Tsarouchi from your homeland… in Kastania, Karditsa. Nestled in Kastania, Karditsa, on the picturesque outskirts of Lake Plastira, two brothers, Ilias and Pavlos Kogias, are dedicated custodians of a vanishing art. They maintain one of the last – possibly the very last – workshops in Greece dedicated to crafting traditional tsarouchia and gourounotsaroucha
The Kogias brothers are dedicated custodians of a family tradition stretching back over a century, to the distant year of 1910. Back then, in a Kastania that was a thriving main village (*kefalochori*) bustling with tailors, blacksmiths, and merchants, and boasting a school with 200 pupils, their grandfather, Antonios Kogias, established his cobbler's workshop in the exact same premises they occupy today. The tradition was carried on by their father, Evangelos, who temporarily moved the workshop to the city of Karditsa. However, when Ilias and Pavlos took up the mantle, they made the heartfelt decision to return to their ancestral "roots" in Kastania. They've skillfully divided their roles: Ilias is the 'mastoras' – the master craftsman whose skilled hands shape the footwear, while Pavlos navigates the business aspects of their cherished enterprise.Their primary focus is crafting tsarouchia for the prestigious Presidential Guard, as well as a somewhat lighter, more flexible version tailored for traditional dance troupes. Crafting each pair of tsarouchia – particularly those destined for the Presidential Guard – is a labour of love, demanding several days of meticulous work, involving around 600 hand-sewn stitches and precisely 120 nails. Alongside these iconic shoes, they produce the aptly named "gourounotsaroucha." As they explain, these were originally rugged "pig-shoes" fashioned from unprocessed pigskin for the less affluent, though today they craft them using fine processed leather. They share a fascinating linguistic tidbit: the word "tsarouchi" traces its origin to the Turkish word "tsarik," a general term for shoe. Their repertoire extends further, crafting traditional Cretan 'stivania' (boots), distinctive Pontian boots, elegant shoes designed for Latin and "European" ballroom dances, custom-ordered riding boots, and even "selachia" – traditional leather waist pouches, a vintage forerunner to the modern fanny pack ("banana" bag). For more information:www.kogiasart.gr Related Tags PLASTIRAS LAKE - As If It Had Always Been There,
