Fashion designer Valery Kovalska doesn’t skip a beat.

She is using what was once a restaurant space as a live-in studio now.

“I have to fight,” Kovalska said.

She fled the war in Ukraine with mannequins and lots of fabric. She started in Los Angeles back in February, but then moved to New York in May. The consequences of war now force her, she said, to essentially start her business from scratch.

“Not because you failed, or you know made a bad business decision, just because someone decided to destroy the country,” Kovalska said.

With the help of files online and friends who helped her bring some materials over, she is on her own in New York City.

“It’s been half a year I haven’t saw my Mom, any of my close friends,” Kovalska said.

Despite her hardships, her smile lights up the room when she talks about her 25 employees working at her factory that is operating at limited capacity in Ukraine. She is diligent to keep business going so that she can continue to pay her staff.

“I still have to be the most optimistic and inspiring for my team,” Kovalska said.

The Associated Press reports the major nuclear plant is unstable but still providing power to Ukraine, which means that Kovalska’s workers can continue to work. Kovalska says she provides water, batteries and much needed medication for her employees.

“You never know what could happen,” Kovalska said.

Through fierce determination, she says she is making her mark in New York City. When NY1 was there, she was heading out to present her work at New York Fashion week showing solidarity with her country.

Her experience of bringing her life’s work to America has influenced the way she makes garments.

“How [are] people are going to travel with that? Is it heavy? I have become more practical,” Kovalska said.

Seeing the work of others she admires in the city fuels her optimism for the future.

“I look at this and have such a good feeling,” Kovalska said.