Five Ro entrepreneurs a week: The Forest Book, FruitBox, Barca raw restaurant, Poarta-ma!, Moara de hartie

Romania’s entrepreneurs are no strangers to success at home and abroad. Every week we’ll round up five local business pioneers to get the low down on them and their businesses. This week we chose five entrepreneurial ventures – not just five entrepreneurs that inspired us.

The Forest Book- Mihaela Argesanu has had the publishing house Dao Psi since 2004, and last year opened The Forest Book bookshop, which sells books about health, spirituality, alternative therapies, personal development, psychology, esoteric practices, feng-shui. The bookshop also organizes evening sessions on some of the topics covered by the books sold. She is married to Ovidiu Dragos Argesanu, who is a doctor, therapist, reiki master and writer. The Forest Book bookshop – 74 Verzisori St. Moara de hartie- Dana Georgescu, a former employee of Zapp, and her husband Ion Georgescu, a communication graduate, started Moara de Hartie in 2009. They produce hand made stationary, including decorative paper and books. They started a paper mill in Comana, close to Bucharest, and in 2011, a workshop- museum, hosting the papermaking equipment, and the historic printing and bookbinding equipment. It sells hand made paper, hand made prints, and organizes papermaking classes and teambuilding sessions. Restaurant Barca- Cristian Filip and Marian Grajdan's restaurant Barca serves raw and vegan dishes. Filip is a former sailor, who previously started the insurance broker Filas Broker de Asigurari. His friend Grajdan is also a trainer at the MBA WIFI (Wirtschaftsforderungs Institut). The food at Barcais prepared without using heat. Barca – 11 Leonida St. Poarta-ma!- Diana Mateescu started to create and sell slings and wraps for carrying babies in 2009, after creating one for her and her son David. An architect, Diana decided not to go back to her job after two years of raising David (together in picture) and set up the business instead. She now creates and sells wraps, slings and MeiTais for baby carrying, as well as accessories on this