Handicraft Enthusiasts in Kremenchuk Teach to Combine Hobbies and Business

Finding a balance between a hobby and an income-generating activity is a goal that sometimes seems unattainable. In Kremenchuk, in response to the demand of artists and people who want to develop their creative abilities along with entrepreneurial skills, the ArtElf Studio of Creative Arts was created.

“It used to be my dream to create a studio like this in our city,” says Olha Sydorenko, head of the ArtElf studio, “and now this dream has come true thanks to PLEDDG. This is a place for people whose hobbies turn into businesses.”

According to Oksana Kuzmenko, Deputy Director for Project Activities at the ME Institute for Development of Kremenchuk, the local authorities did not ignore the idea of organizing a studio of creative arts:

“The activities of the studio are aimed not only at teaching creative skills, but also to help entrepreneurs and novice entrepreneurs to launch their own business. For many residents of our city, a studio like this can motivate them to start their own business.”

In the course of the project, it is planned for the visitors of the studio to master the creative aspects of handicraft through courses in floristics and decor, dry and wet felting, painting, making handmade dolls, and together with the Institute for Development of Kremenchuk, to organize and hold 3 seminars for women entrepreneurs and novice entrepreneurs, as well as mentoring in matters related to running a business from the Fund for Support of Entrepreneurship of Kremenchuk City Council. During the training, participants will learn how to start their own business, which tax system to choose, and much more.

Currently, a social business and 3 jobs have been created in the framework of the project, and rented premises have been repaired and furniture and equipment purchased to facilitate the activities of the studio.

Participants of the training courses already produce a variety of clothes and accessories, slippers, blouses and bags, as well as dolls, ceramics, and floral arrangements. One of the course attendees, Victoriya Herasymchuk, who has already completed two courses at the ArtElf studio, shared her experience:

“Not only do we learn new types of handicraft, but we are also given knowledge about starting our own business so that our hobby can be made into a business and we can make a profit.”

Two roundtables are planned for the nearest future:

on the development of creative business, which aim is to promote the successes of businesses founded on hobbies,
with the owners of stores and souvenir shops, to establish further bilateral cooperation.

By supporting initiatives such as the creation of conditions for the development of entrepreneurship through the establishment of the ArtElf Studio of Creative Arts, PLEDDG helps to create development areas in cities for small and medium enterprises and women’s businesses. Enterprises based on the cooperation of the city authorities, public organizations, and residents stimulate the development of further interaction, create jobs, promote local economic development, and serve as a good example for successful replication.