A surprising number of Greek shops are specialty shops--though not quite as we think of them. In the US, we tend to have high end specialty stores, such as Victoria's Secret, Sur la Table, and A Thousand Cranes (for those who don't live in Berkeley, that last carries Asian hand-made paper, prints, and home decorator items). And of course, even though we have access to everything in the local supermarket and "big box" stores, we love specialty bakeries, butchers, and cheese stores.
Here in Greece you will find a different kind of specialization. Some stores sell only floor mats and baskets (the theme seems to be "things woven of heavy fiber"--see picture)! Another sells wheels, casters, and tires (for everything except cars--see picture): "things that roll." Another sells bulbs (not lamps, just bulbs) of all kinds, sizes, and purposes. Another sells products made of sheets of aluminum (what we could make out through the window of the store were window frames, various small metal forms that we didn't understand the purpose of, and slatted metal shutters that many stores and homes roll down at night). Another shop seem to stock just cleaning products of every kind: mops, sponges, cloths, brooms, liquids, powders, etc.
Some of these stores are tiny--the size of a walk-in-closet. There also appears to be a lot of duplication. (How many fancy chocolate stores, all of which seem to sell the same selection of items, can be supported within a five-block radius?)
Our Greek hosts tell us that these old style specialty stores have often been in the same family for generations, and are slowly giving way to American-style malls. Once upon a time, little shops that served similar but disparate needs--e.g., bulbs, handles (yes, there is a store just for handles!), small electrical appliances, glassware, etc.)--and other housewares of many different kinds--were clustered in certain parts of Athens. They might be small, but there would be an amazing variety of items crammed, floor to ceiling, into the limited space.
Now these shops are giving way to the Ikeas (there's one near the airport) and Praktikar (similar to a Home Depot). We visited the latter in our search for a way to make our stiff mattress more comfortable--but that's a blog for another day.
Here in Greece you will find a different kind of specialization. Some stores sell only floor mats and baskets (the theme seems to be "things woven of heavy fiber"--see picture)! Another sells wheels, casters, and tires (for everything except cars--see picture): "things that roll." Another sells bulbs (not lamps, just bulbs) of all kinds, sizes, and purposes. Another sells products made of sheets of aluminum (what we could make out through the window of the store were window frames, various small metal forms that we didn't understand the purpose of, and slatted metal shutters that many stores and homes roll down at night). Another shop seem to stock just cleaning products of every kind: mops, sponges, cloths, brooms, liquids, powders, etc.
Some of these stores are tiny--the size of a walk-in-closet. There also appears to be a lot of duplication. (How many fancy chocolate stores, all of which seem to sell the same selection of items, can be supported within a five-block radius?)
Our Greek hosts tell us that these old style specialty stores have often been in the same family for generations, and are slowly giving way to American-style malls. Once upon a time, little shops that served similar but disparate needs--e.g., bulbs, handles (yes, there is a store just for handles!), small electrical appliances, glassware, etc.)--and other housewares of many different kinds--were clustered in certain parts of Athens. They might be small, but there would be an amazing variety of items crammed, floor to ceiling, into the limited space.
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