It was a three-day event full of inspiration, idea exchange, discussions, workshops, and live activities, all aimed at highlighting and preserving our living cultural heritage. In the heart of the city, in a space filled with cultural energy, people from all over Greece came together to share our experiences, traditions, and creations.

There, I had the opportunity to meet creators, artisans, organizations, and researchers from every corner of the country. Each one represented with consistency and passion the arts, techniques, customs, and oral histories that shape our intangible cultural identity. Each presentation offered a window into a world that keeps something precious alive: knowledge passed down from generation to generation.

My contribution: Traditional dyeing art in a contemporary entrepreneurial context

As part of the meeting, I had the chance to present my creative journey through NFOLD, a project born from my need to redefine my way of living and working, with respect for nature and tradition.

I spoke about the art of natural dyeing and the technique of eco-printing, two practices rooted in the past that today gain new meaning. Natural dyes, fabrics, leaves, flowers, tree bark, these materials are transformed into unique creations that "speak" to how tradition can find a place in our daily lives. Sustainable, meaningful, authentic.

When these materials are gathered from the populated urban landscape, they remind us that the city itself hides secrets, if only we learn to look closely.

My presence at the 2nd Meeting was not just a professional experience; it was also a moment of deeper connection with the purpose and essence of NFOLD’s work. The public’s response, the conversations, the interest, these were, for me, confirmation that what has just begun holds value.

I closed my presentation with a small interactive moment: I invited the audience to remove the leaves from a silk scarf and discover the imprint that nature had left behind. Because cultural heritage is not just theory. It is experience, connection and emotion.

NFOLD is a practice: to fold, to unfold, to observe what is revealed in between, to embrace (e-NFOLD) each moment of the process with mindful presence. That’s where the essence lies, in the trace a leaf leaves on the fabric, in the shade that can never be repeated.

It is about the process, not the rush for the result.

I thank all those who became companions on this journey. An inspiring path has just begun, grounded in a deep belief in the power of the handmade.