Introducing Mamalab

Mamalab is a company focused on family-friendly services and the wellbeing of families with children. Behind Mamalab are two mothers, Riina and Melissa. We offer inspiring activities for children and families where creativity, learning and meaningful experiences come together.

Our mission is to make parenthood a LITTLE easier by designing everything we do to reduce the mental load of parenting and bring balance and wellbeing into family life.

Riina is a mother of three (ages 3, 6 and 8) and an entrepreneur with a background in HR.

Already in her early teens, Riina completed all her school work placements in daycare centers and even trained as an MLL-certified babysitter at the age of 14. Her biggest dream was to one day open her own daycare.

After high school, life took her abroad and into psychology studies. After graduating from the University of Malta, she built an international career in HR, working as an HR Director in Malta and Tallinn.

After starting a family, Riina returned to Finland and, during her parental leaves, co-founded WeLab; a company offering leadership and team coaching based on personality and emotional intelligence. Although her daycare dream never faded, Riina noticed that in her free time she was most drawn to topics related to families and their wellbeing.

Riina and Melissa met while both were expecting their youngest children, and there was an immediate sense of shared values and a similar rhythm of life. Their friendship and shared passions led them to explore the idea of making Riina’s daycare dream a reality. At the time, however, the timing wasn’t right, and the idea was put aside, but the spark for collaboration remained.

The idea for Mamalab was born in the spring of 2024, when Riina was living in Levi with her family. Surrounded by snow-covered peaks and a strong sense of community, she realized something essential: parents can be an incredible source of strength for one another. When everyday life is shared, the load becomes lighter — and “good enough” truly is enough.

Living in Levi also highlighted the contrast to Riina’s previous life in Helsinki. In the city, parenthood often felt like performance: spotless homes, calendars booked weeks in advance, and social media amplifying the pressure to be perfect. In Levi, life was more relaxed; families met spontaneously, sausages were thrown on the grill, and homes looked like real homes with children in them. It felt freeing. It felt real.

That spring in Lapland, Riina had a realization: what if she could help other parents find the same gentleness and connection in their everyday lives?

Melissa is a mother of two children, born in 2019 and 2021. Her life brings together a strong entrepreneurial background, an aesthetic eye and a constant drive to create and develop something new.

Melissa grew up in an entrepreneurial family where business and idea generation were part of everyday life. Her psychology studies in upper secondary school sparked a deep interest in understanding the human mind and a genuine desire to help others.

After graduating, she began working in the family’s cleaning services business and today serves as a regional manager, continuously developing operations across several companies.

Alongside her work, Melissa has deepened her expertise through studies in sales and marketing, leadership and psychology. Her passion for creating beautiful, functional experiences runs through everything she does, from the smallest details to large-scale concepts.

Mamalab took a decisive step forward in late summer 2025, when the Little Lounge space became available. At that moment, Melissa’s and Riina’s shared spark ignited fully. They found a way to combine their skills, values and dreams to create an environment where family wellbeing, aesthetics and community come together.

Mamalab and Little Lounge are their shared answer to how families and children can be offered something truly meaningful and new.