Comfy Cozy Too

I learned about Finnished Knits, an online yarn shop that sells–you guessed it–Finnish yarn on a podcast I discovered last year, Flannel & Purls. Christopher had just launched it and mentioned his preference for the sock yarn from this shop because it was woolly, durable, affordable. The yarn came in various weights and was perfect for colorwork since they also carried many colors. At the time, I wasn’t very interested in colorwork but I had never seen DK and Aran sock yarn. And by sock yarn, I mean yarn with a little nylon added for the extra durability needed for regular sock wear. I made it my mission to get yarn from them at my first opportunity.

Fast forward to this year as I began to think about creative ways to earn money to fund my knitting addiction. I reached out to the company to see what opportunities they may have for little ol’ me. And Noora, the owner, was so kind and helpful, hence the affiliate link at the top of the page and here.

Now that I’ve held it in my hands and finished a pair of socks in the dk weight—GOSH. Christopher didn’t say enough! And for that reason, I want to share Noora and her shop with you through this interview. Enjoy!

Hi Noora, thanks so much for hopping on my blog today. Can you introduce yourself to my readers? I want everyone and their mama to know who you are.

I am the owner of Finnished Knits, an online yarn shop that specializes in Nordic yarn brands. I strive to  offer affordable wool yarns for fiber enthusiasts in the USA. I live in the Northwest suburbs outside  Atlanta, GA with my husband, two teenagers, and a grumpy old dog. I follow more podcasts than I often have time to listen to, many of which are personal finance related. I also volunteer with Brave Trails, an  LGBTQIA+ Youth Leadership Camp.  

Wow. That’s wonderful. As a mom of four young children I can appreciate your giving time to serve youth now that your kids are older. What a privilege! How long have you been a knitter? 

I first learned in fifth grade; textile arts and woodworking are still regular parts of the curriculum in elementary school in Finland. It was not a happy experience though, and I didn’t pick up knitting needles again for a quarter century after that. I’ve been actively knitting since the end of 2019.  

What’s your favorite thing to knit?  

I love to knit colorwork socks. There are so many gorgeous designs, and they’re much faster to complete than sweaters.  

True. I’m a sucker for sweaters. Yet I can’t seem to keep socks off my needles either. What’s your favorite yarn? 

The joke about my shop is that everything in it is my favorite because I only carry things I love. As for picking an absolute favorite yarn, I don’t know if I can do that because there are so many fabulous options out there. I loved Blue Moon Fiber Arts Super Sparkle in Bet You Thought This Skein Was About  You so much that I have a picture of the swatch as the background on my phone. Western Sky Knits’  Mexico colorway was one of the most gorgeous combinations I’ve used. That’s what I’m knitting in the TikTok that went viral. 

Of the yarns I carry, Lankava Lysti is my favorite for socks, because they knit up quickly and stand up to the wear and tear socks face. Viking Nordlys has such gorgeous colorways, I try hard to find projects I can use it on.  

Goodness I need to try Lysti. In my last order I went for Mainio and Sulo (again). Lysti will definitely be next. Thinking back over past projects, what’s your favorite or most used item?

One of my favorite projects is the first pair of socks I knitted for myself. There’s nothing particularly challenging about them, but I made them myself. Up until that point I had relied on my mom and grandma to keep my toes warm. As a bonus, the yarn I used is a combination of my favorite colors. I’ve darned them as they’ve worn out so that I can continue wearing them.  

Most people here in the U.S. would have said “Up until that point, store-bought socks kept toes warm,” but your mother and grandmother knit you socks?! This was the norm for you. I’m jealous. Now, tell me. Do you knit fair isle? If so, any advice for newbies like me who want to learn but are a bit intimidated  by it? 

The first thing I am compelled to point out is that Fair Isle is a specific type of stranded knitting. In the same way that a Mustang is a type of car, which is a type of vehicle. Fair Isle is a very specific type of stranded knitting from Fair Isle, a tiny island in the north of Scotland and part of the Shetland Islands.

