We were impressed that the designers of all these various kinds of goods played a highly important role in the process, and that most of them were architects or specialized designers.

When we returned to Greece, we worked for two years in cooperative endeavors with foreign advisors and designers. The work was creative in the beginning. For a period of time I designed fabrics inspired by Greek tradition, adapted to the fashion current at the time. But when we saw that EOMMEH was slowly developing into a bureaucratic organization like all the others, and that the work was gradually losing its creative interest, we decided to resign.

That is when we began our own work. The idea was to paint the fabrics used for dresses as if they were actual paintings, but using industrial pigments designed for prints; each of the creations would be unique and signed. After a number of attempts, we succeeded in creating an original kind of artistic good, in which we conveyed all of our high spirits, in these pure and intense colors. Our creations were quite successful in Greece and Europe, but even more so in America.

The technique we used for painting these fabrics went as follows: The pieces of fabric for each dress were brought to the studio and there put on special frames. Thus we knew where the bust, the neck, the backside and all the rest, were. Using a broad painter’s brush, we painted in the background and then put on successive layers of various colors, or we drew designs in the thick paint. Frequently, after we had painted the entire fabric, we did our designs with an improvised “tube”, which contained a certain amount of pigment as well. Other times, we would begin with light colors and use darker and darker brush-strokes, thus creating chromatic fluctuations. The brushstrokes supplied the rich, vibrant impression of a painting, which cannot be achieved with prints. These first dresses were done in the spirit of the abstract painting of the Sixties (a kind of “action painting”).

We aspired to making our technique as perfect as we possibly could. That is why we fixed the pigments so they were indelible; we baked the cotton fabrics in an electric oven, while the silk and woollen ones went in a steam oven. Then, they were put in a washing machine for softening. Finally, they were ironed and taken to tailors for sewing. I remember the first time we exhibited these painted dresses. It was in 1961, in our studio on the ground floor of a neoclassical building on Voulis St. in Plaka; we had pinned the dresses to frames on the walls, like actual paintings. Those invited included those interested in the arts, journalists and painters. Magazines such as Tachydromos, Eikones and Gynaika, put us on the cover and wrote highly complimentary reviews.

In addition to our studio, the dresses could be found at the “Clio” boutique at the Hilton, at “Strongylos” in Syntagma Square and at “Mariella Dimara” on Voukourestiou St. This was a time when many foreigners were passing through Athens. They saw these creations in the display windows and really liked them. In contrast to the taste of the Greek market of the time, which was conservative, particularly in regard to color, the Europeans and Americans were excited about these dresses and suggested we show them abroad.

Thus in 1964 we decided to make our first presentation of them in New York, after first securing the necessary appointments with the buyers for the various stores. I went on my own, lugging two suitcases of samples of dresses and ties. I believed wholeheartedly in what we were doing. We were not copying anyone and we had our own style. This was an original article and it generated excitement. Orders for our wares were then placed by the boutiques of the renowned clothing stores “Lord & Taylor”, “Bonwit Teller”, and “Sulka” in New York, “Nan Duskin” in Philadelphia, “Neiman Marcus” in Texas and “Marshall Field & Co.” in Chicago and “Filenes” in Boston. Furthermore, in 1966 we took part in Euromode in Paris, along with the boutiques of some of the most famous fashion houses, such as Pierre Cardin. We were warmly received and praised for the originality of our painted fabrics, despite the fact the styling was very simply done; we wanted the accent to be on the painting. We again took part in this event in 1967 and 1968.

Purchases were then made from us by the cities of Göteborg, Basel, Memingen and Paris and London. Later, in order to free ourselves from handling the actual marketing of these articles, we dealt through representatives in Europe and America, starting in 1967.

Joanne Stage (“Danigelis Imports”) was our representative the USA. We worked together for twelve years and she helped us a great deal. She was an excellent colleague and a terrific friend. So I must say that the professional relationship we enjoyed with her was ideal. It began in 1967 and lasted till 1978. We formed a close bond with Joanne and were very good friends for all those years. She herself had studied the history of art and design, and understood from the very start that it was better for us to sell in boutiques, that were interested in artistic merchandise, and avoid the large department stores which order in large quantities, which we were not in a position to produce. Thus, the quality and style of our work would have inevitably suffered. Therefore, she showed our work at an exhibition hall in New York (“488”, 7th Avenue) and also travelled on her own to exhibit samples of our work at certain special stores.

Our work gave us creative joy. It was as if you were painting the body of each woman separately. Despite that, in 1979 I ceased working on them (Mimis had already stopped in 1976). I did not accept any more orders and I dedicated myself exclusively, to my painting, something which down deep has always been my aim.