“I’d like to thank you once again for the high-quality work done to furnish my apartment within such a short time and at a reasonable cost. I’m very glad I chose you. I didn’t expect such an honest and responsible approach. Special thanks for your patience with my many ‘quirks.’ Your team truly has taste and a sense of style, while never forgetting about comfort and functionality. If everyone treated their work this way, renovations would feel like a celebration.”

This is one of the client reviews received by the V&D furniture studio after completing another project. We chose this particular one among dozens of grateful messages because it perfectly captures what defines the company: its capabilities, level of competence, and—most importantly—its attitude toward clients and their needs. For the company, production and sales volumes and income figures are certainly important, yet these appreciative reviews are equally valuable for its image. They not only strengthen the company’s market position but also inspire the team by acknowledging their professionalism and dedication.

If you were to ask a dozen of these grateful clients where the company is from, some would say Kharkiv and others Rivne—and both would be right. The explanation is simple: V&D is one of the Kharkiv-based furniture manufacturers that the war forced to relocate far from the frontline. For this company, the relocation was particularly challenging because its machine park remained in Kharkiv. The team also had to be significantly reassembled in the new location, which proved to be no easy task.

When we asked co-owner Volodymyr Korniichuk what turned out to be the biggest challenge in setting up at the new location, he replied: “Premises and personnel.” Even in frontline Kharkiv, he admits, it was easier to find both. In western Ukraine, the shortage of skilled labor existed even before the war—many people had gone abroad in search of better wages. Finding themselves without a familiar production base and lacking qualified staff, the company has been forced to rely heavily on subcontractors, delegating to them a significant share of processing operations.

Previously, most of the company’s managers were men—it was easier for them to handle technical details and furniture technologies, which is essential in communicating with clients and forming initial orders. Now, women have taken over managerial roles, while the men focus on production processes in the workshops.

We also asked Mr. Korniichuk to elaborate on another challenge: finding suitable premises. Initially, the plan was to establish full-scale production in Rivne, but the lack of appropriate facilities became the main obstacle. In Kharkiv, rent did not exceed 30–40 UAH per square meter, whereas here it can reach up to 200—and that’s for spaces without electricity or engineering communications, which require significant investment to convert into production workshops. Such financial resources are currently unavailable to the relocated company.

Knowing how crucial export is for Ukrainian furniture makers today, we also asked Volodymyr Korniichuk about this aspect. It turns out the company has already received some attractive offers from Poland. However, since it has not yet regained full production self-sufficiency in its new location, it is not ready to take on international projects just yet.

One of V&D’s strongest assets has always been its design component. The company didn’t have to look for new creative designers in Rivne—the same two who worked in Kharkiv continue their work there now. Their professionalism, experience, and creative potential are so strong that even when implementing other designers’ projects, their involvement remains essential, as they know the company’s production capabilities inside out. This kind of “filtering” of each project only benefits everyone—the external designers and, ultimately, the client who receives a high-quality result.