That being said, I do a lot of stranded knitting. Looking at my Ravelry projects, almost half of my recent projects are stranded knitting. My advice is to just do it. It may look intimidating, but it really isn’t any different than regular knitting. You’re making the same knit stitches as you normally do, just swapping the yarn you use every so often. 

Any pattern suggestions for novice fair isle knitters? 

I suppose it would be a miss on my part if I didn’t plug my own Simple Heart Cowl pattern. I don’t currently really promote it because it needs some updating, but it’s a free option, and a simple project.  

What led you to open up an online yarn shop? And how long did it take from idea to the grand opening to see your dream realized? 

I was not able to find the kind of yarn I wanted easily in the USA. Finnish people knit socks from thick yarn, Aran and DK weight, and finding thicker yarn that has a bit of nylon or polyamide in it in the USA is pretty hard. I decided if I can’t find it, others can’t either, and I started importing it. I went from idea to shop in less than six months. The best advice I’ve ever received is to start ugly. Once you get started, you can refine and tweak things.  

You give good advice. Because of you, I’m starting an Etsy shop. We will see how it goes. I’m just trying to have fun and another excuse to knit socks. What’s the best part of having your own yarn shop? 

I love being able to introduce folks to the yarns I carry. To my knowledge, I’m the only one in the USA who sells Lankava yarns, and the other brands are only sold by a small number of yarn shops.  

What’s the hardest part? 

Not using my inventory as my personal yarn stash! 

I dream of opening a yarn/coffee shop one day but I don’t know if I could ever do the business side. I  love everything else, especially time with customers. 

If you do it right, you can hire someone else to handle the business side. You do need to know some basics, but you can hire someone else to handle stuff that doesn’t need your personal touch. Also, the  business side isn’t really all that hard. I highly recommend checking out SCORE, it’s a free business mentorship program funded by the Small Business Administration. http://www.score.org 

Do you have any more dreams for your knitting endeavors? 

I would love to be able to grow the demand for these yarns to the point that I can become a distributor for other yarn shops. I’d also love to grow to a point where I can hire some folks to help with the logistics while I only handle work I can do from anywhere in the world.  

I’m embarrassed to say I do not have a passport. But knitting has inspired me to travel to Europe and do a yarn crawl. Does that sound silly? 

Absolutely not. I was just discussing with my eldest about how it’s totally normal for most Americans to not have a passport. This country is so huge and has so many gorgeous places you can visit without ever needing one. I visit a yarn store whenever I travel even within the USA and have found several fantastic ones. That being said, visiting Europe for the yarn culture is a fantastic idea. I’m actually mulling around the idea of organizing a yarn related trip to Finland at some point. 

Another reason to grow my own business. My hobby continues to evolve. Now I want to join you on this Finland trip! Why should I visit your home country? 

This list could be miles long… Finland has some of the cleanest air and water in the world. It’s the size of  California, with only about 5.5 million inhabitants, which leaves a whole lot of space for nature. And, of  course, it has the most knitters per capita in the world and yarn sold in grocery stores.  

I can’t, Noora. I just can’t. Yarn in grocery stores? You had me at the clean air and water Can we go now? What’s the biggest difference between daily life in Finland and life where you reside now? 

The options for transportation and moving around. Finland has a robust public transportation system and road networks are built with walkers and bicyclers in mind. My county does not have any kind of bus or light rail at all, and my neighborhood doesn’t even have sidewalks.  

What do you miss the most? 

The candy aisle at the grocery store. The yarn aisle isn’t far behind, but since I import the yarns here, I  have easier access to them. Oh, and the clean air, clean water, nature, healthcare and other support  systems, the aforementioned public transportation system, the midnight sun, my family. 

I need to hear more about this midnight sun. I went ahead and looked it up and it sounds heavenly. Okay, back to the day to day grind. Tell me what a week in the life of Noora looks like.  

