Moomin Haul - www.moominmania.co.uk

Many of you know that I started university to study nursing in September 2011 and from then until March I’ve had almost no money at all. However, I’ve just received a huge backlog of payments for uni and so I’ve definitely treated myself over the Easter holidays, but it was greatly deserved!

It was my 19th Birthday on April 5th, and I was given a budget of £100 off Tomm for my presents. I decided to shop around and bought some of the Moomin books - mainly from Amazon, which is the cheapest place.

On April 8th, we ventured off to London because I am a huge Harry Potter fan and we had booked tickets for the Warner Brothers Studio Tour. I thought I’d take the chance to buy a few things in the Moomin Shop in Covent Garden whilst I was there, so here is what I brought back:

Big cookie cutter - £8.50
Moominmamma cookie cutter - £2.99
Moomin cookie cutter - £2.99
Moominpappa cookie cutter - £2.99
Fork set Stinky & the Hattifatteners - £10.50
Dangerous Journey match box - £4.00
Oven glove set £16.00 and £14.00
Mymble’s Mother mug - £16.95
Spreading plate - £7.50
Moominmamma Rose Garden Bowl 2010 - £35.95
Little My Soap Bubbles Bowl 2011 - £35.95

Total = £158.32

We also went to Center Parcs on April 13th and whilst we were there, we visited one of my really good friends that I met on eBay who is also a big Moomin collector, but sadly he is selling his collection. Luckily for me, he let me choose pretty much whatever I wanted from all the stuff he had! Some rare items were purchased which I can’t put a price on, but I spent £225 and this is what I got:

A lot of these items can be found on eBay, moominworldshop or moominvalleyshop. One of my favourite purchases here is the newspaper where the Moomin comic strip was originally published. It is called The Evening News and dates back to Wednesday, January 5th 1955. It even features an article about how colour TV was coming to Britain!

I also bought five mugs too - family 2002, moominmamma rose garden 2010, Christmas surprise 2009, dolphindive 2007 and skiing competition 2010. Here is my mug collection almost complete - only my Snorkmaiden 2001 mug is missing because I’m using it at the moment.

Tove Jansson’s Studio

Sadly, this is off limits to the public. I will try my best to be allowed in one day though! It’s around a 10 minute walk from Helsinki city centre, located on the corner of Ullanlinnankatu and Kasarminkatu. This was where Tove lived and worked until she died.

Images and text are from Drawn and Quarterly.

 

‘I really had no idea what to expect. I’ve seen photos and even videos from years ago but I figured we were looking at a different place. Maybe a mansion in the nicest part of town or something?’

‘Well, it’s clearly marked by a Viktor Jansson (Tove’s father) sculpture of a young Tove and plaque.’ The text says something like ‘Tove Jansson lived here 1944-2001, author/writer in union’.

‘Turns out it’s an apartment building and Tove’s studio and apartment are located on the top floor. As we walk up, we all get noticeably excited. This seems impossible that we could be here.’

‘The courtyard view from the sixth floor stairwell.’

‘We all kind of apprehensively step across the threshold in the apartment.’

Here are Tove’s notes. I can see that she has a note saying ‘112’ which is the number for emergencies in Finland. She also has a WWF sticker - World Wildlife Fund. There is a number for a taxi, and pictures of what I assume are of Klovharun/Klovhäran/Klovharu - Tove Jansson’s island which she built in 1964-65 and where she spent a lot of time. The note with blue and red letter says something like ‘Lämna dej inte nervös’ - don’t be nervous, and something about ‘födelsedag’ which is birthday.
The note next to this says ‘Fä’ then something, then ‘Finland’ - Fä means beast.

‘A bit of history (from Sophia’s introduction to the studio and living space): Tove bought or moved into the studio in 1944 after seeing it a couple of years before and knowing she wanted to live there. She then lived there for the next 57 years—the rest of her life. There is no real kitchen, just a wood burning stove for cooking and heating in the studio and heater in the entry room. Those are her actual notes on the wall.’

‘The apartment was pretty small. Tove wrote in the front area, painted in the studio, and slept upstairs in the loft area. There were modifications over the years but the studio is largely untouched (a paint job or two and the renovation over the years was done by her girlfriend Tuulikki’s brother, Reima—a famous Finnish architect) in the ten years since Tove’s death. The books she read are on the shelves. Her bed, her vanity, knick-knacks on bookshelves and windowsills, sculptures.’

‘Juhani Tolvanen tells a charming anecdote about after Tove quit smoking she loved when he visited because he usually had a cigar in his pocket and she got to smell the cigar smoke. Trust me, this guy loves cigars.’ Juhan Tolvanen wrote Tove Jansson’s biography, which has been released in Finland and France so far.

‘Finland used to have a number of lighthouse boats to direct traffic. This model was built by Tove and her family when she was a child.’

‘Her father’s sculptures (actually plaster studies for the later bronzes) placed around the studio. The models are Tove and her mother but with different faces. And that painting is a very early pre-WWII self portrait by Tove. Oh, and there are here pallets.’

‘Look at these hand lettered books. We were asked not to touch things so I actually ran back downstairs to ask Sophia if she knew what they were and she quietly said “oh, go look at them.” Turns out they were strip collections assembled by Tove’s mom, Signe, from the stats sent from the syndicate.’

