Olesea Lisai turned her childhood hobby into a successful business

Olesea Lisâi has been working in the field of wedding services for several years now and recently opened her own bridal and evening attire salon.

Her passion for wedding dresses is also a hobby that comes from her childhood, says the young designer.

“I decided to make dresses for my clients, just like I made dresses for my dolls in my childhood. Initially, my friends were approaching me, and I made my dresses at home, and they gradually began to recommend me to their friends. The number of orders started to grow and physically I could not provide services at home any more.  So I decided to open a small shop and I started to provide sewing services, for each customer individually,” says Olesea.

Over time, Olesea decided to expand and open a salon, so she can welcome her customers nicely, serve them coffee and provide them with pleasant conditions to wait for their fitting adjustments to be made.

To develop her salon, Olesea turned to the governmental programme PARE 1+1 supported by the EU. The young designer was eligible, as her mother was working abroad and helped open the business.

PARE 1+1 is designed to attract migrant remittances back into the local economy, with each Moldovan leu invested by the migrant supplemented with another leu in the form of a grant provided by the state.

“I referred to the programme specifically to develop my business. At that time I needed much more modern production equipment, installations to participate in exhibitions, both in the country and in foreign markets,” explains Olesea.

In the future, the young designer hopes to be able to export her creations and to expand beyond her own country. Olesea says her job makes her happy, especially when she realises that she has clients who have returned to the country. The young woman hopes her business will become attractive for Moldovans from the diaspora, and for this reason she’s working on becoming more accessible online.

Author: Adriana Vlas

Article published in Romanian by UNIMEDIA.md