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.
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’.
As a passionate Moomin lover and also cake baker, I thought that I would post a countdown of my favourite Moomin cakes that I have seen on the internet - and believe me, there are more than 25, so this was really hard for me!
25 - This was found on Vesselin väkerrykset’s blog. I really love the Groke and I think this looked like great fun to make. Not many people like her because she is scary, but she just wants to be loved!
24Â - The Moomin cake at the Bury art museum on October 24th 2010 for the Magical Moominvalley exhibition. It was simple yet beautiful. I stole one of the boats!
23Â - this was found on Ewelyn’s Cakeheaven. This isn’t the only cake that they make - check out the website for more.
22 - This was found on A Baked Creation. Despite the creator not knowing too much about the Moomins, but I’m sure the experience has enlightened her about them. They have created most of the characters in the story in cupcakes - the Groke and Hattifatteneres are my favourites made.
21 - This was found on PapunKakut.
20 - This was found on Zardra’s Mindbook. It was made by her stepsister and it is so adorable!
19 - This was found on Jill’s Sugar Collection. I adore this because I love the night sky as well as tree houses.
18 - This was found on Sweet Little Bakes. They make a variety of cakes that seriously look too good to eat!
17 - This cake is by estranged-illusions. It perfectly fits the character of Moominmamma.
16 - This was found on Skeddula’s blog. The cake itself doesn’t look too hard to make, but believe me making the characters is very difficult.
15 - This was found on Animals in the Kitchen. Not only are the characters well-made, but the leaves are brilliant!
14 - This cake is wonderful. It was found on Chris and Claire’s Lapland Blog, but I’m not sure it was their cake, so I don’t know who to give credit to. Even before I had seen this, I always pictured myself having Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden on top of my wedding cake if ever I got married. When I saw this, it was exactly as I had pictured it in my mind… someone beat me to it!
13 - This was found on Cake Central and it was made by katjuza. It is so simple yet effective. I used to love skiing!
12 - This was found on Cake Central by Tinuviel. I personally love the Groke and think that she isn’t favoured as much over other characters, so this is why I particularly like this one.
11 - This was found on NAM workshop. I’m a lover of over-the-top extravagant cakes, and this ticks all the boxes for me.
10 - This was found on Ancka Bakar Biscuits‘Â blog. My favourite part of this cake is how Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden’s tails join together to form a love heart.
9 - This was found on Moon Karkelo. It definitely reminds me of sea-life with the shells on the sides. I love the characters and only wish I had the skill to make them myself.
8 - This was found on Cake Pearl. It’s a great portrayal of what Moominvalley is like, which is why I love it so much.
7 - This was also found on Ancka Bakar Biscuits. This perfectly portrays Moominpappa, out on his travels and reading a book.
6 - This was found on molif’s website. It’s probably one of the most beautiful cakes I’ve seen, and I love the fact that Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden are holding hands.
5 - This was found on Baker Hell. There is so much going on here that you get a feeling of being in Moominvalley.
4 - This was found on Treats Moment. I adore the apple cores here and the generally happy aura about this cake.
3 - This was found on A Beautiful Cake. I love this a lot because not many people show interest in Too-ticky, but she is one of my favourites.
2 - This was found on Mihako’s blog. I particularly love Mymble’s daughter because she is very pretty.
1 - This is my favourite cake because it’s so full of life and the main characters. The lollipop trees are brilliant and the grass is realistic.
Over the last few years, New Look have been the main producer of Moomin t-shirts. Play.com have had three t-shirts in the last three years, but they stopped selling them rather soon. What really annoyed me about New Look is that despite the t-shirts being great quality, price and designs, they would not appear online so I would have to go in store, which was a pain because I like to check new products for Moomin stockists every week or so, and it was asking a bit too much of me because it’s easier to do this online.
However, I recently spoke with a manager at a New Look store and they told me that they were no longer stocking the Moomin t-shirts. This upset me but saved me a lot of time and hassle searching for them.
Today, it was published on http://www.licensing.biz that a company called Rock Off have now got a Moomin license to sell t-shirts. They will be sold this year in HMV, with around ten designs. This has made me very happy, although I’ve always got things to say… I just hope that one day, men’s t-shirts will become available, as I know many male Moomin fans who would appreciate this. But for now, all I can do is send my thanks to Caroline Mickler and the people at Rock Off for allowing my vast Moomin collection to expand.
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/
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