I really admire young people who try to do something different, build their own future and choose not to stay still; the young entrepreneurs who keep experimenting and fight to create new things, with a unique identity.
Vassilis Kalogerakis is one of those people. He is a second-generation furniture producer and he works for his family business in Athens. Vassilis’ family creates all kinds of wooden furniture for homes, offices and any interior space.
But he tried to go the extra mile.
“Back in 2010 I decided to follow a path of my own and I started designing wooden beach rackets, inspired by my love for the sea. Initially, I designed and produced a racket for myself. I tested it, liked it, my friends liked it, I received positive feedback and friends started ordering rackets for themselves. This is how it started”.
Since then, Vassilis creates wooden beach rackets of high performance and of great quality. He also makes one at a time, with great attention to detail, from the first to the last stage, so mass production is certainly not the case here.
“I always use high-quality wood from Greece and I make sure that all rackets are durable in hard conditions, in the salty water, heat or humidity. This is why they can last up to 10 years. The only thing people need to do is to clean them from the sea water”.
JOY rackets are produced in different versions to suit all kinds of players; beginners, intermediate and advanced ones. Vassilis evaluates every detail ranging from the shape dynamics to the center of gravity. His rackets come out in different weights as well, in order to cover all needs.
The prices are also reasonable. “I make sure that the client will receive a high-quality product in a good price; the relationship between price and quality needs always to make sense”.
Prices range from 10-25 euros for the basic ones and depending on clients’ needs, there are various levels of grading. “A client, for example, may wish to print an image that he likes on the racket or customize it in general”.
Staying true to your values and using top quality materials are the key elements to maintain long-lasting relationships with clients. “One of the best promotion we have is word-of-mouth. Happy clients recommend our rackets to friends or to people who ask and that’s the best we could ask for!”
Why JOY?
“Well, JOY means ‘happiness’, ‘being carefree’ and that’s what I try to do with my rackets; offer people moments of joy while they are on vacation or when they need to relax and spend some fun time”.
I personally am a great fan of JOY rackets and they are part of my own happiness when at the beach! So, get your rackets now, find a suitable spot at the beach and enJOY!