IDMAN

Karl Hjalmar Idman was born on December 11, 1872, in Helsinki. As he grew up, he moved to Pori, a smaller city located in the southwest of Finland. In 1897, when Karl was 25 years old, he established his first company, Idman, in a house that also served as his home at that time. Initially, he focused on selling lamps as well as other glass and porcelain goods. Although his business was doing well, Hjalmar Idman wanted to expand into the wholesale sector.

In 1919, Hjalmar Idman sold his company and returned to Helsinki. A year later, in 1920, he partnered with Einar Ahlström (1891-1959), who owned his own glass and china shop called Oy E. Ahlström & Co. Ab in Helsinki. Together, they established a new company named Hjalmar Idman Oy, which focused primarily on selling crystal glass. Hjalmar Idman served as the company’s CEO, and at that time, the company had a total of 67 shareholders, including co-founder Einar Ahlström and his brother Jalmari Ahlström (1896-1944). They opened their first store at the corner of Aleksanterinkatu and Mikonkatu in central Helsinki, and later opened additional stores in the cities of Kuopio and Tampere.

After four years, in 1924, Karl Hjalmar Idman died at the age of 52. Following his passing, his wife Astrid Idman sold her 14 percent share in the company to its co-founder, Einar Ahlström, but continued to work for the company. In 1928, the company was renamed to Idman Oy.

Read more about the history behind Idman Oy in our article here.