Children sometimes surprise in an unexpected way. Just like now Edith, 11, and Lilja, 7, when I told them the good news, "Mamma will be home with you from now on."
Both burst into tears instead of joy.
"NO! You can't sell Dots! Dots has always been! Will we never get to Tremondo again?"
The little monsters didn't care at all that mommy was going to share her newborn time with them. They wanted to stay where it happened. I assured the girls that nothing would be taken from them and that the Dots still have a special place in all of our hearts, after all, it was one of my children. I have noticed that change is difficult at the beginning, messy in the middle and wonderful at the end. As in this case too. Now we can't wait for the school days when I can be at home to meet the school children.
I don't want to understand how much has happened in two decades.
My first child, Siiri, was born, I founded my own company and around the same time I got married. building a house, growing Tremondo and developing Dots, everything had to be done by yourself and in a big way.
He always couldn't remember if he was at work or at home.
The children didn't remember either. As a child, Siiri didn't understand that you could spend your skiing vacation elsewhere than at your mom's workplace. It was nice there, just like when I had saved a giant cardboard box for ski holiday games. Siiri and my client's daughter Martta made it into a house with shutters, through which boxes of macaroni and other lunches were pushed to be eaten.
In Eskar, the teacher wanted to know where the children had spent their vacation. Some said they were in the south and swam in the sea. Others had been skiing in Lapland.
What about Siiri?
"In a cardboard box!" revealed my child. I had to explain the situation to the teacher.
When Sara and I crossed paths, a friendship began and soon the companies merged.
Our journey together has been as long as my marriage and I have spent more time with Sara than with my husband. You could say that we know each other fairly well. We have always had a clear division of labor. I build and Sara takes care of the electricity. Sara drives and I touch the machine. He was usually there before I was done, so I always had to ask him to drive around the block one more time to get my excel saved. It has been easier with Sara than on the plane. There, the equivalent is usually treated quite narrowly.
The synergy between our two very different women has been amazing. Both have their strengths. With that combination, Villa Tremondo and Dotsit are what they are today.
At the same time, my childhood dream came true.
As a little girl, I admired Vetel's merchant family, the Kiviahos, a real family business, all the siblings and their spouses were merchants. That's when I decided that when I grow up I want to start a family company.
The matter was not so simple, the man who was found was not a merchant. Well, you can't always go to Strömsö.
But later I found that my dream came true after all, I was surrounded by Tremondo Family and Dots babes.
The decision was made easier by the fact that I realized what was the hardest part of giving up, were those lovely guys, the Dots babes. However, I don't have to give them up.
Good memories have been made with these guys.
The first move to bigger premises took place fifteen years ago. This is when Dots also got its name Dots and the child's identity began to be built. Years later, we ran away from the air conditioning repair to our wonderful neighbor Casuarina. The whole effort was handled like a dance. Thank you Ira, Tintti, Anna and the entire team at that time, a group of women who experienced such a rush as just a wonderful change.
The most recent renovation and move to our current premises was already routine, after all, we were already veterans at this job.
Anna, from whom I have made a forever friend, piloted stores for a long time and polished a rough gem into a diamond. Anna was the mother hen of the stores and the epitome of fun. Our teamwork cannot be described as a true trumpet call. Happened and happened during that time. But whatever was done, was done well.
I remember when the Turku store was opened, Anna's husband Kim's sailboat was parked on the shore of Aurajoki and the store's opening team lived there. The store was set up around the clock and after the harbor shower, we moved to the deck of the sailboat with a glass of wine to make notes for the day. I thought it was pure vacationing.
The positive side of moving and renovating has been that you can always shake up the opening!
Oh, the many great evenings we have been able to spend with you, wonderful customers! Bubbling laughter, drinks and warm encounters.
Dots' Fashion evening parties have turned out to be a treat, which is probably expected by the customers as much as the staff. A wonderful party with lots of good and fun memories! We have become wiser about injuries and when in the first FEPs the skumpa ran out in the middle of the evening, it didn't help to put on sneakers and run to Alko. It hasn't stopped since.
