A goodbye party and pop-up shop send-off for this fashion designer, before she heads back to Kyiv, Ukraine.

Valery Kovalska came to the United States fleeing the war in February. Part of that journey included driving with mannequins and fabric in the backseat of her car to the Poland and Ukraine border. She has been using what was a restaurant in Gramercy—where she lived and designed her clothing.

“I want to create and there is only one option,” Kovalska said.

NY1 was with Kovalska at New York Fashion Week in September. But now she thinks it is the best business decision to go back to Ukraine.

“At the end of the day I had to pay salaries, pay the bills, taxes,” Kovalska said.

She has a team of 25 employees in Kyiv.

“I’m so proud of them,” she said.

She kept them employed the entire time she has been in the United States.

“All the holidays are coming and I want them to still feel that there is a holiday,” Kovalska said.

She said she treats them like family.  

“To be solo like here without a team is hard,” she added.

She sent batteries and water to her office in Ukraine while Russian forces reportedly interfered with the electrical grid, causing people to live without electricity or heat.

“In some of the regions they have no electricity for like days, no heating no water,” she said.

As a business owner, she has a message to people around the world regarding the war.

“I’m just asking you to take a closer look to companies, to developers, to just whatever we can do because we need your support not just in military but also as a business,” she said.

She reflected on her time in New York City.

“I’m so thankful for everything that happened with me. I feel comfortable, but I miss my city,” she said.

Kovalska said this is not goodbye, she loves New York and will be back.