Moomin mugs

We Finns are a peculiar nation in our own way. There's a quote supposedly by Adolf Ivar Arvidsson saying: "Swedes we are not, Russians we do not want to become, let us therefore be Finns." And yet we sometimes wish to be for example Scandinavians, Europeans or Finno-Ugrics, what ever suits best for the situation.

There's for example Scandinavian design movement characterized by simplicity, minimalism and functionality. These Moomin mugs are one example of it. The shape of the mugs come from the Arabia Teema tableware series by Kaj Franck.

Illustration of these mugs originates to Tove Jansson's Moomin book illustrations. It is sort of bitter sweet that Tove Jansson's Moomin stories became so popular that they more or less overshadowed all else where Jansson was good at.

At the same time a Finn as an individual wishes to be unique, and stand out from the crowd, but then we almost "hoard" things that every other Finn does. For example in majority of Finnish homes one can find a comprehensive set of these Moomin mugs. So, by choosing a "different" mug each day, we can pretend to be unique. But on the other hand, these mugs are pretty much like emojis on internet. One can choose a mug that best illustrates the current mood.

Besides, the shape and the size of these mugs is not only perfect for the casual every day use. I've also used them as a phone camera stand to take still life photos! =D

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This post is of course sort of a "product placement" . Although, I do not earn a dime from my photos. I actually contacted the copyright holder of Moomin illustrations, to make sure that I can publish images of thesse mugs. They said it is alright as long as I do not make money. So, sorry folks, my photos are not for sale =P