Toy bunnies and bags in Ukraine's defense: how mother and daughter crochet and help buy a drone for Ukrainian army
A small boy with a Ukrainian flag runs up to a table with knitted toys. He immediately goes through what seems most interesting to him. His mom doesn't hesitate and buys the child a small, soft souvenir. Walking away from the counter, the boy incidentally says "thank you," but his attention is now entirely focused on his new toy friend.
It is how, for the second day in a row, Natalia and her mother Nadia are delighting little children and adults. On the August weekend, they came to Poltava to participate in the Spaskyi Dvizh charity fair, presenting their brand of handmade knitted bags, Osoblyva. In addition to bags, there are also unique toys and souvenirs.
At the age of 49, Nadia marvels at her courage. She says she could never have thought she would be engaged in business and sell her handmade products. Today, she and their daughter already have an Instagram page, the first collection of knitted bags, and training for aspiring entrepreneurs behind their shoulders. They also decided to help raise funds to purchase the Valkiria drone for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
"It's nice to contribute to a good cause"
"We are currently at an event called Spaskyi Dvizh by Mistohub," says Natalia. "It is already a traditional event that takes place on average once a month on weekends.
The Mistohub team collects funds for various needs of the Ukrainian forces. In particular, they're fundraising for the Valkiria drone for the Ukrainian military today. Actually, there are two sources for this fundraising. The first is that all participants of the fair make a charitable contribution to enter the event. Everyone decides for themselves how much they are ready to donate.
The second source is that all businesses that present their products must donate 15 to 20% of their profit to the Ukrainian forces. Some give all 100%. We also decided to join in and help raise money to support our military. It's nice to contribute to a good cause."
Natalia and her mother admit that they haven't repaid the initial investment yet, but the sales are running and gaining momentum. Toys are popular among children. But there are also customers for handbags. "Yesterday, we sold a clutch made of tourniquet," Nadia rejoices. "Many people are interested, asking and looking."
The woman says she's not ready to switch purely to earning money from her hobby; it's scary. But Natalia and her mother already have plans for future development.
"Ideally, we want to expand, hire one or two people. Mom is ready to teach migrant women to knit for free. It will be a source of income for them. Later it can even become their income."
A few years ago, Nadia didn't even know how to crochet and was very doubtful whether she would be able to do anything.
It's never too late to start something new
"We still have a tiny business," says the woman. "It all started when I wanted to find an interesting hobby and could not stop at anything. Then the idea came to try crocheting. At first, it didn't work out well, but I wanted to. I started to try with small souvenirs, then moved on to larger toys. Gradually I began to knit bags. It is my hobby, and I devote all my free time to it."
Natalia says that her mother is an example that it's never too late to learn and start something new. When hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians were forced to leave their homes and past life, it is more relevant than ever. People need tangible examples of how to find themselves again, start something from scratch and be able to realize themselves in a new way. Nadia is an example. She was 46 when she was learning the basics of crocheting. And now, the woman can teach others and come up with her models and solutions.
"I did it at first just for myself. Acquaintances with children often came to us, saw my works, and began to buy my pieces little by little. It was so nice. So, I didn't try to do it in vain. Moms often say that children don't let my toys out of their hands; they are very protective of them."
Nadia knits every free moment. Even at the fair, she works on a new product. Previously, she did everything only according to video master classes on the Internet, but now she works by memory or intuitively.
"I have a day job. I'm a cook in the school canteen. But it's not enough for me. In winter, there's always a lot of free time. You don't want to spend it just in front of the TV. I like to read books, but I can help but do things with my hands.
I used to knit with knitting needles. The whole family wore my products: sweaters, vests, cardigans. But then, somehow, the fashion for it passed. It became unnecessary. But the desire to make something with my hands remained.
Somehow I accidentally saw a photo of a small crocheted detail on the Internet. I don't even remember what it was exactly, but I liked it. I decided to try. It is how my studies began.
First, I knitted small souvenirs: an apple, a pear, etc. And then I saw a photo of a knitted Easter basket: a basket, eggs—everything is crocheted. I look and think: 'No, it's complicated, I won't be able to do it."
Photo from Natalia Noritsyna's archive
But I kept coming back to that photo. I wanted to make it so much. I did try, and everything worked out! I made such baskets and took them to the market. Imagine people bought them! I was so pleased. That's when I thought I could turn a hobby into a small business."
"Mom, this is progress!" or pitfalls for novice entrepreneurs
Nadia admits that the most challenging thing was to overcome the fear of selling and advertising her products. Like many of us, it is difficult for a woman to go out in front of people to offer her product.
