First things first, my name is Konstantina Fotiou and for the past two years I had been working at Philippakis Art workshops, which specialize in the creation of museum replicas, unique artwork and personalized gifts with sentimental value. From my perspective, they have been two truly educational years.
One of the first things that I learned while working at the workshops was that everyone and everything has its own unique history behind it. Now, the time has come for me to say goodbye and as a farewell gift, I wanted to share “my story” with all of you. So, let it begin!
I have studied sports journalism, but I mainly worked as a general journalist. I participated at the apprenticeship program by Manpower Employment Organization (OAED) that gave me the chance to start working at Philippakis Art workshops, as a secretary.
Professionally, it is very interesting to work on something new and a bit different than journalism, and to discover what you are capable of doing, outside your comfort zone. I don’t often get to see such projects the whole way through, as I did with the newly-developed e-shop MuseumMasters.gr, and I feel honored to have been given the privilege to watch it “blossom” and to help significantly in its progress.
More specifically, always with the help and guidance of my employers (Mrs Liz Philippakis, Mr Dimitris Philippakis and Mrs Dorit Meir), I managed to contribute to the creation and the development of our new online stores (e-shops), undertaking the online support of MuseumMasters.gr, Shine4ever.gr, Philippakis.gr, CoinsClub.gr and MuseumStore.gr. “All for one, one for all”, was our motto, because we always worked as a team!
Furthermore, I had to manage the content of the websites via the control panel, to prepare articles for the blog pages and to administer the social media pages (Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter). Another important task was to handle the orders and to organize the packaging of the products.
With the help of my writing skills and my love for Greek and Global history and storytelling, I had to search and write the historical data and the descriptions of the museum replicas, available on MuseumMasters.gr.
Later on, I was asked to follow the same procedure for CoinsClub.gr and MuseumStore.gr, so I collected information about the ancient and contemporary coins by various national banks and mints, as well as, I learned about paintings and art from famous galleries.
At Shine4ever.gr, I had a truly enjoyable experience, learning how to create a gift idea from the very beginning and how to turn old memorabilia into “shiny” objects. The personal approach that we used on the site helped me understand the concept of a direct sale.
I had the opportunity to talk with the customers and to “give soul” to their special memories and ideas. Every work of art, presented on the blog was created thanks to the highly specialized craftsmen of Philippakis workshops, who were responsible for the process and the production of the gifts.
The “fairytale” does not end here … it continues with my own new beginning, as I am planning to travel abroad and look for a new “adventure” to tell you! I do not know what the future holds, but I’m sure our paths will cross again.
Thank you for almost two years full of creation, learning and sharing thoughts and ideas. It surely became a great memory, which is going to last forever.
With love,
Konstantina Fotiou!