At 95, Grandpa Milan Proves That Passion and Skill Have No Age

Craftsmanship is what keeps tourism alive in Macedonia. If you want someone to tell you about the tradition and history of the Macedonian people, then speak with a tour guide. But if you want to touch tradition and experience it firsthand, visit a local craft shop.

In Macedonia, craftsmanship is still cherished. We've shared many stories of people passing their tools onto younger generations to ensure the story continues where it left off. We've told numerous stories about young people who represent the future of craftsmanship in Macedonia, and they are of great importance to us, as they will preserve the soul of tourism in the future.

But there are days when we dedicate ourselves to the people we call the steadfast pillars of craftsmanship. One of them is Grandpa Milan from Ohrid, who has devoted his entire life to creating exceptional leather products.

Ask anyone in Ohrid about Grandpa Milan, and they’ll tell you they know him. The story was shared with us by Riste Dimitrovski, who sent these three photos of Grandpa Milan and simply said that he is the man everyone in town knows. Grandpa Milan is yet another in the series of local heroes that the kajak.mk team holds in special regard.

Milan is 95 years old, and with the same passion he had in his youth, he creates exceptional leather products in his workshop, located in the old Ohrid bazaar. There’s no one in the city who doesn’t know Milan, and as many people say, he is a diligent guardian of the invaluable tradition of Ohrid's craftsmanship.

On the shelves and walls of his workshop, which now resembles those in Florence, you can see various leather creations, hand-crafted slippers, bags, belts, and souvenirs.

Milan creates them carefully and with love. He has dedicated his entire life to quality, and what he cherishes most is dedicating enough time to every detail, which, to him, is the most important.

In Ohrid, there have been craft shops for decades, whose main goal is to preserve cultural heritage and develop cultural tourism and values.