life of a model

I often get the question how I became a model, so now I'm gonna tell you how it all started. When I was 11 years old, I was already on the list of an agency in Finland and I actually got some small jobs here and there. I did my first big campaigns when I was 13, one was for the clothing store Seppälä and the other was a ballet commercial for a coffee brand. When I did the casting for the Seppälä commercial I was super nervous and it was one of the most humiliating moments of my life. I was so sad after the casting and I almost decided to quit modeling all together. When I, out of a bunch of the most successful models here in Finland, actually got the job, I felt a lot better and it gave me confidence to continue.

When I was 13 I got scouted by Laila Snellman from my current mother agency Paparazzi. I decided to switch agencies about a year after, and I am very happy I took the chance, because they believed in me and really pushed me right from the start. I started to travel when I was 16, and my first trip was to Paris. I was young, naive and quite lost, but somehow I survived in the extremely harsh world of fashion, filled with people who didn't always want what was best for the models. I worked with many strange people and was extremely homesick. My agency constantly wanted me to loose weight, but I never wanted to be on any diets, and I didn't quite understand what weight I was supposed to loose on my already naturally thin body. My booker also told me to tell clients that I was only 14 because 16 was a little too old for Paris.

I travelled to Hamburg, Munich, Greece, Madrid, Barcelona and Japan, and I always focused on work. I was never into partying, which was a big part of the modeling world abroad. I learned to know myself very well, and how to be independent. I always missed home, especially my mom. When I was in Japan I changed a lot. I loved Japan! I worked hard, met people I'll never forget, left some "baggage" I struggled with at  home in the past, and learned to respect myself and the life I wanted for myself. When came back home I finished school, got a drivers license and decided to stay in Finland and study. I had travelled enough and I wanted to be at home with my friends and family.

I have always worked a lot in Finland and I love working here. I am thankful for all the opportunities  modeling has given me, and I  know I would  be a completely different person today without the experiences I've had during my modeling career. I've been very lucky in so many ways, because modeling can be a very dark, scary, risky and unhealthy world to live in, but somehow I've just happened to make good decisions, without always even knowing it.

Most people have treated me with respect, but there  has also been many situation where I've been treated like an item or product, instead of a human being. I remember one particular situation here in Finland when I worked with a successful  photographer that I often worked with. In the middle of the photo session the photographer brought a mirror that he/she put in front of me and said: "look how terrible you look. You look ridiculous! You are never going to make it as a model ". Situations like these made me sad back then, but now I've learned not to let people treat me like that. I have become very aware of myself an my body, and luckily I've come to understand that I am who I am, and it won't change whatever anyone says or thinks of me, so I'd better just accept myself, or even better, love it!

After a very short period of time, after I came back to Finland I met the man of my life, my husband. A year after, I moved to Canada with him, and now we are based here in Helsinki with our baby and dog. I love having a more stabile life, and I don't miss the traveling although I cherish all the wonderful memories I've had exploring the world and myself.