Our Story
Our story began years ago, when company founder Melis Selçuk began hosting friends visiting Bodrum from abroad. With each new visit, the value of sharing unique local experiences in Bodrum became clearer and clearer – and it was always a pleasure to see the happiness on guests’ faces.
When Melis decided to start the business on a professional basis, she had two key sources of motivation in mind: convey Bodrum’s rich culture to visitors from across the world, and enable guests to enjoy authentic local experiences with the warm Aegean people.
About Melis Selçuk
Melis Selçuk received her undergraduate ‘Management of Performing Arts’ diploma at Istanbul Bilgi University (Laureate Universities), her Master’s degree in ‘Fashion Direction: Retail & Brand Experience Management’ at Italia Politecnico Di Milano (with scholarship award), her 'Image Consultancy' education at the Istituto Marangoni, her ‘NLP Training Certificate’ at Yeditepe University, and her ‘Academic Training Certificate’ at the University of Toronto, Canada. Aside from her academic pursuits, Melis has attended various courses and training sessions throughout her life, owing to her curious personality.
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After working as style editor and gaining corporate experience in sales and marketing, Melis carried out Experiential and Sustainable Marketing & Styling projects in Italy with the forerunners of the field in Milan and Turkey. Her projects have been featured in both national and international press.
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She is also the project curator of a social enterprise ‘Slow Story Co Sustainable Store’. Her sustainable life articles can be seen at yesilist.com - Turkey’s first sustainable life platform, located in London.
In addition, she is also a co-founder and general manager of VAO Bodrum – the International Academy of Opera and Musical Arts Festival, located in California, USA.
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Melis is founder and experience curator of Local Story Bodrum.