Paraskevas Paraskevopoulos was born in Agios Antonios, Kastoria, in 1946. In Kastoria he worked in the fur making business. He migrated to Canada after his sister's invitation and in Toronto he worked as dishwasher but soon returned to his craft. In 1985 he started his own fur making business Paris Furs. In this interview he shares his migration memories and also shows us around his fur studio.
[00:00:25] Early years in Kastoria
[00:01:26] Working at the fur making business
[00:02:42] Army, migration and fur trade in Kastoria
[00:04:32] Family's migration to Canada
[00:05:55] Arriving in Canada, first impressions and jobs
[00:08:22] Working at the fur trade business
[00:09:13]Greek fur businesses and fur making process
[00:22:55] Animal rights, Indigenous, Jewish and Greeks
[00:26:29] The end of the fur trade business
[00:26:42] Oldest Greek businesses, exports and sales
[00:29:06] Kastorian Fur Association and galas
[00:29:49] Greek–Jewish relationships in the fur business
[00:30:30] Faux fur, identity, and the Macedonian Issue
[00:33:40] Slavophones and refugee villages
[00:38:18] Visiting Greece and migration in Europe
[00:39:26] Church and Greek school
[00:40:28] Greeks in Canada and Greeks in Greece
[00:41:27] Neighborhoods with Greeks
[00:42:45] Greek football teams
[00:46:10] Faux fur
[00:46:56] Showing his studio, pelts and tools
[01:01:46] Fur Trade Association and sewing machines
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