Introducing: Maria

First up in the introduction of the shopkeeper sisters is Maria!

Maria was born just before May Day in 1981 in Ilmajoki, South Ostrobothnia, in the village of Koskenkorva. As you can see from the picture, Maria was quite fashion-conscious already at the age of four. 😎

In her childhood, Maria played the violin and piano, and over the years her music hobby turned into a profession. As a child, Maria was also very horse-crazy, and in elementary school her future career plan was to become a rider.

However, riding was left behind, and after Ilmajoki Maria went to study at the Kaustinen Music High School. From Kaustinen, her journey continued studying music first in Lahti, then in Helsinki at the Pop & Jazz Conservatory. In addition to a professional qualification in music, Maria also graduated from the University of Helsinki with a major in musicology, and minors in marketing and management, which at least somewhat relate to her current job description.

Along the way, Maria has done all kinds of things: worked as a musician, entrepreneur in online and wholesale bag sales, salesperson in interior design stores and a shoe store, made websites, worked as a project coordinator for a website renewal… Since her parents and both grandparents have spent their careers as entrepreneurs, it’s no surprise that Maria’s blood also pulled her towards entrepreneurship, and finally the dream job came along as the shopkeeper of Bellissima. 😍

Maria’s children, the little shopkeepers Aada and Miro, often come along to the shop and are also enthusiastic test subjects for Bellissima’s shoe selection.

Before having children, Maria had quite a large collection of size 40 shoes. Like many others, Maria’s shoe size grew after having children and is now usually 43. So roughly speaking, her feet grew 1.5 sizes per child. 😃 But luckily there are lots of wonderful shoes in bigger sizes too! 🤩