Four years ago, Finland had just celebrated 100 years of independence and we were all very proud of our wonderful homeland. Before that, however, for decades we had all increasingly relied on buying foreign goods, including goods manufactured abroad that are also manufactured in Finland. We were blinded by the ecstasy of lower prices. At the same time, the quality, origin and manufacturing methods of the products were forgotten. Made in China, India, Vietnam and other low-cost production countries were familiar manufacturing countries for all of our own goods.
While the world's companies, the Finns included, had begun to think about responsibility, production methods, the quality of materials and human rights in this unsustainable situation, Johanna and I thought it would be great if we could highlight more products made in Finland.
Products whose material and origin are 100% known. Some are manufactured by Finnish companies that create jobs in Finland. Products that are perhaps made by a sole proprietor with a big heart. Products that use as many natural materials as possible. Ecological products that use recycled materials. Domestic products that may not yet be sold online otherwise.
After such consideration, we were ready to establish The Finland Shop online store, the entire selection of which would be made in Finland. We summed it up with these words:
Quality - durability - natural beauty. It has been made into a domestic product - the best product in the world. We believe so.
We started contacting manufacturers and telling them about our idea. A gratifying number of companies believed in our store and started working with us right away. Many thanks for that! Without these amazing brands, we would have nothing.
The first order came to our store on April 27, 2018. A big day! The customer bought a deerskin Jemma bag made by Miiko from Tuusula. Great product! Surplus leather is produced through statutory deer hunting, from which Miiko makes fine leather products. Finnish products from start to finish, and these are also interesting abroad.
Our selection has grown steadily over the years, it has been a pleasure to notice how many new companies are born in Finland every year. As it says in the New products section of our store: Every moment, someone somewhere invents something beautiful, something new - something Finnish.
During these four years, the awareness and appreciation of the domestic product has grown enormously. Finland is on the right track! Even the production of certain products that were already exported abroad has been brought back to Finland. Suomalainen Työn Liitto does a great job with its Key Flag campaigns on behalf of domestic products and services. We have been proud holders of the Key flag for four years already. By the way, there is a raffle going on right now on our Some channels in cooperation with Avainlipu (valid 24.4.-8.5.2022). You can win a €30 gift card to our store!
Although there have been many challenges over the years, progress has been made. Corona was scary at first, but in the end it taught people to order more from online stores. Now the war in Ukraine is grieving and it paralyzed sales at the end of February. However, there is hope for peace, even though nothing will ever be the same. The world situation is more exciting than ever. In this case, a small positive thing feels big, be it one happy customer feedback , a new manufacturer in the range or a new collaboration in the field of marketing.
We also want to sell these wonderful Finnish products abroad. Because of the corona, the foreign sales were interrupted for a while. However, there seems to be demand, although not much has been marketed yet. If an order suddenly comes from Canada or Australia, it feels special. That's how the Finnish quality product goes to the world through us.
Little by little, we have also started contacting companies, and companies have contacted us. Staff gifts are expected to be domestic. It's a great thing, the staff is listened to and they want to invest in domesticity. Our gift cards have been popular in the shopping baskets of both consumers and companies. A gift card sent by e-mail is an easy, fast and versatile gift, it is suitable for our entire selection.
It's been four years since that first Jemma bag order and we still have the same deerskin bag in our selection. A domestic, stylish, carefully made, natural material product that supports Finnish work. Can you hope for more?
Towards the next four years,
Paulina
We founded The Finland Shop only and only for Finnish products, because we think that domestic products are not always easy to find. Still, many of us would like to choose a domestic product whenever possible.
We have received a huge amount of feedback and reviews about our products and we are very grateful for that. An unbiased user rating is one of the most important pieces of information a buyer can get about a product.