‘I don’t know what this is but I swear it’s Tove’s handwriting?!?’
This definitely looks like Tove’s. Some of my Finnish/Swedish speaking friends have helped me to try and decipher what it says: ‘Lassen/Lasse’s - possibly nicknames for Tove’s brother, Lars Jansson. It could also possibly be ‘loma’, meaning holiday. Another word there could mean ‘layout’. ‘Hvitträsk’ - Tove Jansson had a private exhibit here in 1974, so it could be referring to this.

‘Fanmail.’ I might send a letter to her studio and see what happens!

‘Here is tiny alcove where Tove’s bed resides.’

‘Her vanity.’

‘Knick-knacks and Moomin toys.’

‘The fireplace that heats the studio. And the little stove on top is pretty much the extent of Tove’s kitchen.’

‘Sophia told us a sweet story that Tove’s girlfriend, Tuulikki Pietilä, also had an apartment and studio in the building and they used to cross through the attic to visit each other. In fact, Tuulikki lived there until she died in 2009. {In the background, we see Anja Luginbuhl from Editions Moderne and Morgan Charpentier from Les Requins Marteaux.}’

It is almost impossible to work out what these books are - I can see three Franz Kafka books at the right, one is most likely ‘The Trial’, and the bright yellow one nearer the left is ‘Min Skattkammare’.

An Unwanted Guest - Skurken i Muminhuset

The title ‘Skurken i Muminhuset’ translates to ‘The villain of the Moomin house’. It was published in 1980 but has never been officially translated into English.

The pictures found within the story are all photographs taken by Per Olov Jansson (Tove’s brother) from within the Moomin house which was constructed by Tove Jansson, her partner Tuulikki Pietilä and Pentti Eistola in the 1970s. This is now situated in the Moomin musuem (muumilaakso) in Tampere art gallery, Finland. The story of its creation is available in the museum, but photographs are not permitted. The next time I go, I will write down exactly what it says.

Teresa Ronayne has kindly translated the text into English on their website, which is available here. I would highly recommend that it is read before visiting the museum, as you get a better idea of what Tove was thinking when she created it. It is honestly the most intricate and beautiful piece of art I have ever seen.

It is hopeful that soon, an official translation will become available. Bare in mind that even now, almost eleven years after Tove’s death, her books are still being translated.

Here is a picture of the house, taken from the blog http://moomiest.blogspot.com/

Gifts and Interior Design Trade Fair/Vårmessen

From January 26th-29th the Gifts and Interior Design Trade Fair took place in Norway. I personally did not manage to make it there because of university, but a lovely person on Twitter blogged about it and took many photos which I will show here (with permission!).

http://messe.no/no/GaveInterior/Mummitrollene-kommer/ This is the website for the fair’s Moomin page for if anyone is interested in going in the future. One day I hope I can go. The text translates to:

“Moomin trolls are coming!
Moomin show their joint presentation for the first time on Norwegian soil. ‘FAIRYTALE MEETS REALITY’ is the title of the exhibition theme of the exhibition’s entrance.

The stand consists of 25 suppliers or licensees, who have joined forces to present different types of products of Moomin World. You will see books with the famous Moomin Adventures, cups and plates with images of Snusmumriken (Snorkmaiden) and Little My, bedding with Miss Snorkeling and furniture. Everything will be staged rooms of the house in Moomin Valley - to name a few. Maybe show himself Moomin Mama, Moomin Papa, or up too.

Moomin is one of Finland’s best known brands and biggest exports. This public stand has been shown in a couple of European interiors fairs, before now come to us.

Moomin is the original name of the Finnish Moomin.”

Here are the pictures uploaded to the blog by Søstrene Suse at http://sostrenesuse.blogspot.com/2012/02/blomster-bakst-og-mummitroll.html

She has really captured how magical the Moomins are, and how you can introduce them to your home to make it feel like you live in Moominvalley. She speaks of how her mother had told her about the fair and how excited she was to visit the Moomin section.

Seeing pictures of the fair makes me want to move out and build my own Moomin house, but right now I need to finish university so I can get a job to be able to afford more merchandise to make my home as beautiful as possible.

Discounts & new products

I forgot to mention yesterday that Artbox have reduced the prices of their mugs from £15.90 to £14.50! They also have a lot of new stationary like notebooks (which I plan to buy before I start my placement at a hospital soon). I bought a pen recently but it snapped before I even used it, but luckily superglue managed to fix it.

I’ve just realised they’ve also updated their stock too - these two products have just shown up:

They’re really cheap too, only £4.40 each.

The new “hurray” mug has just been released and the matching spoon will be available from March 1st:

Also, the new Exploits of Moominpappa book has been released:

This week I’ve also spoken to a manager at New Look, as they used to stock Moomin t-shirts and underwear, but they told me they are no longer getting them, which is really upsetting. I complained a while ago that they didn’t advertise them on their website, and every time I went in store there would be nothing - I’d find them showing up on eBay and I’d end up paying a lot more than they’re originally worth.

On a brighter note, a cute little book shop I like to visit called Magma are selling a really cool Moomin origami paper book, complete with instructions and cut-outs ready to make. Despite it all being in Japanese, it’s not needed to understand how to make them. I paid £14 for my copy but I saw one on eBay go for £45.