“
and Wisconsin. Perhaps its because there are Greeks everywhere, who knows.” Russians on other hand search for food and boutique hotels, while in Germany they look for everything Greek related, she noted. Nonetheless, posting daily features on Living Postcards is only a small part of Iliada’s vision for Greece. Her obsession with fine goods, discovering new things, and hoping for change stems from her love for Athens, she said. “I am a cosmo girl as they say. I love this city. Athens is slowly becoming more beautiful. Three years ago it was not the case, it was more dangerous and in a bad condition. But people who live here don’t love it, so they don’t see the beauty in it. A lot of things need to change still.” Like what? Perhaps fixing the sidewalks as a start, we joked, but anything else? “Yes the side walks for sure, but also the everyday things,” she said. “Many times people carry themselves with a rude attitude on the street. If we don’t change our attitude nothing will change the city.” But, things start looking up when you listen to the stories of the younger generation and learn about their own vision for the future, Iliada commented. “When you meet people 20 or 25 years old that are living their dreams, they feel big and they dream big, it’s like you take in oxygen every day,” she said. “It’s a totally new way of thinking, and the young people are everything for me.” As Iliada shared some examples of new entrepreneurs building their own small businesses despite living the crisis, we realized that the young creative minds in Greece are finally becoming more forward thinking and business oriented. “Every day I get notices from new designers,” she said. “Just last week I was accused that I have too many designers on my site. I can’t help it, there are so many!”
PEOPLE
Though the daily needs of keeping up with her project are at times overwhelming, Iliada faces the challenges with confidence. “This is fun,” she explained. “Doing this is very lively and creative, and it’s given me a lot of interesting experiences. I have met 1,600 different people through this, and I meet new people doing great things every day.” Sometimes her interviews and business are conducted in unconventional ways. Meetings can take place at a gallery opening, or even at a live music performance. “It has to be done this way because there isn’t enough time,” she explained. “But it is also fun to meet with people like this. It’s not always about business.” For Iliada, launching Living Postcards has been more than an interesting journey. The most important experience in doing so has been “only one,” she said. “The discovery that I can do a lot of things in my life.” Now a go-to platform for all things Greek, Iliada receives attention on a daily basis. New products are popping up rapidly and every day there is a rush of emails, phone calls, and products at her door, from people who want to be heard and acknowledged. The newfound fascination with hand-made or organic goods reflecting the quality Greece has to offer is endless. Still, Iliada is restrictive on what she features. “I am very very very selective now, because I always want to recommend the best,” she said. “And they must have passion. That’s one of my criteria for selection.” Viewers from around the world are also selective about what attracts them to Living Postcards. “The site is most popular in America, and they look at the fashion,” she explained. “I have a lot of people from New York and California, which makes sense. What I don’t understand are the views from remote states like Ohio, Nebraska,
Greece has life. The postcards that one remembers have color. They have life. They have a future.
To catch a glimpse of Iliada’s personal favorites, check out living-postcards.com. portes magazine | summer 2014
57
“