Atelier Fauni was a Finnish arts and crafts studio, operating from 1952–1971 in Finland.
It was founded in 1952 in Naantali by Helena Kuuskoski and her husband, the actor Martti Kuuskoski (1917–2011). From Naantali, and later in Tusby and Träskända, the company made soft toys, mainly in the form of handmade trolls made from leather, fabric and skin.
The studio was best known for their Moomin figurines, which were produced from 1955 and are now collectors' items. [1] The studio initially did not have a license to produce Moomin merchandise, but Tove Jansson liked the dolls, and between 1955 and 1971 they had Jansson's permission to create the Moomin figurines. [2] Moomin merchandise has become popular collectors items, and Atelier Fauni's production belongs to the more valuable toys. [2] [3] The individually most popular figure, however, was the sumppi troll, which also inspired a band, which went by the name of the troll. [4] Their creations also inspired a theme park, Peikkometsä, in Järvenpää. [4]
The atelier name comes from the Roman forest god, Faunus.
Atelier Fauni was re-established in the U.S. in the 1970s by Kuuskoski and her children under the name Troll Store. Helena Kuuskoski died in Wilmington, North Carolina on September 1, 2013. [1]
Tove Marika Jansson was a Swedish-speaking Finnish author, novelist, painter, illustrator and comic strip author. Brought up by artistic parents, Jansson studied art from 1930 to 1938 in Stockholm, Helsinki and Paris. Her first solo art exhibition was in 1943. At the same time, she was writing short stories and articles for publication, as well as creating the graphics for book covers and other purposes. She continued to work as an artist and a writer for the rest of her life.
A dollhouse or doll's house is a toy home made in miniature. Since the early 20th century dollhouses have primarily been the domain of children, but their collection and crafting is also a hobby for many adults. English-speakers in North America commonly use the term dollhouse, but in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries the term is doll's house. They are often built to put dolls in.
Naantali is a town in southwestern Finland, and, as a resort town during the summer, an important tourist centre of the country. The municipality has a population of 19,882 (28 February 2023), and is located in the region of Southwest Finland, 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) west of Turku.
Moomin World is a theme park based on the Moomin books by Tove Jansson. It was designed by Dennis Livson, and located on the island of Kailo next to the old town of Naantali, in Southwest Finland.
Comet in Moominland is the second in Finnish author Tove Jansson's series of Moomin books. Published in 1946, it marks the first appearance of several main characters, such as Snufkin and the Snork Maiden.
The Swedish children's literature tradition was initiated by the Swedish-speaking Finn Zachris Topelius in the 19th century. It flourished at the dawn of the 20th century with Elsa Beskow (1874–1953), who wrote and illustrated some 40 children's stories between 1897–1952. Her books were beloved and have continued to be reprinted in Sweden and many other languages.
The Moomins and the Great Flood is a book written by Finnish author Tove Jansson in 1945, during the last months of World War II. It was the first book to star the Moomins, but is often seen as a prelude to the main Moomin books, as most of the main characters are introduced in the next book.
Moomin is a comic strip created by Tove Jansson, and followed up by Lars Jansson, featuring their Moomin family of characters. The first comic strip, entitled Mumintrollet och jordens undergång was a short-lived project for the children's section of the Finland-Swedish leftist newspaper Ny Tid. It was written between 1947 and 1948, at the request of the editor, a friend of Jansson's, Atos Wirtanen. The series was published with two new strips weekly, and was mainly an adaptation of Comet in Moominland. The series has been reprinted in book form under the name Jorden går under by the newspaper.
Vivica Sophia Jansson is the daughter of cartoonist Lars Jansson and the niece of the famous Finnish writer and painter Tove Jansson. Jansson has worked as a Spanish language teacher, creative/artistic director, chairman, and majority shareholder of Oy Moomin Characters, Ltd, and provided direct oversight together with her father for the 1990 Moomin animated series.
The Moomins are the central characters in a series of novels, short stories, and a comic strip by Finnish writer and illustrator Tove Jansson, originally published in Swedish by Schildts in Finland. They are a family of white, round fairy-tale characters with large snouts that make them resemble the hippopotamus. However, despite this resemblance, the Moomin family are trolls. The family live in their house in Moominvalley and have had many adventures with their various friends.
Applause Inc. was a company that produced stuffed toys and collectible figurines. The company produced licensed toys from Warner Bros., Disney, and Jim Henson's Muppets. Its principal subsidiaries included Dakin Inc. and International Tropic-Cal Inc. The Applause brand survives as part of Kid Brands.
Moomins and the Comet Chase is a 2010 3D stop motion animated fantasy adventure comedy family film compiled from the Comet in Moominland-based episodes of the 1977–1982 The Moomins TV series animated at Se-ma-for in Poland, restored and re-soundtracked with multiple voice actors replacing the single narrator. It is the second such Moomin film produced by Finnish children's film company Filmkompaniet, the first being Moomin and Midsummer Madness, and the first one converted to stereoscopic 3-D. A similar revision of the remainder of the series for high-definition television of all 78 episodes will follow and is currently in production. The same novel has been adapted into film at least twice before, with the 1978 Russian stop motion serial Mumi-troll and the 1992 Japanese traditional animation feature Comet in Moominland. The international version of the film features the voices of known Swedish actors like Stellan Skarsgård, Peter Stormare, Alexander Skarsgård. Musician and Moomins fan Björk also wrote an original song for the film. The international film debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2010. In Finland, it arrived in movie theaters on 6 August 2010 and was later broadcast on the MTV3 channel. The film was also produced in dozens of other languages and subsequently received global distribution.
Erna Tauro, née Pergament, was a Finnish-Swedish pianist and composer.
Vivica Aina Fanny Bandler was a Finnish-Swedish theatre director and agronomist. She bought a theatre in Helsinki in 1955 and is credited for popularizing avant-garde Finnish theatre. She was also theatre director in Oslo (1967-69) and at the Stockholm City Theatre (1969-1979).
Moomin mugs are a series of collectible mugs with Moomin characters, manufactured by the Finnish ceramics brand Arabia. The mugs are designed by Tove Slotte, with the images based on original drawings by cartoonists Tove and Lars Jansson. The mug itself is a 0.3 litres ceramics mug of the series "Teema", designed by Kaj Franck in the late 1970s.
Moomins on the Riviera is a 2014 Finnish-French animated family comedy film directed by Xavier Picard and produced by Hanna Hemilä, who is also co-director. The film is based on Moomin comic strips by Tove Jansson and Lars Jansson.
Moomin is a Dutch-Japanese anime television series produced by Telecable Benelux B.V. and animated by Telescreen Japan. Based on the Moomin novels and comic strips by the Finnish illustrator and author Tove Jansson and her brother Lars Jansson, it was the third anime adaptation of the property and the first to receive distribution in other countries worldwide. Moomin first aired on TV Tokyo from April 12, 1990, to October 3, 1991. The series had also been dubbed into English and aired on CBBC in United Kingdom during the same year.
Metsä is a Nordic-themed entertainment complex in Hannō, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. The complex consists of Metsä Village, entertainment and leisure area which opened in November 2018, and Moominvalley Park, which opened in 2019. The park was initially planned to start operation in 2015 to mark the 100th birthday of Tove Jansson. On June 30, 2015, it was announced that the opening would be delayed until 2017 at the earliest. On December 6, 2016, the opening date was further delayed to spring 2019.
Sniff is a character in the Moomin stories created by Tove Jansson. His debut is in the first Moomin-book The Moomins and the Great Flood. In addition to books, he is also a prominent character in the Moomin comics and animations.