Finnish Design: Myths & Moomins

26 September – 20 December 2026

Rare Moomin mugs and original figurines, on loan from Moomin Characters, join a new exhibition exploring the nature, mythology and folklore behind Finnish modernist design.

Finland’s landscape, its forests, lakes, ice and shifting northern light, has long shaped a national imagination in which the natural and the mythic are inseparable. Elemental forces, transformation, resilience and craft run through generations of Finnish storytelling, and those same qualities resurface in the country’s modern design: clarity, restraint, quiet strength, and a profound respect for the natural world.

This is the imagination behind Alvar Aalto’s flowing furniture and glassware, Tapio Wirkkala’s sculptural forms carved and blown to echo ice and snow, and Timo Sarpaneva’s glasswork for Iittala. It’s there too in Maija Isola’s bold nature-inspired prints for Marimekko, including her celebrated Unikko poppy design, and in Kaj Franck’s quietly radical approach to everyday tableware.

Rare loans from Moomin Characters

In 1945, the first Moomin book was published, and within a decade the inhabitants of Moominvalley had reached an audience of millions. As demand grew, their creator, artist and writer Tove Jansson (1914–2001), founded Moomin Characters in 1958 with her brother Lars to protect and oversee her work, the company that remains the source of the rare objects on loan for this exhibition. Like much of the design and craft developed in Finland around this time, nature in Tove Jansson’s stories is an intrinsic element of the Moomin Stories.

The loans include original ceramic Moomin figurines from the 1950s and 1990s, produced by Arabia, alongside a set of Moomin plates from the late 1950s, the earliest Moomin tableware, with dish shapes designed by Kaj Franck. Many of these early pieces are now highly sought after, and the exhibition offers a rare chance to see them together in one place.

Opening Fortnight: Free Cupp Drink With Every Visit

To celebrate the opening of Finnish Design: Myths & Moomins, we’ve teamed up with Cupp to treat our visitors to something special. From opening weekend through the first two weeks of the exhibition, the first 25 visitors each day will receive a complimentary iced matcha or iced latte, made with oat milk and served in an Moomin-themed Cupp x Moomin cup.

When: Saturday 26 September – Sunday 11 October
Giveaway hours: Wed–Fri 13:00–16:00 | Sat–Sun 11:00–16:00
First 25 visitors each day, arrive early to avoid missing out!

Entry is £6 and includes access to Finnish Design: Myths & Moomins as well as our permanent collection.