"Even here, having already had sales experience at the fair, I am embarrassed to do it. I can't get people interested, clamoring them to look at the products. If a person approaches or is interested, I will consult. I can even give a discount because I'm pleased that a person buys something."
Natalia helps Nadia in this regard. The woman says that her daughter is a mentor, an inspiration, and, if necessary, a critic. Thanks to Natalia, the craftswoman began to sell her products, improve her communication skills, and get out of her "comfort zone."
"Natalia and I went to Kyiv for business validation training. There you had to speak, present your business idea," the woman recalls. "There were about 20 people at the training. I was so embarrassed to speak publicly: it was awkward, and I couldn't find the words. I was lost. On the first day, I sat quietly in a corner. On the second, I started commenting on things. Natalia says: 'Mom, this is progress!'
Photo from Natalia Noritsyna's archive
Photo from Natalia Noritsyna's archive
Then I even started to talk publicly. And I felt that I'm not so embarrassed anymore, I'm not ashamed."
Natalia supports her mother. She says she took her to Kyiv to learn how to present herself and see that it's not scary. Having your idea, being able to promote it, and being proud of it is fantastic. Particularly when your work can help someone, whether to comfort a child, make yourself happy in a difficult time, or contribute to purchasing a drone for the Ukrainian army.
"I strongly advise all budding entrepreneurs to study and train," Natalia says. "Preferably live, not online. When you present your work in front of experts—people who have big businesses, who have been self-employed for decades, successful and famous—all the fear disappears. And they say: 'Well, it's cool what you're doing.' What are you ashamed of? Get started!' It motivates you to believe that everything is incredible, and you will succeed."
After this training, Natalia and her mother began to manage the brand page differently: not to wait for "inspiration" or a "convenient moment," but to do it here and now. And they also made the first investments in a new small collection of bags. Natalia is responsible for promotion and communications, and her mother handles quality products with soul.
Starting business and first day of full-scale war
The transition from toys to bags happened gradually. Natalia recalls that at first, her mother sewed handbags just for order.
"At first, there was a summer handbag and a hat to go with it. I wanted that," says the daughter. "A friend saw it and wanted to order it for a gift. My mother made it, and a friend also asked for the same one, only in a different color. So gradually more and more people learned about our business. Then we thought we could work not for order but to create a mini-collection and sell products through social media.
At the beginning of the year, we began to look for exciting models and purchased materials for them. The first money was invested in this business idea. My mother was in Shyshaky (Poltava region, ed.), and I was in Poltava. We decided to sell in the city because it is more accessible with more opportunities.
On February 23, my mother sent me all the bags. On the morning of February 24, besides thinking about what to pack in our emergency backpack, we still asked ourselves what to do with the bags and how to pick them up."
Nadia was concerned that the handbags would get stuck and she would never see them again. "I felt sorry for my work and even more sorry that people won't see it and won't be able to buy it. At first, I was anxious, and then I thought: 'Well, okay. The most important thing is for everything to be okay. We will knit more.' We wished the war ended sooner."
"I picked up the bags on February 25, in between looking for medical supplies, night vision equipment, and body armor for the military."
Thus, the first collection of bags of the Osoblyva brand remained packed until better times. Then it was not up to them: neither to the business founders nor to everyone else.
"We decided it was irrelevant at that time," says Natalia. "There is no point in opening the page now, and it is not the time. I just put the packets in a bag, and they were under my bed.
And in April, we thought: 'Why not?' Maybe this handbag will bring joy to someone. First, this is local production, and we are developing Ukrainian business during a difficult time. Second, our products are 100% Ukrainian. Threads, accessories—everything is national."
Several months have passed. Bags and toys created by the hands of Nadia delight children and adults, support the Ukrainian rear and the country's economy, inspire internal migrants to start their businesses, and help our defenders as part of the proceeds from sales regularly goes to fundraising for the Ukrainian army. It turns out that crocheted toy bunnies can also pave Ukraine's way to victory.
Now the Osoblyva team has applied for a grant. Nadia and Natalia have written a business plan and are waiting to defend it in September. What is needed is an advertising and social media, and online sales skills. Women dream of getting to know experienced masters to undergo additional training to improve their qualifications. The "big dream" is to work with top masters or Ukrainian brands and continue to help the Ukrainian forces. After all, all this is now possible only thanks to Ukraine's protection by our soldiers. We should not forget it for a moment.
Photo: Kateryna Trehubova
