When Lana Bull started dress alteration business The Atelier out of her home, she had to first throw her husband and son out of their man cave in the basement.

There were some grumbles, but they went.

Mrs Bull set up five sewing machines there and started making her own dresses and doing alterations. She did the work part time as she is a full-time dental assistant.

“I made my first wedding dress two years ago when a lady contacted me about it,” she said. “I showed her my previous works and she was like, ‘Yeah, let’s do it.’ So we got fabric from Qui-Ja Fabric’s and Accessories in Hamilton, and it was a success. She was very happy.”

Then two brides bought wedding dresses to her for alterations. One gown was purchased in the United States and the other in the United Kingdom, but both were made in Ukraine, her birthplace.

Mrs Bull felt a rush of pride when she saw telltale blue and yellow ribbons, symbolising Ukraine, pinned to the label.

“The facility is there to make a good quality product,” she said.

Ukrainian gowns are known for their mix of haute couture and traditional embroidery and beading. Celebrities such as Anne Hathaway and Sophie Turner have been known to wear Ukrainian labels such as Bevza and Lever Couture.

Now she is working on finding space for a wedding salon so that she can sell her own wedding dress designs manufactured in Ukraine and dresses by Ukrainian designers.

One of the challenges of running The Atelier has been simply finding the necessary equipment and materials.

“We have only one fabric shop on the island,” she said. “Qui-ja’s does an incredible job for its size, but there is only so much the owner can bring in.”

“The price range is going to be typically $1,000 and up, considering the shipping here and the duties I have to pay,” she said. “I might have a few in the $800 range. I want to offer something for brides on a budget, and also something that is more elaborate and complex.”

She was a teenager when Ukraine declared independence from Russia after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.

“Everything was in chaos,” she said. “We could not buy anything in the shops, so we had no choice but to start making our own clothes.”

She moved to Bermuda in 2005 and is married to Bermudian David Bull.

Since 2022, Russia has occupied around nearly one fifth of the country. Her family live in Odesa, a seaport on the Black Sea in unoccupied territory.

“I was there for two weeks in 2023 and experienced bombing twice,” she said.

Once, she huddled in a basement shelter after hearing Iranian-made drones overhead.

“They sound like mopeds,” she said. “I could hear what sounded like fireworks. There were machine guns trying to shoot them down. For 40 minutes, there were lots of explosions.”

When she emerged, she found that some of her neighbours had gone about their day as usual and were amused that she had taken shelter.

Despite it all, dress designers and manufacturers are still operating in Odesa. In the past, Russia was a big market for them. Now, many people in the industry have shifted their focus towards the rest of the world.

By buying materials from the Ukraine and patronising wedding dress designers there, Mrs Bull is doing her bit to help the region.

“That means a lot to me,” she said.

• See the business on Instagram @theatelierBermuda