Mykola Vyshyvanyuk
Mykola Vyshyvanyuk (born in Ukraine) is a dressmaker, patternmaker and designer, and the founder of NiEl' Bridal Atelier, which he opened in Lviv, Ukraine in 2013 and reopened in Birmingham in 2023.
Vyshyvanyuk attended the Interregional Center of Vocational and Technical Education of Artistic Modeling and Design in Lviv from 1993 to 1995. In 1999 he moved to Athens, Greece and initially worked for Muzuri Shop before being hired by the fashion design firm Maurizio Mykonos in January 2001. He completed a course in pattern making at the Veloudakis Fashion School in Athens before returning to Lviv in 2011. He opened his own shop, specializing in bridal gowns, in 2013.
When Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022, Vyshyvanyuk and his wife Olena sent their three daughters to Poland to live with their grandparents there. They turned their business over to fabricating tactical vests for soldiers and provided short-term shelter and meals to refugees. Their children returned to Lviv as the initial attacks in western cities diminished, but made the decision to leave as a family when missiles again began battering their city.
Though the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service's "United for Ukraine" program, the Vyshyvanyuks made contact with Regions Bank attorney Ed Cotter who sponsored their 2-year resettlement in Birmingham. Cotter launched a GoFundMe which raised $50,000 for their expenses and rent, and others donated vehicles, furniture, clothing and toys. Russian-born Regions employees Irina Pritchett and Kate Laminack have helped with travel and interpreting. The family arrived in Alabama in November 2022. Olena volunteers to assist other Ukrainian families residing in the United States.
Vyshyvanyuk was employed at Something You Couture in Vestavia Hills before reopening his own studio in The Highlander building at 701 37th Street South in the Highland Office Park in Birmingham's Forest Park-South Avondale neighborhood in November 2023.
References
- Segrest, Doug (February 27, 2023) "‘What My Soul Needed'." Regions Bank / 3BL CSRwire
- Washington, Taylor (May 1, 2023) "A Ukrainian dressmaker and his family find refuge and a new beginning in Alabama" WWNO.org
- "Niel' Atelier Grand Opening Showcases Inspirational Journey of Ukrainian Family Achieving the American Dream." (October 31, 2023) REVBirmingham.org
External links
- Mykola Vyshyvanyuk at Linkedin.com