Finnish Treasures Gift Shop in Fairport Harbor features assortment of products from Finland, Scandinavia
Mar. 8—Laura Malkamaki has found a way in which she can share her love of Finland with other people on a regular basis.
Malkamaki does that by interacting with customers at the Finnish Treasures Gift Shop, a business that she owns in Fairport Harbor.
"I'm of Finnish heritage and I've always been interested in just about anything Finnish," she said. — Advertisement — In addition, Malkamaki said she does extensive reading on Finland's history and current events, and enjoys discussing those topics with shoppers.
Malkamaki's store is located in a section of Northeast Ohio where plenty of people can trace their family backgrounds to Finland.
Starting around the late 1800s and continuing into the early 20th century, significant numbers of Finnish immigrants began to settle in Fairport Harbor and the cities of Ashtabula, Conneaut and Cleveland, where manual labor was needed. That's according to the Case Western Reserve University Encyclopedia of Cleveland History.
Today, all of those same communities still include many residents with Finnish surnames.
While Finnish Treasures Gift Shop serves many customers from Fairport Harbor and Ashtabula, the shop also has drawn visiting tourists from places such as Alaska, California Texas and Massachusetts, Malkamaki said.
"I've even had people from Finland come in," she added.
Located at 316 High St., the shop features a wide variety of Finnish and Scandinavian gifts.
For people with a taste for food that's famous in Finland or the surrounding region in northern Europe, Malkamaki also sells her homemade nisu — a Finnish sweet bread — and Scandinavian almond cake.
Nisu ranks as the top-selling item at the shop, followed by Swedish dishcloths featuring a variety of colorful designs.
"They're naturally antibacterial because they dry out so quickly and you can use them for washing your dishes or counters," Malkamaki said, adding that one cloth can be substituted for many rolls of paper towels.
Some of the other most popular products at the store include soaps and jewelry, she said.
Malkamaki established Finnish Treasures Gift Shop more than 15 years ago.
"There was a Finnish gift shop (previously) here in Fairport Harbor, where a woman ran it out of her home," Malkamaki said. "The owner decided it was time to retire, so I bought her inventory."
When Laura Malkamaki decided to set up her storefront location on High Street, she got help in the business launch from her husband, Veikko Malkamaki.
Veikko, who was born in Finland and went to business school in his native country, also operated Malkamaki Painting and Paperhanging in Northeast Ohio for more than 50 years. He died Dec. 29 at the age of 74.
Laura Malkamaki said the inventory at her store has grown considerably over the years. Today, the shop contains an array of products from Finland; Denmark, Sweden and Norway, which are often referred to collectively as Scandinavia; and Iceland.
When shoppers stroll through shop, they'll be able to enjoy looking at imported merchandise such as glassware and ceramics; jewelry; dolls; linens; clothing; and candy.
The shop, which is open year-round, also features some of Malkamaki's hand-woven rugs and purses; and sells clothing touting Ohio and Fairport Harbor, along with general gifts such as coffee cups and books.
Malkamaki said she's enjoyed owning and operating a store that places a major emphasis on Finland.
I'm so glad that I'm here," she said. "I feel like, in many ways, I've helped to uphold the Finnish heritage here in Fairport Harbor and also Ashtabula, in this area."
