Perhaps the only thing that the Finnish love more than coffee (of which they drink an average of four cups a day) is Moomin. The round-bellied creature who, alongside a cast of friends, skips through the world of Moominvalley, was created by Finnish author and artist Tove Jansson at the end of the second world war and quickly became a cultural obsession. It’s not surprising, then, that the stout Teema-shaped 0.3l mugs, made by Finnish ceramic company Arabia and illustrated with scenes from the Moomin stories, have become such cult items. Almost 70 per cent of Finns drink their morning coffee from Moomin mugs, according to a Prisma survey; a quarter of those consider themselves serious collectors.
Moomin creator Tove Jansson in 1963 © Sjöberg Bildbyrå/Ullstein Bild via Getty Images
International fandom took off in 1990 with a hit Japanese animation based on the books coinciding with the release of the mugs. Something in the characters struck a chord. People “seek comfort in the values the Moomins represent: acceptance, courage and a love of nature”, says Rasmus Rantanen, co-founder of Finnish merch dealer Muumimukit Rahaksi. “There’s a lot of timeless wisdom tucked away in Moominvalley.” For Susanna Thiel, head of collections for the Architecture & Design Museum in Helsinki, Moomin “appeals on several levels – emotionally, culturally and aesthetically. The mugs connect everyday life to nostalgia.” They’re also relatively affordable pieces of design, she notes, which makes collecting accessible to many.
