Our Story

Be The Change: 

Elevating Local Artisans With A Purpose

Anastasia, her mother Valentyna, and her sister Valeriya have been an inseparable trio since leaving Ukraine two decades ago to support Valentyna’s nursing career. The lessons they've learned along the way and their eventual redemption have now led them on a new mission. Their journey to the United States brought them a life of service, adventure, and purpose.

While Valentyna built a remarkable nursing career, supporting her two daughters, Anastasia launched into a military career just two years after receiving her green card. Her distinguished personal and U.S. Army career spanned multiple duty stations, two overseas assignments to Iraq and Afghanistan, and the completion of a Master’s Degree, culminating in her retirement after 20 years of service.

Now settled in the Bay Area, Valentyna has finally earned her well-deserved retirement from the medical field. However, her deep sense of service called her back to action in early 2022, leading her to the front lines of relief in Ukraine as unrest engulfed the region.

As Valentyna worked tirelessly to transfer donated maternity ward supplies and nursing stations to local hospitals and establish supply routes in Ukraine, Anastasia also became deeply involved in the relief efforts. She temporarily left the U.S. to assist in the evacuation of her extended family from Ukraine.

Upon their return to the United States, recalling their own struggles decades earlier, the mother-daughter duo felt compelled to continue supporting their native country. With their determined and entrepreneurial spirits, they decided to take action.

This Crafty Place was born from their natural artisan talents. Valentyna drew upon her expertise in medicine and wellness to create soaps infused with healing elements. Anastasia, who had been crafting bespoke items since 2014 to support her graduate studies, used vintage upcycled materials to create unique wearable art pieces.

Together, they launched this platform in 2022 to share their crafts with the world while supporting other local artisans. A purchase from This Crafty Place means you're supporting real people—those who passionately create the goods on this site and those who urgently need help inside Ukraine, as well as refugees rebuilding their lives in the U.S.

We look forward to creating a space that features regular content about our products, the people behind them, and the individuals we are helping along the way. Thank you!

-This Crafty Place