Why do we still love the Moomins so much? It all comes down to Tove Jansson

Through a nondescript door on a quiet street in Helsinki and up six flights of rather steep stairs, one finds Tove Jansson’s studio. Though the iconic Finnish artist and author passed away in 2001 at the age of 86, the space remains virtually as she left it (save for the walls, which were repainted to salvage the damage done by her penchant for chain-smoking as she worked).

There are shelves and shelves of books that span Vladimir Nabokov to Saul Bellow to Roald Dahl. There are nods to her love of the archipelago; seashells and rocks, tiny models of ships not to mention the pale blonde wood that fashions the built-in benches and bookcases (up a set of wooden stairs to an open loft space, one finds her modest living quarters). There are old family photos, matchsticks and cigarettes and the artist’s prescription glasses. And, of course, there are paintings and sketches, some of which depict Jansson’s most famous creations: The Moomins, which this year celebrate their 80th anniversary.

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But preserving Jansson’s legacy isn’t simply about preserving this studio (though great pains are taken to ensure the space remains in tact – only a handful of visitors are welcome to visit each year and no photos or video recordings are permitted). It’s also about thoughtfully bringing her work to future generations through museum exhibitions (like the one currently on view at HAM in Helsinki), multimedia projects (like this one, which allows you to compose a Moomin song for a friend) and thoughtful, unexpected collaborations. To mark the 80th anniversary, Moomins danced across Acne Studios denim, Artek stools and Rue de Tokyo workwear.

But our ongoing fascination with Jansson and her Moomins isn’t simply due to nostalgia; there’s something impossibly contemporary about these ageless characters – as beloved now as they were when first introduced. And there’s something impossibly contemporary about Jansson herself.

“She’s forever somehow current, which is quite strange,” says Sophia Jansson. The niece of Tove, Sophia was long the primary custodian of the Moomin brand, serving as creative director and chairman of the company Moomin Characters (though she has somewhat stepped back, the company remains in the family; her husband Roleff Kråkström is CEO and their son, James Zambra, is creative director). Her father, Lars Jansson, produced the Moomin comic strip from 1960 to 1975 and she grew up frolicking across rocky coastlines in the archipelago with her aunt. It has been said that the young protagonist in Tove’s beloved novel The Summer Book (also named Sophia) is based on her, but Sophia stresses it’s a work of fiction. OK, she relents, perhaps one third of the character is based on her.

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“At the moment, people are quite in awe of her person and her choices in her personal life,” says Sophia of her aunt’s ongoing legacy. “The kind of woman she was, and her sexuality, and the fact that she decided not to have a family and dedicate herself one hundred per cent to art. That she lived with another female artist during a time when it was not permissible by law and the fact that she courageously stood up for the values that were important to her and developed those in her work.” Sophia is speaking of Tuulikki Pietilä (better known as “Tooti”), a graphic artist who was Tove’s partner from the time they met in 1956 until Tove’s death.

To that end, Tove has become an icon in the LGBTQ+ community. “She’s a forerunner for doing your own thing fearlessly,” says Sophia. “Even though you’re a minority you have a right to be respected and a right to live your life as yourself and not as someone else expects you to.” Tove’s Moomins, in turn, participate in stories that emphasise acceptance and being true to oneself.

Contemporary themes stretch back to the very first Moomin book, The Moomins and the Great Flood. Published in 1945, the book follows the Moomin family dealing with the aftermath of a flood, which leaves Moomintroll stranded from Moominmamma and Moominpappa. “These little creatures have been displaced because of the flood – they’ve lost everything, they’ve lost their homes and they need to move along and make a new life somewhere,” says Sophia. “Now in the world, we have 130 million people that are displaced as we speak.” What’s more, the tale reflects the notion of climate change and the need to live in harmony with nature, another resonant theme that permeates the Moomin tales.

It’s all these things, plus the undeniable charm and cuteness of the characters themselves, that contribute to the ongoing success of Moomin today. In 2022, the Moomins were reported to have an annual retail value of 750 million euros.

Sophia, meanwhile, “cannot even fathom all the ways” Tove influence her. “I am only me because of her and her family,” she says. “But I think one of the things that impressed me most as an adult was her work ethic. There is this perception of artists that they get inspired and they do something, but she worked all the time.” And she was a perfectionist, often drawing the same character several times until she got it just right. Tove’s work is being uncovered all the time, in nooks and crannies of the studio, in old books and magazines and on the countless letters she wrote to her countless fans. “I don’t know how she had the time – she must have worked round the clock,” says Sophia. “She was small and she smoked cigarettes and she probably didn’t sleep very much. How can one person do so much? It’s just amazing.”