Moomin Mug Mania 26.9.2026–5.1.2028
The Moomin Museum’s new temporary exhibition, Moomin Mug Mania, explores the journey of the Moomin mugs from everyday household objects to a cultural phenomenon. The exhibition delves into Moomin mugs as iconic and hugely popular collector’s items, examining the meanings and values associated with them. Moomin mugs are part of people’s everyday lives and celebrations; they symbolise the Moomins’ way of life and represent Finnishness abroad.
Moomin Mug Mania features all the 0.3 litre Moomin mugs produced by Moomin Arabia, as well as a selection of smaller and larger mugs. All the Moomin mug illustrations are based on drawings or comic strips by Tove Jansson (1914–2001). Most of the artworks featured on the mugs belong to the Moomin Museum’s extensive collection of Jansson’s art and many of the original artworks are presented alongside the mugs in the exhibition.
The exhibition also features the first Moomin mug, illustrated by Tove Jansson, dating from the 1950s. In addition to the best-known mugs, the exhibition showcases rare collector’s items as well as a selection of Japanese Moomin mugs, illustrating the diversity of Moomin ceramics produced in Japan.
Moomin mugs are a familiar sight in Finnish homes, and they are often associated with personal meanings, memories and nostalgia. Collecting also has an important social dimension: people collect mugs, discuss them and display them in cabinets for others to admire. Moomin mugs symbolise the Moomins’ way of life and their humanistic values, with which many people identify. The exhibition also features the thoughts and experiences of Moomin mug collectors. The Moomins first appeared on Arabia tableware in the 1950s, during the first Moomin boom. Tove Jansson designed the decorations for the first Moomin tableware herself. Later, together with her brother Lars Jansson, she founded Moomin Characters Oy Ltd to manage the copyrights to the Moomin characters.
The Moomin collection was a success from the very beginning, but the popularity of Moomin mugs reached a new level in the 1990s. At that time, the Japanese-Finnish-Dutch animated series Moomin began airing on television around the world, and Arabia launched the Moomin mugs still in production today. The animated series paved the way for the Moomin mugs onto international markets.
The current Moomin mugs have been produced using Arabia’s Teema mugs, designed by Kaj Franck, since the 1990s. The exhibition explores how the mugs are made and introduces Arabia’s illustrators, as well as the various markings found on the bottoms of the mugs.
Moomin mugs have achieved an iconic status in Finnish design, and their popularity has become firmly established around the world. Internationally, the Moomin mug has come to represent Finnishness.
The exhibition has been produced in collaboration with Moomin Arabia, Moomin Characters Oy Ltd, and collector and author Joni Pyysalo.
