What is Moomin without the sea? What is the sea without Moomin? For jewellery designer Lina Simons, the sea and Moomin are intimately connected. Then again she spent all her childhood summers just a few nautical miles from Klovharun, Tove Jansson’s beloved island in the Finnish archipelago.

The silver piece Moments is Lina’s tribute to Tove’s world, to her imagination and the values that constituted Tove’s moral compass.

– One cannot overestimate what Tove has taught several generations of Moomin friends about love, tolerance and humanity. I have admired Tove and her life’s work since I was a little girl. And the way the world looks today, we need Tove’s wisdom more than ever, says Lina.

Moments is her interpretation of two central themes in Tove’s stories: kindness and togetherness.

– The idea was that the seashell halves should seek each other, the same way that the toffles and other little creatures seek the comfort of the Moominvalley.

Moments is also Lina’s tribute to the Moomintroll. He loves the sea, and collecting stones and seashells makes him happy. Sharing his treasures with Snork Maiden makes him even happier.

– Lifelong memories are born in those special moments when we feel togetherness and can share something meaningful, like a beautiful seashell, says Lina.

Just like the Moomintroll, Lina has been looking for treasures along the seashores since she was a child, and today nature’s own forms is her most important source of inspiration. Thus, the seashell was an obvious point of departure for her contribution to the Our Sea campaign.

– The seashell is an important part of the ecosystem in the Baltic Sea, and also a strong motive in Tove’s world. She communicates so many of her thoughts through it, like when Toffle asks What do you do with a seashell if you cannot show it to anyone?

Lina also thinks the seashell symbolises the perfect design, which she is constantly on the outlook for.

– My eyes are always seeking new forms that I reinterpret into jewellery. Once I have worked my way and found the perfect design, it gives me that fantastic feeling of butterflies in my stomach and I just know the form is right.

That the Moments jewellery is produced in Finland from mostly recycled silver was an obvious choice for Lina.

– I love the fact that silver jewellery can be polished, repaired year after year and recycled. As a designer I want to create jewellery which is a counterbalance to today’s throwaway society. I create jewellery that will be passed down through generations. Just like Tove’s wisdoms.

From moomin.com
The Moments necklace is the most beautiful tribute to the Moomin family and the Baltic Sea