11 oldest Moomin mugs still in production

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Do you know what are the oldest Moomin mugs still in production? Scroll down to find out!

Arabia released their first Teema-shaped Moomin mugs in 1990, and they have now introduced more than 100 Moomin mugs altogether. Do you already have these mugs in your collection?

11. Ancestor (2016)

For many years, collectors wished for a character mug with the Moomin family’s Ancestor. The ancestors living behind tiled stoves were already introduced in Tove Jansson’s first Moomin book, The Moomins and the Great Flood (1945), but Tove Slotte chose the illustrations for the mug from Moominland Midwinter (1957).

10. Tooticky (2016)

The beautiful purple mug is the second character mug featuring Too-ticky. The first Too-ticky mug was released in 2006, and its production ended in 2015.

The new mug was released at the same time as the Ancestor mug.

9. Snufkin (2015)

The 9th oldest Moomin mug still in production depicts one of the most popular characters from the Moomin stories – Snufkin. 

The mug was released at the same time as a red Little My mug. However, that mug was discontinued in 2021.

8. Moominhouse (2015)

In honour of the 70th anniversary of the Moomins, Arabia launched a Moomin mug with a much-wanted decoration of the Moominhouse. Tove Slotte, the designer of Arabia’s Moomin mugs, made drafts for both two and three-storey houses. Slotte also made a paper roof for the mug just for fun, but Arabia was thrilled about the idea and now you get a decorative paper roof with every Moominhouse mug you buy.

7. Adventure Move (2013)

The Adventure Move collection was a continuation of Arabia’s special series Adventure, launched in 2009. The illustrations in the Adventure Move mug are originally from a comic co-written by Tove and Lars Jansson, #17 Moomin and the Comet (1958).

6. Mymble’s Mother (2012)

Little My’s, Mymble’s and Snufkin’s mother, Mymble older is also known as Mymble’s mother. In addition to the three children mentioned, she has 34 other children that you get to meet in the book The Memoirs of Moominpappa. Mymble’s mother got her own mug in 2012 and it’s still in production today, 10 years later.

5. Sniff (2008)

The older, brown Sniff mug was discontinued in 2008 and in the same year Arabia launched a new, turquoise mug featuring Sniff. The illustration of Sniff on the backside of the mug is from the very first Moomin comic that was published in the Evening News newspaper.

4. Mymble (2008)

The illustrations for the Mymble mug are based on Tove Jansson’s comic #8 Moomin begins a new life (1956) and novel Moominsummer Madness (1954).

Often a few different illustrations and colours are tested before the final mug design is set. A Mymble mug with a light pink background was one of the versions pre-produced.

3. Hattifatteners (2007)

The illustrations for the Hattifatteners mug, which has been in production for 16 years already, are from Tove Jansson’s first picture book The Book about Moomin, Mymble and Little My (1952).

The mug is one of Arabia’s Moomin mug designer Tove Slotte’s favourites: “I like the mug because of the colour and the layout, not so much because of the characters. The Hattifatteners are quite impersonal and mystical, but there is something fascinating about them as well.”

2. Groke (2005)

The Groke mug is the oldest character mug still in production.  The back side illustration is chosen from Tove Jansson’s novel Moominpappa at Sea (1965) and the recognizable image of the Groke from the front is from the novel Moominland Midwinter (1957). The designer of the mug, Tove Slotte, has been very loyal to Jansson’s original designs when creating the mug.

1. Love (1996)

Love is not only the oldest Moomin mug still in production today but also the only mug from the 1990s that is still in production. The mug’s designer Tove Slotte believes that the emotional charge of the mug is one of the main reasons for its popularity: “The hugging Moomins is an adorable illustration, and combined with the light pink colour it expresses one of the strongest emotions, love. Just like other Jansson’s drawings, also this one is timeless and classical”.

+1 (or five, actually!)

The first four Teema-shaped Moomin mugs, Green, Blue, Rose and Yellow, came for sale in the fall of 1990. In 2023, Arabia made new, larger versions of the four mugs, followed by the popular Love and Peace mugs.

Mugs Blue, Yellow, Rose and Green, Peace in the size of 0.4 litres are all available in the Moomin Shop.

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