Mother of Three Builds North-Inspired Brand

Yekaterina Kruptsova, a mother of three from Arkhangelsk, has tried her hand in various fields and found her calling in a love for the North. While mass-market brands close departments in shopping malls, her clothing brand, Manikha, is growing and bringing people together. Watch the video to see how a northern woman with two higher education degrees changed direction and started her business in a difficult time.

Yekaterina Kruptsova has a large family: a husband who supports her endeavors and three children. Her daughters are 15 and 11, and her youngest son is 7. But, according to her, she never sat idle during any maternity leave: «I can»t just sit in one place, I get bored. That«s not my vibe.»

By education, Yekaterina is a philologist and a lawyer. She has worked as a civil servant, built a career as a chief editor at a magazine, and then moved into entrepreneurship. At first, she made sweet New Year«s gifts. But at some point she realized it »didn«t ignite» her and only brought in money. The purchase of a coat became the push toward a new path.

— It was in 2019, during my third maternity leave, I was just walking with a stroller in new clothes and people started complimenting me. I realized that it works. Appearance strongly influences how others perceive you, the entrepreneur recalls.

Yekaterina took online courses to become a stylist. She admits it pulled her out of routine and gave her emotional strength. Three years of selecting wardrobes for women later, an idea for a business came to Yekaterina… in a dream.

— I dreamed of a sundress. I met with a friend who is a seamstress and told her the idea: «Let»s sew a dress that suits everyone and highlights the figure.« And that same evening the name »Manikha« came to me, Yekaterina recalls.

Thus, on October 22, 2022, a brand with a Pomor word was born. Manikha is a natural phenomenon at the mouth of the Northern Dvina River, when during high tide the water level temporarily stops and creates the illusion of already full water.

Yekaterina invested her maternity leave savings into her startup, and later secured a social contract for 350,000 rubles (about $4,400 at current rates). The funds were enough to buy three sewing machines, fabric, and pay rent for the premises for the first six months.

— We started at the most unstable time. But I think this way: if you want something, try it, otherwise you«ll remember it and blame yourself. If it hadn»t worked out, it«s never too late to sell everything off and move into another field. Everything went well for us, and by the end of the first year of work we had recouped our investments, and people started learning about us. Word of mouth worked well, the entrepreneur explains.

Yekaterina admits that the hardest part is finding good staff. She looks for specialists who share the brand«s values. She names two main missions: to make tourists fall in love with the Russian North and to help women like themselves in the mirror.

— The demand for something Russian, including Pomor, is probably connected to the situation in the country. We started offering this, we started drawing what we love ourselves, our local symbols: the northern lights, seals, lighthouses, and so on. I am a native Arkhangelsk resident, and I also completed tour guide courses. And then I realized how little we ourselves know about our region, Yekaterina says.

The brand«s founder deliberately chooses a minimalist style for her collections. She tries to convey northern symbolism through shapes, textures, and colors.

— A girl might buy a complicated item on impulse, and then write: «Katya, I don»t know what to wear it with.« That»s why we lean toward simplicity.

The brand«s team sews limited collections and more often works to clients» individual measurements. The entrepreneur honestly admits she does not plan to scale up:

— People often ask me why I don«t go onto marketplaces. That»s not my thing. They wouldn«t understand me there. If I go for volume, quality will suffer. I»m ready to grow deeper — into meanings.

While mass-market brand departments close in shopping malls, Manikha is expanding. The secret is in events for clients.

— People don«t come for an item, they come for meanings, for communication and creativity. We hold various master classes — it brings people together and gives more emotions than a purchase in a store.

Entrepreneurship for Yekaterina is a 24/7 job. When asked about time management, the mother of many is frank: «I don»t get everything done. I just do what«s a priority.» She explains that her children are grown and independent: her daughter can cook lunch, and her son can run to the store.

— The children come to the workshop, the youngest, Vanya, sewed himself a hat, helps make prints. I don«t force them, only if I see a desire. If not — I don»t drag them, sometimes I give them a chance to earn some money.

The Manikha brand will soon turn 4 years old. The third collection is currently in the works, dedicated to the 160th anniversary of Arctic artist Alexander Borisov. The designer was inspired by the colors in his works, and a new line of models will be presented soon.

The Arkhangelsk region is rich in craftspeople. Earlier we told how an unusual show by a designer from Arkhangelsk took place in Moscow: models transformed into bogatyr women. Her works were shown at the All-Russian Fashion Week.

Also take a look at the works of a shoemaker from the Arkhangelsk region who carves amazing wooden figures.

The works of Inna Koshkina are also interesting — the designer told 29.RU how a hobby turned into work for the soul.

Artist Alyona Valkova from Pinezhye received a big response from residents of the Arkhangelsk region for her sculpture «Polovodye» (High Water), dedicated to the river floods in 2020. See how this work was created — from a piece of wood to a full-fledged image.

Arkhangelsk resident Yana Okulova decided to combine her love of handicrafts with helping cats: she creates handmade bags, and the money from their sale goes to the «Pushisty Dom» shelter in Arkhangelsk. Together with two other volunteers, she created the charity project «KOTomki ot Fimy.» We show what beautiful bags the craftswoman creates and which beautiful cats are helped.