Affectionate, straightforward, communicative, you feel like you’ve been friends for years. In his open workshop in Kipseli, everything looks like a Fine Arts atelier: sewing machines, waterproof fabrics, threads, colours and textures are tangled with bicycles, photos from cycling tours and cycling gear such as thermos, bolt wrenches and wheels. Yannos Vafeidis, founder and soul of ENABags is not just another creative soul – he the dream future of Greek entrepreneurship.
‘I had no connection with sewing; my job was lighting technician in events and concerts. I lived with my girlfriend in Belgium, I was working in fashion shows and I was part of the Tomorrowland team, simultaneously while off-season I worked in an incredible bike shop in the city centre. Then came the quarantine, all the events stopped worldwide and we all got locked down. That is when I bought myself a sewing machine to have something constructive to do. I started by sewing masks and hats, until I made a bag for my bike. Well, the rest is history as they say, my friends saw the bag and asked me to make one for them as well, slowly all this started to spread and I started to enjoy it more and more.’ Yannos says.
After a time in his own space – in a building that housed start-ups in Belgium – he returned to Greece. The brand already was embraced by the cycling community and had an online presence. ‘There was no question of me stopping; the brand was already running for a year.’ Today, EnaBags is the paradise of the custom bike bag, backpack and waist bag. At his shop you don’t buy massive production items – you come, see the patterns and fabrics, discuss your needs and choose from the ‘best of’ outdoor fabrics, German Cordura, American eco pack, Italian plastics, customized with any extra details you want in the lining, in the inner pockets, with foamed pads for your camera or laptop, etc.
The bag of your dreams is produced to order, but you will also find all these resources for excursions, cycling trips, seminars on bicycle mechanics and first aid. ENABags has build a lively community of people who love their bike, whether it’s a racing or a folding bike. With a bag at the front, the frame or the saddle which will make your daily life or your expedition more functional and practical.
Last year he participated in the 9th Athens Bike Festival, the only cycling exhibition in Greece and with the largest participation of all the previous years. The response was great and promising for the sector. But Yannos also serves visitors from all over the world who pass through Athens by bicycle. ‘They may need a bike service, an extra bag, an accessory. They come in and hang out with you, tell you their story and it is a beautiful feeling.’
He speaks passionately about what he does. It’s a blessing to be active professionally in something you love, I think. I see his backpack in the corner of his workbench: Black, with blue detailing on the outside and a gorgeous, bright, fluorescent yellow on the lining. ‘Wow!’ I exclaim, and we start talking about the new laptop I bought that won’t fit in any of my backpacks. ‘Ours comfortably fits a 15′ laptop,’ he tells me proudly and I’m sold.
At the same time, outside the shop I’m looking at an Omnium bike. This is the SUV of bicycles, a Danish cargo bike, in 3 sizes; you can do all your chores with it, since it has a huge rack to place and carry anything. ‘We are the first Greek dealrship’, he tells me, and I reply with a laugh ‘We will meet again very soon!’
ENABagsÂ
Evdokias 7, Kipseli, tel. +306973520791
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