked from local Cretan and Italian tanneries. By using strong metal rings and hooks to hold the fabrics and leathers together, we combine and process the raw materials with love and care, at our local workshop here in Heraklion. Then we use the best stitching methods and equipment to put the final pieces together, with standards that match our clients’ unique needs.
