The story of Kalevala Koru

The story of Kalevala Koru has its beginning in 1935 from an idea by the writer Elsa Heporauta to commission and sell jewelry, the sales proceeds from which were be used to erect a statue to Finnish women. The jewelry, which was made on the basis of archeological jewelry from the National Museum of Finland, immediately started to sell, and the women’s committee put together by Heporauta managed to get the required funds together. However, with the outbreak of the Winter War, the statue project had to be put on hold and the women decided to use the money to help those in need.

Nevertheless, the women continued to produce jewelry. Kalevala Koru and the Kalevala Women’s Association, which still owns the company, were born. Even the statue, which was sculpted by the renowned Emil Halonen, was completed later, even if to a smaller scale than originally planned. It occupies pride of place amid the jewelry in Kalevala Jewelry’s store on Unioninkatu in Helsinki.