MACRA MORE
Over time, my younger sister Tatyana joined me.
We gradually noticed that macramé pieces were in especially high demand. My sister had been practicing macramé professionally for many years. In Crimea, forests grow close to the sea, and during storms pieces of wood would drift into the water. Salt and waves polished them smooth. After every storm, my sister walked along the beaches collecting this driftwood to use as the base for wall hangings. People loved taking home a piece of Crimean forest and the Black Sea.
This is how our brand MacraMore was born. The name combines macrame and more — the word for “sea” (море) in Slavic languages. In English, it can be understood as “macrame + sea,” reflecting both the materials we used and the coastal inspiration behind the designs.
My sister and I had real synergy: she masterfully fulfilled the orders, while I managed the business — marketing, photo and video content, social media, booth design for markets, business cards, and branding materials. Over time, we received requests to decorate restaurants, cafes, and boho-style weddings, as well as large wholesale orders shipped abroad. At the same time, we continued making the items we started with — cards and jewelry.
Unfortunately, due to political events, Crimea fell under sanctions. International banking systems stopped working, material suppliers could no longer ship to us, and the tourist flow almost disappeared. It became extremely difficult, and we decided to close the business and move to Ukraine to start over. But soon the war began, and I had to emigrate.
My sister stayed behind — her husband was not allowed to leave the country. Despite the challenges, she began rebuilding her business. Thanks to consistent photo and video content, she managed to stay afloat and even launched a new brand of jewelry made from ceramic fragments of ancient submerged Ukrainian cities that occasionally wash ashore. She now collects driftwood in Ukrainian forests and riverbanks.
The first country I moved to was Norway. Thanks to good photography and marketing, I was able to sell a large batch of macramé artworks there, which helped my sister financially. Norwegians love decorating their homes and creating a cozy atmosphere — the pieces resonated with them immediately.
I also edited a small video and voiced it with the level of Norwegian I knew at the time.
Today, Tatyana has created a collection of ethnic macramé accessories that has gathered a large audience. Her recent videos reached 220,000 views on Instagram, 63,000 on TikTok, and 51,000 on YouTube. And despite her Ukrainian account being relatively new, she already receives steady orders and even hired assistants to manage the workload.