Sisu Designs

As the design of the building indicates, this was originally a private home. In the 1920s August Haapala bought the building and ran his shoe repair shop here for decades. In 1978 his granddaughter, Susan Saari, opened her knitting shop in the building, calling the business Sisu (pronounced see sue) Designs. Sisu is a Finnish word, and although the Finns claim there is no equivalent word in English, it may be best described as a combination of grit, guts, perseverance, and spunk. It is Sisu that allows the Finns to swim in icy water after a winter sauna. Susan retired from the business in 2013. It is now under the care of Susan’s long-time friend and fellow knitter, Anna Shallman.

The Sisu Design Shop and Joe’s Marine (the building next door to the east) were built when Ely was just forming as a city. Frank Hodge, the early owner, came to this country from England in 1879 with his wife, Ellen. They initially settled in Michigan (1880) where Frank worked as a Blacksmith and where three of their eight children were born. By 1885 they were in Ely, living in this house and running the Blacksmith business next door.

Frank continued to operate the Blacksmith business until he passed in 1916. The shop became an auto store for a time, but by 1930 (or earlier) it had returned to its roots as a Blacksmith shop with John Nordstrom as the proprietor. When Mr. Nordstrom retired in 1974, Joe Gilbert bought the property and opened Joe’s Marine on the site, providing quality engine and boat services for over four decades.

The Hodge house was sold after John Hodge passed in 1916 (about) to August Haapala. Ellen, Frank’s wife, went to live with her daughter and family just across the street and worked as a private nurse until her death in 1925. Frank and Ellen are buried in the Ely cemetery.

The new owner of the house, August Haapala was a Finnish immigrant who initially worked as an iron miner in Ely, but with the purchase of this building became a shoe repair man. He had come to this country in 1908, married Jennie Herrala, a Minnesota woman of Finnish descent and raised a family of five. They lived on a farm outside of the city in Morse Township. Jennie, with the help of the children, ran the farm as ‘an unpaid family worker.’ August ran the shoe repair shop on Chapman Street. August died in 1973 but the building stayed in the family.

August’s granddaughter, Susan Saari purchased the building. Susan had an interesting life, growing up initially in Ely and later in California. She learned weaving in the exhilarating 1960s in California, was one of the early Peace Corps volunteers, serving in Africa, and traveled extensively as a young woman. In 1978 (about) she settled in Ely, married, and opened a weaving studio called Sisu Designs in this building. The business eventually evolved into a knitting shop. But the real service Susan provided, beyond wonderful yarn and excellent advice, was the warm and welcoming atmosphere that all her patrons felt when they entered the Sisu Studio for over 30 years.

Susan retired in 2013. Her long-time friend and fellow knitter, Anna Shallman, now continues the yarn shop tradition developed by Susan. 

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

1885 (about) – Frank Hodges lives here with his Blacksmith shop next door.

1917 (about) – Frank dies; his family sells the building to August Haapala

1917 – August Haapala runs a shoe repair shop

1978 (about) – August’s granddaughter, Susan Saari opens Sisu Designs

2013 – Anna Shallman runs Sisu Designs

The Sanborn Insurance Maps 1900-1924.

1900 AND 1907 Ely City Directories

Ancestry.com. Accessed April 8th, 2022.

Sisudesigns.org

Ely Phone Directories from 1949 to 2020 (available at the Ely-Winton Historical Society).