In the evening's fashion shows, the models have been our own lovely Dots babes, staff and customers. It has happened and happened in the back room as well. Do you remember those wonderful Af Klinberg stiletto boots that were part of Ale's show outfit?
It was a hurry to get on stage, and Ale didn't want to get boots on his feet. "Horribly small! How can anyone walk in these! These must be removed from sale! Just one round and your toes are completely numb!” We all turned to look at the pointed tips of the stilettos. The shoes were on the wrong feet. The next entrance was delayed because the models were giggling uncontrollably.
It's been great to hear from many of you that it's nice to come to Dots because there's such an immediate and cheerful feeling here. That feeling comes from the fact that this has been done with a big heart.
There has been no work or free time, but the life of an entrepreneur, when both are one and the same.
The children have grown along the way. Both Dots and Villa Tremondo are dear places for them, where access is always expected.
It was a luxury for the children that with Edblad's lifestyle collection, a made-up bed came to Villa Tremondo's showroom. If you were in pain, you could sleep in a soft bed instead of the sofa in the office.
My first child Siiri once got seriously ill on a trip to Cyprus and spent several weeks in the hospital there. I posted news on Facebook and noticed how our customers followed Siiri's recovery. Siiri was shocked by all the wonderful messages of congratulations from people she didn't remember, but who remembered her from the cardboard box years. Our partners and customers are such wonderful people.
After we returned home, Siiri had dropped out of high school courses due to absence and came to work for us in Tremondo. To be honest, I was nervous about how this would turn out. However, we had recently passed these mother-daughter caricatures of our youth, which we were quite fond of. Both of them have their own strong views on things and it could sometimes fly quite a shower of sparks. It was also important to me that Siiri didn't have any privileges as the daughter of the owner or that she didn't get by with anything, instead she had to learn the entrepreneur's work style right away. It was done all the time regardless of time or place.
It has been wonderful to see how the mother-daughter relationship turned into a working relationship and how it has grown and strengthened our mutual relationship. Our shared passion has brought us closer and both of our skills in our respective tasks have brought us a different kind of respect for each other. I am really proud of how Siiri has developed in his work. He studied a marketing degree alongside work and has been managing our online store, social media and customer letters for a long time. The entrepreneurial spirit caught the girl right away. It has been a pleasure to notice that it is self-evident for him to take care of social media posts on the morning of Christmas day or to answer the chat of Verkkis in the shower.
Big changes in my personal life made me stop to think seriously about the values of life for the first time and in the end I made maybe the biggest decision of my life, but probably the best one. Now is the time to slow down and focus on the really important things, my children and myself. We are on the verge of a new life.
Our generation has been brought up with the idea that hard work and unyieldingness are the measure of people's goodness, they helped us survive in life. Work had to be done; the more the better. Surviving was the most important thing. Self-pity was called laziness.
Being an entrepreneur is a way of life, a person's own choice with its good and bad sides. In ups and downs. This trip has been a great life college. A school that has taught me so much about this industry, trying, succeeding, failing, people and myself. There are many things I could have done differently, but there are many things I would still do the same.
I am also extremely grateful for how many people I have gotten to know over the years. To the people with whom the contact has continued and, above all, to the people who have become my dear friends. I am lucky.
Now my "sister" Sara continues to pilot Villa Tremondo and Dots, the Helsinki store is piloted by my goddaughter Frida, the online store and my sweet daughter Siiri with the support of the rest of my "family". You are all important to me.
I know that Tremondo and Dots will be in good and competent hands. From the bottom of my heart, I wish the whole team luck and success in the future.
Heartfelt thanks to all wonderful customers and partners, you made this such a great trip! For my own mother, who has always rushed to be a babysitter when necessary. Thanks to the entire Dots & Tremondo family and especially Sara for all the years together.
With love, Tiina
p.s. The best photos are either taken by Jarno Jussila or Siiri Helminen, the rest are taken by someone wonderful.