Vjollca Mezini shop
Vjollca Mezini Souvenir Shop
The shop is situated in the Neck of Bazzar, and Vjollca is one of the true masters of embroidery in the town.
This craft was inherited by women in Albania through centuries. Vjollca is one of these women whose family has worked in this mastery for more than 80 years. She learned this mastery from grandmother who worked with the Italian nuns during WWII. In 1993 Vjollca had many requests from foreigners for handicrafts. She started to work at home with many female artisans and selling the products in Greece. The most requested items were handicrafts using traditional techniques. Then she decided to open her own shop in Gjirokastra bazaar, where visitors can find works, produced by many women and girls in the city. “I called my business “Golden Hands” because golden are the hands of those artisans that work using many traditional techniques such as needlework, crochet, embroidery and so on.