PlaymoGreek, are Playmobil figures dressed in handmade copies of traditional Greek costumes.

“The idea suddenly came to me when I was 5 years old. As a child, Playmobil was my favorite toy and I had a variety of kings, pirates and soldiers but after a while I wanted to expand my collection with “traditional dancers”.

So, one day I put the Playmobil figures in a circle, like they’re dancing, and dressed them with pieces of paper and napkin to look like traditional clothes. The stimulus was my experience from my traditional dance group but also my great grandmother, who was wearing her traditional costume in her daily life. As the years went by, I gained more and more knowledge and my passion for traditional costumes got bigger. I started searching information, visiting museums, travelling to villages and making contacts. So, I made a second effort to dress these figures with exact replicas of traditional costumes, but this time with a more advanced technique and better materials. I posted them at my Facebook profile and one day a reporter saw my work and recommended to write an article about PlaymoGreek.”

Petros Kaminiotis, 23 years old, is studying Marketing & Communication at Athens University of Economics and Business and coming from a rich in tradition village in Karditsa. Through this project, he tried to find a way to present the Greek traditional costume in a more alluring and contemporary way, using a well – known toy. The upper goal is to focus not only on the adults but also on the children; the new generation which can adapt a different approach, embracing the Greek tradition.

Greece

Permanent exhibition at National and Historical Museum, Athens

Permanent exhibition at Museum of the History of the Greek Costume of the Lyceum Club of Greek Women, Athens

Exhibition at Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens

Exhibition at Ethnographic Museum G. Melikis, Veria

Exhibitions at culture festivals and events in Orestiada, Sifnos, Skopelos, Elafonisos

Abroad

Exhibition during the Greek Festival, organized by the Lyceum Club of Greek Women, Sydney

Exhibition during the International and Charity Day, organized by NATO, Milan

PlaymoGreek, Petros Kaminiotis