Pepi Nikolopoulou
Two contemporary creators, two different journeys: Myrsini Alexandridis and Astero Strataki
There is always a moment. A small, almost invisible moment when a thought transforms into a major decision. On the occasion of International Women’s Day, at elculture we gave the floor to women who did not wait for the “right moment”. They created their own. Women who dared. Who took responsibility. Who gave personal meaning to something professional. And we asked them not about numbers or strategies, but about that very moment:
When did they feel that “now is the time”? What was the hardest trial they faced?
How does responsibility change when you experience it every day? What does it mean to lead as a woman in a world that still evaluates you differently?
And if they could go back, what would they say to their younger selves?
Through their answers, they do not offer ready-made recipes for success. Instead, they trace their personal paths. Paths marked by doubt, resilience, responsibility and persistence. These are real stories of courage and determination.
At this stop along the journey, we meet Myrsini Alexandridis, an artist and designer working at the intersection of architecture, painting and ceramics, and Astero Strataki, founder of Astérisque, the first exclusively gluten-free bakery in Mets.
Myrsini Alexandridis – The Tile as a Field of Creation
Myrsini Alexandridis moves between architecture, painting and ceramics. Having studied architecture at the National Technical University of Athens and at the Berlage Institute in the Netherlands, she carries into her work the structure, discipline and spatial thinking of architecture, translating them into material form.
The ceramic tile became her field of experimentation, through which she explores the relationship between surface and space. Each of her works reflects architectural logic – repetition, rhythm and structure – while also embracing the freedom of painting. For Myrsini, the tile becomes a canvas upon which her artistic mastery unfolds.
“The defining moments I remember were two.
The first was in 2020, just before the outbreak of the pandemic. I had moved to Stockholm in 2018 and from my second day there I began intensive Swedish language lessons, which I continued for about a year and a half. At the same time, I was working in an architectural office, and in my free time I painted tiles. Yet something inside me kept telling me that this was not enough. I felt that I was investing all my energy in adapting, learning the language and surviving, rather than in what truly expressed who I was.
I clearly remember the moment when I thought: ‘Now is the time.’ I decided to leave Swedish at the level I had already achieved and dedicate all my free time to my art. I opened my own business, started creating my website and gave the tiles the space they deserved in my life. It was the first conscious decision to invest in something I deeply love and that I could see had real potential.
For the next few years I continued working at the office in the mornings and painting in the afternoons and on weekends. Until 2024, when my works had increased significantly in number and demand, and at the same time our second daughter came into our lives. That was the second defining moment. I felt that I could no longer divide myself between so many roles without giving clear priority to what truly matters: my family and my art. Within the following year, I rented my first studio and made the decision to devote myself entirely to who I am and what I create.
Since then, my life has changed radically in the direction I always knew deep inside that I wanted to follow.
The most difficult challenge we faced, and to some extent still do, was finding our balance as a family. My husband, Michalis, and I have been together for almost fifteen years. Throughout this journey of our shared life, parenthood and professional development, he has been my constant support. Especially during the period when I was still working in the architectural office while at the same time building my own business and raising our babies, the demands were enormous. It was an exhausting phase, physically, emotionally and mentally, for both of us. There were moments when it felt as though our roles multiplied and time was never enough.
What sustained us was our shared belief that all this effort had meaning. That if we stood beside each other as a team, we could build the life we dreamed of.
From this experience I learned that nothing is achieved alone. Support, communication and the sense of “togetherness” form the foundation upon which both a family and a dream can flourish. And above all, we learned that before any professional success, there is us, the four of us, and that is our greatest strength.
Today I experience my role with greater awareness and more calm. I try to enjoy the everyday life I have chosen and built through conscious decisions, consistency and optimism. It is not always easy. There are moments when I doubt whether I am doing the right thing or the wrong one. But I have learned not to be a harsh judge, neither toward myself nor toward the people around me. I allow room for mistakes, because I recognize how demanding it is to be at the same time a woman, mother, partner, daughter, entrepreneur, friend and artist.
I do not see these identities as competing with each other. On the contrary, I love all these aspects of myself. My responsibility is to keep them in balance, because each one is part of my identity.
For me, responsibility means care and awareness. To genuinely care for myself, my family and my work. To recognize needs, difficulties and opportunities as they appear. Not to operate mechanically, but consciously.
Leading as a woman, for me, means leading with empathy and steadiness. It means being dynamic and at the same time gentle, decisive yet open. Creating space for collaboration, inspiring through example and showing that success is expressed through consistency, care and truth”.
If I could speak to the woman I was before making this decision, I would tell her exactly what I told myself then, and what I continue to tell myself today: you can achieve everything. Not all at once, not without effort, but with patience and persistence.
I would tell her not to fear the time something needs in order to bloom. To trust the journey, even when the results are not immediately visible. To remember that every small step builds something greater.
And above all, I would tell her not to try to do everything alone. To make sure she builds a safety net of people who support her, believe in her and help her stand up when she is tired. Because the magic does not lie only in personal strength. It lies in interaction, communication, in the sense of togetherness.”
Astero Strataki – Turning Limitation into a Starting Point
In the neighborhood of Mets, Astero Strataki opened the city’s first exclusively gluten-free bakery. Astérisque did not begin as a trend, but as a necessity that gradually evolved into creation. Here, bread is kneaded with buckwheat, millet and rice. The display cases fill with bagels, cookies, tarts and sweets that lack nothing in flavor or texture, while every ingredient is carefully checked to ensure it is absolutely safe for those living with celiac disease or gluten intolerance.
Astero created a distinctive space where care is transformed into everyday pleasure. A place where limitation becomes the starting point of a new journey.
“The decision was not born out of ambition; it was born out of necessity. From the daily experience of exclusion after being diagnosed with celiac disease. From the feeling that, in social situations, I had to apologize for something I had never chosen. From the lack of safe and high-quality options.
It wasn’t a sudden flash of inspiration. It was a process of inner maturation. At some point I realized that if I waited for the market to change, I might wait forever. That’s when I said: ‘If it doesn’t exist, I will create it.’
Although I came from the financial sector, with a career in banking and in the marketing department of a large company, I decided to radically change direction. My bakery is 100% gluten-free, but for me it is something more than a business. It is a space of inclusion. A place where no one feels ‘different’.
The most difficult challenge was standing up to my own fear and refusing to step back. Entrepreneurship in Greece is not an easy path, especially when you are changing your professional identity and starting from zero in an entirely new field.
There were also moments when I was questioned simply because I was a woman who ‘dared’ to create something of her own. Moments when my opinion was doubted and I felt that I had to prove my competence twice over. From all this I learned something essential: fear does not disappear. You overcome it through action. And I also learned that confidence is not innate; it is built every time you refuse to give up.
Today I experience my role with a deep sense of responsibility and awareness. In the gluten-free world, trust is fundamental. Our customers are not simply buying bread; they are buying safety. And that is a tremendous responsibility.
For me, leadership has no gender, yet the experience of leading as a woman does have its particularities. I have learned to lead without hardening myself. With empathy, but also with clear boundaries. With persistence, without needing to raise my voice in order to be heard. I believe that women’s leadership can bring a different model of entrepreneurship: more human, more inclusive and more meaningful.
If I could speak to the woman I was before making this decision, I would tell her not to wait until she feels completely ready. You will never feel entirely ready. But you are stronger than you think. I would tell her not to fear a change of career. No experience is wasted; everything becomes a tool.
I would tell her that there will be moments of doubt, but also moments of deep pride. That she will grow tired, but it will be worth it. And above all, I would tell her that the love for what she creates will always be stronger than the fear that tries to stop her.”
