The Story Behind Christina Christi

There are people who decide to start a business.

And then there are people who simply follow what they love, until one day they realize that it has become their life.

I believe I belong to the second group.

I was born and raised in Athens, in a family of five children. I was the youngest, and perhaps because of that, from a very early age I had the privilege of observing, learning from, and being inspired by everyone older than me.

But if someone asked me which people shaped me the most, my answer would always be the same.

My mother and my father.

From my mother, I learned what it means to give without expecting anything in return. To love deeply and to truly care.

From my father, I learned the value of hard work.

He is a craftsman. He worked ten, and often twelve, hours a day in a factory, simply to make sure that our family never lacked anything. I remember him constantly creating things with his hands. I admired everything he made.

One of my favorite places to this day is his family home in Agios Georgios Pagon, Corfu.

A small balcony overlooking the entire Ionian Sea.

It was there, without realizing it at the time, that my first creations were born.

Small handmade objects, created more out of curiosity than knowledge. They had no commercial value, but they had something far more important.

They made me happy.

The years passed, and in 2005 I began studying at the School of Nursing.

At the same time, I started working so that I could be financially independent. I worked as a sales assistant in stores such as Sprider, Pull & Bear on Ermou Street, Vanity in Chalandri, Mr. Gavala’s LAK store in Chalandri, and later at Golden Hall.

They were demanding years, but at the same time they were carefree and full of beautiful memories.

Around 2009, I started making my first sandals.

I decorated them with ribbons, stones, rhinestones, and every small detail that I found beautiful.

During the same period, I also began creating my first pieces of jewelry.

Not to sell them.

Simply because I wanted to wear something that could not be found anywhere else.

And then the first questions began.

“What a beautiful necklace…”

“Where did you get it?”

I had no idea that such a simple question would one day change my life.

In 2010, I graduated as a nurse and began working at a private clinic in Piraeus.

The daily journey from Gerakas to Piraeus was exhausting.

It took away much of my time.

But it never took away my desire to create.

Even then, almost every piece of jewelry I wore when I went out was something I had made myself.

In 2012, I began studying for an additional qualification as a microbiology laboratory assistant.

In 2014, after completing my studies, I transitioned from my nursing role to take charge of the clinic’s microbiology department. I remained in this position until 2019, when I became pregnant with my second child and had to choose between my two careers.

No one could have imagined that, in that very same year, the greatest adventure of my life was about to begin.

It all started over a cup of coffee.

In Davaki Square, in Kallithea.

I met there with a childhood friend, and I was accompanied by my boyfriend at the time, who is now my husband.

Our friend enthusiastically told us about an idea he had brought to life.

He was producing handmade wooden beach rackets in his father’s woodworking workshop. Through social media, he had started offering them directly to customers and had already managed to supply one of the largest toy-store chains in Greece.

When we returned home, my partner sent me a message asking me to send him a few photographs of the jewelry and sandals I had made for myself.

I did not think much of it.

But the following afternoon, he showed me something that left me speechless.

He had already created pages on Facebook and Instagram.

The name was…

Christina_Christi_Jewels

It was almost the same name I used on my personal Facebook profile, because I had never liked displaying my surname online.

In less than two days, the first followers had grown to two thousand.

And then the first two orders arrived.

Two handmade necklaces.

One went to Zografou, to a dark-haired young woman who worked in Athens nightlife.

The other went to a university student in Kaisariani.

Of course, we did not yet have a courier service.

We delivered the orders ourselves.

I will never forget that feeling of happiness.

Not because of the money.

But because someone I had never met had chosen to wear something I had created.

A few days later, I had saved my first one hundred euros.

I remember going for coffee in the center of Athens and stopping by our supplier to collect a pair of sandals that had been ordered.

While I was waiting for the assistant to bring out the pair, my partner suddenly said:

“Bring us nine more pairs exactly like these.”

I froze.

We had just spent every euro I had earned.

The only thing I could think was:

“What if they do not sell?”

But he believed in the idea more than I did.

And in the end, he was right.

One or two weeks later, we ordered another fifty pairs so that we would have enough stock for the rest of the summer.

From that moment on, nothing was ever the same.

After finishing our regular jobs, we would meet for coffee in the afternoon. Every day, we uploaded a photograph to Instagram and Facebook, and I answered messages constantly.

We hardly ever actually drank the coffee.

Afterwards, we would go to my family home, where I worked in my bedroom until late at night creating the orders. He prepared the shipping documents, we packaged everything together, and every afternoon my mother handed the parcels to the courier driver.

I did not create Christina Christi alone.

It was built by a family.

In 2016, we created our first online shop.

It was modest, rather makeshift, and very simple.

That same year, our sandal supplier told us about an American platform called Etsy. He explained that it was a marketplace for handmade creators from all over the world and suggested that it might be worth opening a store there.

My answer was almost comical.

“Why should we get involved with shipments to America and Europe? Greece is more than enough for us.”

The following day, the Etsy store already existed.

He had not asked me.

The same stubborn man who had created our social media profiles had already created it himself.

For approximately two and a half months, we did not receive a single order.

Every afternoon over coffee, he had the same concern.

What were we doing wrong?

Then, around seventy to seventy-five days later, the first order arrived.

It was not for one pair, but two.

Two pairs of sandals.

Ordered by a woman in the United States.

I still remember her name, although of course I cannot mention it here.

I also remember that, for five consecutive years, she returned every summer to purchase her sandals from us again.

She taught us something very important.

When someone places their trust in your work, they can become part of your story.

In 2018, we launched a modern Greek eShop, designed by an exceptional web developer who remains an essential part of our journey to this day.

In 2021, Etsy ranked us among the top 1% of sellers worldwide and recognized us as the leading Greek handmade store for international sales.

Then, in 2022, something happened that I will never forget.

We woke up one morning to find approximately one hundred and fifty new orders for the same pair of sandals.

At first, we could not understand what had happened.

Then one customer included a message with her order:

“I read the article. I simply had to own a pair.”

It was an article published by HuffPost in the United States.

To this day, we do not know how they discovered us.

We only know what an incredible honor it was to see our work featured there. HuffPost: Comfortable Shoes for Travel.

Today, more than twelve years later, Christina Christi continues to create with exactly the same philosophy.

Every piece of jewelry, every bag, every pair of sandals, and every accessory is handmade with the same love that existed in my very first creation.

Our photographs continue to travel every year to beautiful places throughout Greece and Europe.

Not because we believe that a beautiful landscape makes the product itself more beautiful.

But because we want every creation to carry with it a little of the joy and freedom of travel.

In 2026, the Christina Christi family on Etsy has grown to more than 80,000 sales and almost 15,000 reviews from people around the world.

Our official eShop has also followed its own successful journey, welcoming orders every day from Greece and abroad.
And yet…

For me, nothing has truly changed.

I still smile whenever I see something “of mine” being worn on the street, or whenever someone asks me:

“What a beautiful piece you are wearing…”

“Where did you get it?”

Because in that moment, I remember where everything began.

And every new creation is a small reminder that the most beautiful journeys often begin with a very simple idea.

Perhaps also with a little luck and a little stubbornness.

But most of all, with a great deal of hard work.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story.

I hope that one of our creations will one day become a small part of yours.

With love,

Christina Bardi Founder of Christina Christi