The first Moomin mugs from the 1950s

Since the first Teema-shaped Moomin mugs came to market in 1990, Moomin Arabia has designed and released over 150 different mugs, from dozens of character mugs to the summer and winter seasonals and various special editions.

Moomin mugs have been the most popular Moomin collectable since the start of the global phenomenon, with some of the oldest and rarest pieces valued at thousands of euros. For example, the Christmas-themed Fazer mug from 2004 was recently estimated at 10,000€.

One of the oldest mugs still in production is the Love mug, on sale since 1996 – now also in a 0,4l size and a soon-available blue version.

But actually, the story of Moomin tableware started much earlier than 1990.

Arabia’s history goes all the way back to 1873 when it was founded by the Swedish company Rörstrand. The brand, nowadays part of the Finnish Fiskars Group, has since become a household name in the Nordics with numerous designers and tableware series. Dishes made especially for children have always been a big part of Arabia’s popular production.

The first Moomin tableware from the late 1950s

The very first Moomin tableware was released by Arabia in the late 1950s, around the same time as the first ceramic Moomin figurines were produced by entrepreneur Leo Tykkyläinen, exclusively for the department store Stockmann in Helsinki. 

At the time, Tove Jansson had already published several Moomin books. 

The porcelain series included a dinner plate, a shallow bowl and two mugs. The dishes were decorated with Moomintroll, Snorkmaiden, and Little My – a design very simple compared to today’s collection of various Moomin mugs and plates. The original package the products came in was also very simple: a cardboard set protected by Arabia-branded tape.

The dish shapes were designed by Arabia’s long-time designer Kaj Franck, who also transferred Tove’s illustrations onto the dishes, together with Kurt Ekholm, and Kaarina Aho. The Teema-shape of the Moomin mugs in production since the ‘90s is also Kaj Franck’s work.

According to Anders Landén’s book Treasures from Moominvalley (out on 23 May 2024!), the tableware set was sold in both Finland and Sweden, from 1956 for at least two years.

A new world of Moomin tableware in 1990

It took another 30 years until the next Moomin tableware by Arabia was released: four Moomin comic-based mugs in the colours of green, blue, rose and yellow. This was the start of the Teema-shaped Moomin mugs that the world loves today, including the classic Arabia Finland bottom stamp.

The original 1950s mugs and plates are, of course, extremely rare nowadays. They appear at auctions every now and then, usually costing around 1000-2000€ for a set.

Did you know? Moomin Arabia has recently opened its own stores in the Nordics and Japan, with more locations to come!