Interview BULLS LICENSING
Moomin. From Magic Illustrations through Lifestyle Icon WE TALK ABOUT BACKGROUND AND FUTURE OF THIS GLOBAL BRAND TOGETHER WITH GUSTAV MELIN, HEAD OF INTERNATIONAL LICENSING AT BULLS LICENSING, THE LICENSING AGENCY WHICH REPRESENTS MOOMINS WORLD-WIDE. The first licensing categories the brand moved into were toys, confectionery and tableware. A Finnish company called Atelier Fauni made the first Moomin dolls without Tove Jansson’s permission in 1955, but since she liked the dolls so much they made a contract and Fauni Moomins became official Moomin
Gustav Melin LM Could you tell us briefly the story of Moomins and how they have become an icon GM. At its heart are the stories and artwork created by acclaimed Finnish artist Tove Jansson, which date back to 1945. A hugely talented author and illustrator – as well as painter – Tove created a magical world inhabited by characters which are at the same time fantastical and highly relatable, and which appeal to fans young and old. Universal themes of family, love, friendship, tolerance, respect and adventure run through the stories, and are as relevant and important in today’s world as they were when the stories were first written.
products. Ceramics manufacturer Arabia launched its first Moomin products, a pair of children’s dishes, back in the 1950s. They’ve been selling Moomin products ever since and their range of Moomin mugs are now highly desirable collectors’
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items. The collaboration with confectioner Fazer was a natural fit, as in the first Moomin story, The Moomins and the Great Flood, Tove included an illustration of Moomintroll and Sniff eating Fazer chocolate. Fazer sold its first Moomin candies in 1957. So yes, there was a wide range of licensing prior to the first animation – although of course it gave a big boost to the licensing programme. Moomin is now one of the world’s most recognisable character-