Monday through Friday, my alarm goes off around 7:30 in the morning to make sure the kids leave the  house on time for school. I’ll eventually drag myself out of bed too and get started on my paying job. I  work 4-6 hours per day, depending on appointments, and if I start by 8, I can be done by 2-3 PM. The later hours of the day are used to update my website, work on social media content, ship orders, volunteer with the Chorus Boosters, take my youngest to soccer practice, and do all the everyday stuff needed to keep us fed and clothed. On weekends there are soccer games, ice skating lessons, Sunday Stitch Sessions, etc. The next two months will not have a 7:30 alarm, but will mean there will be  two extra people in the house during the day complaining that they’re bored.  

How in the world do you do all you do as a mom? 

The short answer is that I don’t. When you juggle life, you have to remember that some balls are glass, and some are rubber. You will drop balls. The glass ones will shatter, and the rubber ones will bounce.  Know which are which. 

I have learned that the perfect mom image is unrealistic. No one can do it all by themselves. I have a  fabulous group of friends who support each other, and I know that I don’t have to do everything and be  everything. I don’t have to cook from scratch every night, but my kids do appreciate it when I microwave the frozen chicken nuggets before serving them.  

Again, such good advice, Noora. And I love that you have a village of friends around to help you when you need it. How do you encourage yourself when you’re tempted to give up? 

First, I take a nap, make sure I’ve eaten something, and drink some water. Most of the time, that’s  enough to make everything better. If that’s not enough, I look at the positive feedback I’ve received from  customers who love the yarn they’ve received and are grateful to have found what I offer. Knowing there are real people out there who actually want the product I offer reminds me there is a reason I’m doing this and helps me keep going.  

Who are your biggest cheerleaders? 

Definitely my husband and kids. While my husband is always encouraging and supportive of my ideas, he is also my reality check. He might point out possible obstacles I have to consider in my grand plans, but he will also help me figure out how to overcome them. My oldest especially will tell anyone  who might even mention the idea of yarn that his mom has a yarn shop. My youngest came with me to  my recent vendor event and helped out in the booth for the entire day.  

Okay, so I’ve mentioned this a bit already, but I’m looking for ways to finance my hobby. I’m laughing as I type this. My husband doesn’t thinking  knitting items for sale is a good use of my time for what I would get. What are your thoughts on  opening an online yarn shop? Seems like there’s a big investment up front to first get the inventory. Is  that right? Do you think it could be worth it?

I do agree that creating knitted or crocheted items for sale will not bring in enough money. The general  public is so far removed from the actual creation of anything in today’s world that they have no idea how long it takes to create a hand knit item, and as a result are shocked when you ask for enough money to  compensate you fairly for your time.  

Opening up an online shop of any kind is easier today than it has ever been with tools like Shopify and social media. It’s also a lot of work because you have to be able to be heard above the social media noise, and you’re in charge of being your own marketing team. There is certainly an initial investment, as  it is a business that requires inventory. That doesn’t mean that you have to drop $30K on enough yarn to  fill a brick-and-mortar yarn store. You can find a niche to specialize in, start small, and build from there. I  started with one brand, and two of their yarn offerings, then added other options as I made sales and brought in revenue.  

I do believe in Mike Michalowicz’s Profit First method and highly recommend reading his book. I won’t claim to be the best follower of it at this point though.  

I love your shop. It’s so niche and affordable. In one or two sentences, make a sales pitch for one of  your yarns! 

My cornerstone products are the Lankava yarns, which are a wool and polyamide blend available in  three different weights. They’re affordable, everyday-use yarns that come in gorgeous colors to fit a great variety of needs. 

My website is https://finnishedknits.com, and I’m on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube. 

Well, that was quite the interview, Noora. Thank you so much. Since doing this, I’ve actually decided to go ahead and knit socks for sale. I’m going to start there and pivot as needed. Your yarn is making this possible because I can use DK or Aran weight socks which knit up a lot faster than those knit with fingering yarn. I may not make exactly what the item is worth but I believe I can earn enough to make it worth my while. Thank you again for all the good advice. And I’ve already started reading a version of Profits First for minorities. So helpful!