At the Creative Industries Focus Day, the women who experienced a creative bloom truly shone.
On September 23, 2025, the Toila Sea Restaurant hosted an inspiring and joy-filled Creative Industries Focus Day, which marked the grand finale of the mentor programme “Creative Bloom” carried out in Ida-Viru County.
The day became a heartfelt and festive conclusion to an 18-month journey that helped dozens of women turn their creative ideas into viable businesses.
Project story and purpose
The mentor programme “Creative Bloom” (CB0500277) was implemented under the European Union’s INTERREG Central Baltic Programme 2021–2027, co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and the British Council.
In Estonia, the programme was coordinated by the Ida-Viru Entrepreneurship Centre Foundation as the lead partner, with Vidzeme Planning Region (Latvia) as a project partner.
The programme ran for 18 months (May 2024 – October 2025), with a total budget of €213,398, of which 80% was financed by the European Union and 20% came from self-financing sources.
Creative Bloom was a cross-border project, where groups of creative women in both Estonia and Latvia participated simultaneously, with the shared goal of developing the creative industries in their respective regions.
The programme aimed to strengthen women’s entrepreneurship in Ida-Viru County, increase the role of creative industries in the regional economy, promote cross-border cooperation with Latvian partners, and enhance the competitiveness of the local creative sector.
Women-to-women mentorship and growth
Sixteen women aged 40+ from Ida-Viru County were selected for the mentor programme. All were already engaged in some form of creative activity — be it handicrafts, design, art, music, or other creative services — and were ready to take the next step from hobby to entrepreneurship.
A total of 15 participants successfully completed the programme.
They were supported by six experienced mentors who shared their knowledge, experience, and inspiration:
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Kadri Kuusmik (CEO, Virumaa Cooperation Network MTÜ)
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Dina Aller (designer and trainer, DINAALLER OÜ)
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Eveli Tooming (board member and CEO, E.Strauss OÜ, Avinurme Puiduait)
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Ele-Riin Kullamäe Golovin (marketing expert and real estate manager, Gleneia OÜ)
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Julia Volkova (board member and CEO, Honey Wolf OÜ)
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Ülle Lipsmäe (board member and practitioner with outstanding sewing skills, Hõbeniit OÜ)
The mentors were chosen for their diverse backgrounds and business experience, providing participants with broad-based support and practical knowledge.
Learning, collaboration, and inspiration
Throughout the programme, there were six mentoring club meetings, two two-day training sessions (on product and service development), study visits in both countries (Estonia and Latvia), and a final event – the Creative Industries Focus Day.
Topics covered during discussions and workshops ranged from entrepreneurship and design to marketing, circular economy, and social media content creation.
Most meetings took place in and around Jõhvi, but cross-border cooperation played a crucial role. Participants from both Estonia and Latvia exchanged experiences via online meetings and study visits, learning from each other and gaining new inspiration.
One of the programme’s requirements was that participants would establish their own business or NGO by the end of the project and actively participate in at least 80% of events.
This discipline and commitment led to visible results – new businesses were born, and cooperation networks emerged within the region.
Results – confident and radiant creative entrepreneurs
Feedback from participants was unanimous: the programme boosted confidence, provided new knowledge and contacts, and encouraged bold steps that once seemed too daunting.
New partnerships, ideas, and initiatives have blossomed — a true creative bloom has taken place.
“We gained motivation, positivity, and faith in ourselves.
This programme brought smiles to our faces and inspired us to act on a larger and more visible scale than ever before,”
summarized one of the participants.
A flourishing beginning of a new chapter
Creative Bloom showed how much potential lies within the women of Ida-Viru County’s creative industries — in their ideas, craftsmanship, and entrepreneurial spirit.
During the Creative Industries Focus Day, it became clear that the project has resulted in more active women entrepreneurs, a stronger creative community, and a firm belief that every good idea can come to life.
At the programme’s final meeting in Toila, it was evident that all participants had made remarkable progress, moving forward with sparkling eyes and renewed energy.
This marks a new beginning, full of creative power and determination to grow into successful creative entrepreneurs.
And as the participants themselves said:
“This is just the beginning. The creative bloom has happened, and we are already looking forward to the next project!”
See the photo gallery from the Focus Day here
Photographer: Nadežda Morozova