The adventuresome anniversary mug - Journey - shows an enchanting scene of young Moominpappa and his entourage’s journey to the King’s 100th birthday party. The mug is a special edition with limited availability, and will come out for sale on 9th October.
Inspired by Moominpappa’s youth adventures
The illustration on the Journey mug is based on Tove Jansson’s story, The Exploits of Moominpappa, originally published in Swedish in 1950. In Tove Jansson’s fourth Moomin novel, Moominpappa narrates his memories of the courageous adventures he had as a young Moomin with his entourage Hodgkins, the Muddler and the Joxter. They travel with the Oshun Oxtra boat, which, in the story, Hodgkins also fixes to fly. When exploring the world, they encounter all kinds of new and unknown things, such as The Groke, Nibblings and Edward the Booble.
The themes of the story coincide with Finnair’s anniversary
The fantastic adventures of youth describe the feelings of freedom and wanderlust that come with travelling and gaining new experiences – themes that fit well with the jubilee of an airline that has introduced the world to people for an impressive while already.
“For a hundred years, Finnair has been helping their customers to explore the world and get to know new people, places and cultures. At its best, these encounters are experiences you will remember for the rest of your life,” says Finnair’s CEO Topi Manner. Finnair will delight their staff by gifting everyone the mug that celebrates Finnair’s special theme year.
The enchanting mug illustration is the first by the new design team
Finnair’s anniversary mug is the first Moomin mug released so far by Moomin Arabia’s freshly-announced in-house design team and illustrator Parvati Pillai.
The design team has wonderfully captured the exciting adventure atmosphere in the dark-toned illustration, which makes the mug very special. Moominpappa and his entourage balancing on a rotten tree trunk bridge are on their way to the King’s 100th birthday celebration. To get there, they need to pass through a mysterious garden full of surprises. The travellers are drawn in silhouette against a mountain landscape and a brilliant full moon.
On the inner side, the mug features a lovely hot air balloon illustration that is adapted from one of Tove Jansson’s cover illustrations on some of the editions of The Exploits of Moominpappa. On the bottom, there is the familiar Moomin Arabia stamp.
The mug comes in the classic volume of 0.3 litres and will be sold packed in a beautiful gift box repeating the illustration.
Available for a limited time – Sold out – Sales in Japan start 25 October
The Journey mug is a limited edition collector’s item available only as long as stock lasts. The mug will not be on sale in the global Moomin Shop online, but it will be available at the Moomin Shops at Helsinki Airport on 9 October: one in the Arrivals hall (accessible without a flight), one in the non-Schengen square and a recently opened shop in the Schengen area (the latter two only accessible with a flight ticket), as well as the Moomin Shop in Gardemoen Oslo Airport.
Moomin Shop Airport opening times on the day:
- Moomin Shop Arrivals hall (access without a flight ticket) – 08:00 EEST
- Moomin Shop in the Non-Schengen square (near Gate 40, access through non-Schengen flights only) – 06:00 EEST
- NEW Moomin Shop in the Schengen area (near gates 21-22, access through Schengen flights only) – 05:00 EEST
Gardemoen Oslo Airport:
- Moomin Shop (after security – access through a flight only) – 06:00 CEST
In addition, the mug will come out for sale in the Stockmann department store in central Helsinki (10:00 EEST), moominarabia.com and the Iittala store at Helsinki Airport (05:00 EEST), as well as the following stores in the Nordics: Iittala & Co. Borås, Kitchen Oslo Torggata and Illums Bolighus Copenhagen Airport store. In Japan, the mug will be available at selected retailers and Iittala stores.
Sales in Japan:
The Journey mug will also be released in Japan on 25 October 2023, and will be sold in Iiitala Shops, Moomin Arabia’s local online store and Scope.