Galina Minceva
Galina Minceva
LAG “Bugeac Kilim”
“I want to develop the business, I know I can do more”
After 15 years of working in a room of a few square meters, Galina Minceva, a seamstress from the Corten village, Taraclia saw her dream caming true. She has a new, spacious tailor shop equipped with efficient sewing machines.
Until recently, Galina Minceva’s tailor shop was her living room.”‘I worked, then I had to gather everything, do the hoovering and prepare the place for dinner or sleeping. Now I get the keys, lock the tailor shop and go home”. With the help of a grant, the woman restored two rooms in the old house in the courtyard, bought two modern fur and leather sewing machines, one iron and one steam generator. Housewife and businesswoman, at her home. Without an academic background in the field, skillful and creative, Galina Minceva always had a passion for tailoring. She imagined a blouse from a piece of cloth. She cut it out, tacked it, tried it on many times until she liked the outcome. . At first, she began with clothes for puppets, but a friend taught her how to work with furs. Her voice whispers as if it shares a secret: “Furs like to be groomed, walked, to be air-dried, cleaned and not squashed.
When someone brings me an old fur, we clean it, leave it in the air, and then make the necessary changes”. Furs are the passion of seamstress, but without efficient equipment she did almost all the work manually. Altering a piece of clothing could last more than a month. “Stitches on the furs are large and long, I did all of them manually. I had to stitch with the needle twice in the same hole. It is simple with a sewing machine – you stitched once and that is all. Special sewing machine for fur was the thing I wanted the most. Currently, I have a very good one, it has many functions and can sew through thick layer”, thewoman explains.
With smile on her lips and joy in her eyes, the seamstress remembers that her first clothes were for her children. Seeing how beautiful and warm they are, family friends asked her to make clothes for them too. “I still have my daughter’s first fur coat. I made it out of my older fur coat. It does not fit her any more, but I keep it, I do not sell it’, the woman smiles.
She also made socks out of the old fur cloth for the grandchild. Subsequently, she transformed them into fur footwear that could be worn at the courtyard. Currently, with the coming of cold season, woman daily gets orders for fur footwear. “Mothers want coloured UGG boots for children. Footwear for seniors must be as warm and comfortable as possible.”
Surrounded by sewing machines, the seamstress says she is happy that she can support herself, covering the expenses. “I’m retired, but the old-age pension is not enough for me. Heating is expensive at winter. I like tailoring and it helps me make ends meet.”, Galina tells.
Sofia Petco lives in the same village as Galina and she is the first seamstress hired at the tailor shop. She had worked for five years at a factory in the Comrat town, but she refused to commute since she has children. She learned to work with the leather and fur at Galina and says she is lucky she can work in village, close to her family. ‘Children are small, I work for four hours at the tailor’s shop. I manage to do something at home. I learned a lot and I like this job. It is wonderful. We begin to make a cloth from nothing and finish with a fully-manufactured item.’
Articles made in the Galina’s tailor shop can be admired and bought at fairs and exhibitions. Usually, she makes clothes or repairs old clothing at her clients’ request.
“I became more self-confident. I want to expand my tailor shop. Currently I have one more trainee, maybe we will hire her. I want to develop the business, I know I can do more”, Galina Minceva tells with confidence.
It is one of objectives of the rural development projects to which Maria Anghelceva, project manager, also refers: “Supporting small entrepreneurs is a priority. We hope that migration will stop in this way, at least partially. It means that inhabitants will choose to stay and work at home and will not go to other countries any more”.
Funded by the European Union, implemented within SARD Programme
“Bugeac Kilim” LAG contact information:
Manager: Anghelceva Maria
Phone: +373 78 486 031
E-mail: kilim.bugeac@gmail.com