I WOULD BE ON WALL-Street
From glued cardboard to polished diaries
Alina Elena Murariu left Pascani to study Geography, specializing in Tourism, in Iasi. She didn't want to get a job, and at the end of the five years of studies, after completing her master's program, she asked herself: "Where am I going?". Since she was a little child, she knew she wanted to have something of her own, so she started by making her first bookmark, from cardboard found in the house, glued together and drawn.
In 2015, at the encouragement of a friend, Alina continued to make bookmarks and exhibit them at several cultural events, first in Iasi, then in the rest of the country, until she arrived in Bucharest two and a half years ago. She didn't like the capital when she arrived here, but the Women on Silks fair made her change her mind: "That was the event that made me move to Bucharest. I didn't like the event at all, nor the people, but then I saw another side of it. I saw how appreciated my products were," Alina says.
After the fair, she decided to move to Bucharest, where she started working in a small annex behind a house on Calea Calarasilor. Over time, she rented a larger room in the house, then moved to two other rooms, located on the street, where there is a slight smell of wood and the sound of the laser fills the space. When you enter, the hallway displays the products that Alina works on, often for over 12 hours a day: recycled paper diaries, photo albums and bookmarks. Alina also makes invitations and testimonials for events, restaurant menus, but also photo albums like in the days of her grandparents, with black cardboard and corners.
Photo source: Petre Vinatoru
With the diversification of the product range, orders and sales have increased. Most sales are during the holidays, Martisor and Christmas, with most of the money coming from contracts with large companies and sales at trade fairs. Companies usually ask for diaries, pens and wine boxes, especially during Christmas, and during this end-of-school-year period, gifts for teachers are sought after. "I want to know who the diaries are going to," Alina confesses.
Prices in the wood business
Her parents did not support her financially because they did not have the resources, she did not have the money either, so she started with bookmarks. She sold the first one for 13 lei, and with that money she bought acrylics and cardboard, a stronger cardboard. At the first fair she attended, she sold it for 500 lei, money with which she bought materials. Her sales increased as she diversified her products, reaching 1,200 lei, two years ago, at Femei pe Matasari. Currently, the company, opened in December 2016, has a turnover of over 61,000 lei and a profit of almost 9,000 lei, and orders come from Facebook, Instagram and Breslo.
The price of an agenda starts at 70 lei and reaches 300 lei, the price increasing depending on the size and whether the agenda is personalized, and albums cost between 150 and 500 lei.
Alina is also working on a project where she makes covers for the tablets on which menus are presented in restaurants.
