Helvi Maki (née Laamanen) was a talented and determined young woman. Born into a Finnish farming family in Beaver lake, Ontario, she was 
one of eleven children. In her youth she was an accomplished hunter, angler, farmer, and amateur athlete and also gained a reputation as the Belle of Beaver Lake for her incredible dancing ability, good looks, and flirtatious nature. 

Married to Bill Maki in 1940, Helvi spent several years as a housewife before her out-going nature and creative bent led her into the workforce. Her first job as a salesperson at a local flower shop was just what the doctor ordered. Becoming a very popular employee and accomplished designer, she realized that she wanted to start a business of her own. Upon enrolling in a floral design course at the University of Guelph in 1955 she drew top honours and critical acclaim for several of her designs. Although she had numerous offers to work in larger flower shops in Toronto and Hamilton, Maki decided to return home to serve her already loyal client-base in Sudbury. In late 1955 she accepted a small capital loan from her husband who was working as a miner at INCO’s Copper Cliff Mine Division and on January 21, 1956, at 146 Cedar St., Helvi’s Flower House was born. 

Despite the first day’s incredibly cold and snowy weather (-30 degrees Celsius), miraculously, her first day’s receipts totalled over $80, a large sum in those days. This was to be the start of a long and prosperous tenure as one of Sudbury’s favourite designers. By 1958, the business’ explosive success demanded that Helvi’s husband Bill quit his job and work full-time at the flower shop. He traded in his two-door Mercury V8 for a station wagon that had been used for weddings. Aside from all the confetti he continuously found in the strangest places, it suited the shop’s 
needs perfectly. 

On Hallowe’en Day in 1960 Helvi’s Flower House moved to its current location at 124 Paris St. (then known as Drinkwater Street). The new store, which had much more showroom space, was a converted two-story house in a largely residential neighbourhood. Wholesalers who heard about the move gave the shop little chance of survival, but customers kept coming in droves, and eventually other businesses made a similar move to the neighbourhood. The shop was often so busy that during the Mother’s Day rush, a doorman was necessary to manage the flow of customers into 
the store.

Helvi Maki was a true perfectionist. Sometimes she would redo an arrangement two or three times before she thought it worthy of being delivered. On weekends, she would often work from Friday morning to Saturday night straight to complete wedding orders. Most other days saw the owners working from 7:00 am to 10:00 pm. Their tireless work ethic paid off. She earned such a loyal customer base that subsequent generations still deal exclusively with the shop today. 

By late 1976, Helvi and Bill Maki decided to retire and pass the reigns of the flower shop to their daughter Carol and her husband Bill Stos. While the Makis travelled the world, and took a well-deserved break, the Stos family immediately started to modernize the business with new business techniques and by switching to computerized accounting and billing. Helvi’s Flower House has continued to excel. With nine full and part-time staff, we offer flowers for every occasion, innovative design and friendly service.