The northeastern Greek town Soufli, Thrace - situated 70 kilometers east of Alexandropouli - had become part of the Silk Road during the Byzantine era, and the silk industry was the town’s main source of income until the 1980s. The architecture still mirrors the local silk economy through the town’s signature “koukoulospita” – high-ceiling houses whose upper floors once housed silk worms and their cocoons. Approximately 200 individuals are employed in the local industry nowadays, ranging from sericulture to selling silk products at stores as well as artisans working on embroideries at home.

Recently, a group of aspiring young fashion professionals joined forces on a working weekend trip to the silk-producing town. All of them finalists in a competition defined as part of a broader effort to revive the local industry, the students became acquainted with Soufli silk through workshops, presentations and visits to local silk mills. Their goal is to promote the silk of Soufli.

The Art of Silk Museum opened its doors in 2008 and is housed in a koukoulospito, which showcases a collection of silk-producing machinery and embroideries made two hundred years, among others.