Chances are that you’ve come across the Moomins. The white, hippo-like white trolls and the universe they inhabit, alongside a motley crew of other whimsical characters, are the creations of Swedish-speaking Finn Tove Jansson – and they celebrate their 80th anniversary this year. But did you know that the Moomins have grown into a €680m business that collaborates with the likes of Comme des Garçons, Rimowa, Starbucks and Bulgari, and has more than 800 licensees worldwide producing everything from toys to homeware, as well as TV shows in more than 120 countries and books published in 55 languages? Despite having grown into a global business, Moomin Characters Ltd is still family-run and has been for three generations.

“Irrespective of how amazing the body of work is, if you don’t introduce it to more people and find new ways to tell those stories, they will eventually be forgotten,” James Zambra, creative director of Moomin Characters, tells monocle when we visit the Helsinki HQ. (Zambra’s mother, Sophia Jansson, is Tove’s niece and the company’s former ceo.) This kind of thinking defines the family’s approach to managing the Moomin brand and legacy. Instead of sitting on the property rights and protecting them from unauthorised use (the more traditional method of an IP rights holder, says Zambra), the company seeks out collaborations that engage new audiences with the Moomin universe. This includes everything from toys and books to fashion and homeware.

“The wonderful thing about the Moomins is that they speak to adults and children alike,” says Thomas Zambra, director of business development, as we tour the seaside offices, dotted with Moomin memorabilia. “Tove was so incredibly perceptive about life and poured so much of that into the Moomin universe, with its eccentric characters, playfulness, harmony and sense of adventure.”  Despite their Finnish origins, the Moomins are popular on all continents, especially in Asia. Japan alone accounts for 40 per cent of the business – the same as Scandinavia. Other key markets include China, Poland and the UK.

As a visual artist and author living in the pre-digital age, Tove Jansson left behind a vast collection of writings and drawings. To keep her legacy alive and help people understand the Moomins’ origins, the company runs an extensive archive. “It’s impossible to put a precise number on everything that we have here but I would say that it is at least 10,000 items,” says Maria Andersin, who is in charge of the archive, as she shows monocle around the treasure trove. It features everything from the first hand-sewn Moomin figurines from the 1950s to early letters that Tove Jansson wrote to licensees, in which she meticulously details the characters’ features, including the shape of their ears and the position of their legs. Jansson’s earliest sketches and the subsequent drawings offer a perspective into how the characters were born and developed. “During the anniversary year, the focus is on the origins of the Moomins and their early days, and the archive plays a key role in that,” says James.

The anniversary will be marked by events including concerts on several continents; special editions of original books as well as some new ones; exhibitions in Japan, the UK, Finland and Sweden; and collaborations with agencies such as the Red Cross, as well as notable brands. One such company is Artek, the Finnish heritage brand founded by architect and designer Alvar Aalto, which is turning 90 this year. When monocle visits the Moomin offices, Artek managing director Marianne Goebl and senior designer Satoshi Yoshida are visiting to plan a new collaboration set to be unveiled in March. “For us, it is natural to create something with Moomin Characters,” says Goebl. “Both Aalto and Jansson were luminaries whose creations share a universal, timeless appeal as well as a certain light-heartedness.”

For both brands, working together is more than a simple marketing exercise. As the popularity of the Moomins grew over time, Tove Jansson was always particular about how the characters were portrayed and by whom. A key reason for launching the Moomin Characters company with her brother Lars in the 1950s was to protect the integrity of her creations as they gained popularity around the world. She went to great lengths to do this, even painting some of the earliest Moomin mugs produced by Finnish ceramics company Arabia. “With Artek we share a similar history and a heritage but it goes beyond that,” says James. “In the Moomin universe, home (the “Moominhouse”) is the centre of everything. Therefore, we see it as fitting to Tove’s legacy to collaborate with an interior design brand.”

The Moomins’ global presence 80 years after their creation would not be possible if the message of the large-snouted creatures was not relevant today. In many ways, Jansson was ahead of her time in terms of her values and views, and her long life was marked by curiosity about the human condition and her surroundings. Many characters are at least partially based on people who she knew; her former partners inspired the characters Snufkin and Too-Ticky (favourably, thankfully).

This humane element to the characters and stories is key to their timeless appeal. “They are not superheroes,” says Thomas. “Every Moomin character is flawed in some way or another but despite their differences, they are happy together.” The stories also touch upon the most common traits found in most of us – curiosity, fear, and the need for safety and comfort. “Life in the Moominvalley is full of adventures, small everyday challenges and the joy of discovering new things,” says Thomas. “It is harmonious but in a very playful and human way.” The same playfulness guides much of what Moomin Characters does as the guardian of Tove Jansson’s legacy. Or, as James puts it, “We are a ‘roadmap to happiness’ brand.” — L
moomin.com