STRANDED IN CHANIA

This is my story of how a holiday trip to Chania, triggered a second business trip in 2020 that got me stranded because of Covid 19, but led me to grow a business, fall in love and decide to move my entire life here.

My name is Steve O’D. and I run a Creative Agency specialising in Hand-painted Murals and Interior Design. I first visited Chania in 2019 with my girlfriend for a week-long holiday. Two years later we now live here permanently, and I am working with the Municipality of Chania on a series of large scale murals.

Reviving our first impressions from our holiday visit in Chania, I remember we were sitting next to a beautiful old tannery building on a bench overlooking the water outside our accommodation in Chalepa. Our host arrived, greeting us with a big smile and handfuls of coffee, and we sat outside talking for almost an hour. It seemed we had already made a friend in the city, and we left feeling welcome, safe and prepared for the week ahead – especially with all our newly acquired local info. Fortunately, during our conversation, our host discovered that I was a Street Artist and invited me to return in March 2020 to complete a project on one of her buildings in the city.