The previous issue told the story of how a collection of traditional costumes from the Finnish community in Thunder Bay—especially the vests of the Kiikurit folk dance group—were saved and how they ended up with the Scandia Fun Dancers group in Winnipeg. We also got to know their creator, Margit Peura, and learned about her life in Canada and Finland. In this final part, we find out how the Weave and Wear company was founded, what the vests were originally made for, and how they ultimately got a new lease on life.
Meanwhile, in the early 1970’s, other events were taking place in the Finnish community that were important for the vests’ origin story. Martti and Helli Vanhapelto with their two children, Mika and Satu, had immigrated to the city from Kuopio in 1971. Martti brought his passion for folk dancing, as well as his skills and energy for teaching it. He soon started up the Kiikurit Finnish folk dancing group and very quickly became active in giving folk dancing workshops all across Canada and even in the United States. Martti was also the President of the Finlandia Club of Port Arthur and in 1974 he was looking for a general manager. The Peura family had just moved back from a two-year stint in Helsinki and Aarno was the perfect candidate for the general manager position. He took on the role of managing the Finlandia Club and the Hoito Restaurant, for a total of 22 years up until 2011. Aarno had the reputation of being the kind of boss that did everything and anything, including washing the floors when that was needed.
In 1978, as a young mother, Margit decided to put her studies into practice and started up the Studio Weave and Wear Inc. at 264 Bay St. She began to produce customized clothing designs including traditional Finnish costumes, as well as household woven fabrics for upholstery, curtains, and more. Two principle seamstresses were Sirkka Erkkilä and Raili Lassila, and two of the main weavers were Raija Mäenpää and Mailis Kontuvirta.
In 1979 preparations were underway for the Suurjuhlat that would be held in Thunder Bay that summer. It would be attended by dancers from all over Canada, and Martti Vanhapelto wanted to have special vests made for the Kiikurit male dancers. Instead of having them made in Finland, he decided to support a local business owned and operated by Finnish immigrants, and commissioned Weave and Wear to make the vests. Martti called the resulting red, blue, and white striped vests the “Kiikurit Liivit.”
The national costumes made at Weave and Wear were not intended to imitate Finnish-made kansallispuvut but instead were unique designs known as kansanomaiset puvut. As this was a more affordable option, it was hoped that more people would have access to this kind of costume to celebrate their Finnish ancestry. This was the origin story of the kansanomaiset Kiikurit Liivit that are now with the dancers in Winnipeg.
With the approaching Suurjuhlat, Martti Vanhapelto also asked Margit to give a workshop there. “I was a bit nervous,” Margit recalls, “I was doing things I’d never done before.” As a result of those workshops, however, her business experienced a boom and she received orders from customers in Toronto and British Columbia for kansanomainen costumes that were 100% woolen and woven on a loom at Weave and Wear. For example, Margit showed me a drawing of a Savolainen puku designed for a customer in Toronto, with black, white, and yellow stripes. Her sketch book is full of many other detailed drawings of kansanomainen costumes, as well as other fashionable clothing designs.
Margit has had many special weaving projects including religious textiles, upholstery, and curtains. She drew my attention to a particularly interesting project sketched in her book: a 1980 replica of an 1871 rekipeitto from Karjala that was commissioned by Liisa Toiger. “This is something that Finns do,” she explained. “They want a memory from their childhood and from the home of their grandparents.”
In 1980, despite the surge in interest in their work, the Weave and Wear business had to move its shop to the basement of the Peura home. “Rent was very expensive on Bay St.,” Margit explained, “and staff wages had to be paid before the rent.” In 1981 the business closed as a result of not having a large enough customer base. A friend had warned Margit, “You’ll never survive in Thunder Bay because it’s a lunch bucket city. You should go to Montreal or Toronto.”
Margit’s creative inspirations were too strong for this to slow her down for long. She soon began to offer adult weaving courses at Confederation College and to give weaving programmes at libraries for high school students throughout Northern Ontario. She has a clear memory of travelling through bad winter weather to do these programmes in communities north of Thunder Bay.
In 1991 Aarno and Margit bought the Scandinavian Deli, which had been started by Mr. Montonen, located across the street from the Finnish Labour Temple. When it was finally time to retire, 23 years later, the Deli was sold in 2014. “I just wanted to have time to be me,” Margit explained. Moving away from the coffee table and the many albums and sketch books laid out there, Margit led me to the living room to show me what her “time to be me” really meant. The walls were filled with paintings that were colourful interpretations of the beautiful natural environment around Thunder Bay, dotted with historic buildings that speak to her connection with the Finnish immigrant history of this area.
Margit’s creativity springs out from every wall and corner of their home and her inspirations seemed nowhere near ending. Indeed, she told me that her next project would be to establish a home museum. I welcomed the opportunity to visit Margit’s museum and to learn more about the history of weaving in our community, especially as this is an activity particular to so many Finnish immigrant women.
Happily, the story is not yet over for our special vests either! In a recent email from Jane Meech in Winnipeg, there’s an attached photo where a young couple—Erika and Lyle—are taking part in a Juhannus celebration. Lyle is wearing a very familiar vest, making it clear that the vests now have a new home and purpose. With them, Margit’s fine work lives on too, as does Martti’s original inspiration, as well as all the connected stories.
At the end of our shared journey, I’m relieved and thankful. These historic costume items live on. I discovered that they’re a unique product of an interwoven history of Finnish weaving and folk dancing in Thunder Bay, and represent a story of how Finns supported one another. Like any good travel companion, they’ve had many good stories to tell. Now the vests will bring those stories forward to a whole new audience, while helping to shape new chapters. All in all, it’s been a very satisfying journey!
