SVALA Windproof Racing balaclava

To get by in post-war Finland, you had to be a doer, not a talker. A good example of this is the Svala family from Kärsämäki, in the Northern Ostrobothnia region of Finland. They used the old greatcoats in the attic of their home to make warm clothes for the men of the family, who worked as drivers. Word soon got round, and soon enough the family were making clothes for other families in the area as well. It wasn’t long before this enterprising spirit led to the founding, in 1955, of the company that is now Finnsvala Oy.