This commemorative plate was handed out during a factory tour of Arabia, a leading Finnish ceramic maker. It seems to be from the 1980's and is quite rare. On the back, it says "factory tour" in English, Swedish, Finnish and German. In Japanese, it says ``factory tour,'' and you can see that it was made for sightseeing. The Arabia building in Helsinki, the capital city, still retains its former appearance, but the interior has been renovated into a design center and is now a direct sales store for Iittala products. The factory tour ended a long time ago, and it seems that the distribution of this mamezara was temporary. The designer is Tove Slotte, who is known for the design of the Moomin mug of ARABIA, and her signature is printed on the back. Treat it as a rare collector's item.
■ Details Manufacturer: ARABIA / Arabia Designer: Tove Slotte Age: 1980s (estimated)
Country of Origin: Finland Condition: ★★★★★ (5: Complete)
It was used as a decorative plate and has no notable damage. It is in mint condition and retains its appearance well when it was manufactured.
■ Tove Slotte (1957-)
Born in Turku, a port city facing the Baltic Sea in western Helsinki. At an early age, he became familiar with Tove Jansson's Moomin picture books, novels, and comics. Although he was active as a freelance designer, he worked for a short period from 1985 to 1990 at ARABIA, where he designed tableware for Moomin. Many of Jansson's original paintings are black and white, so Slotte reconstructs the lines and colors them so as not to destroy the atmosphere of the original painting. Tracing paper is then applied to tableware, and round mugs and other items are beautifully reproduced.
