Done differently – the most inspiring new products of the month
The Boss Lady mug features Snorkmaiden dreaming of a more ambitious lifestyle, only to discover that office life is hardly a match for her hopelessly romantic nature.
The Talk it all Out mug carries a romance of its own: poor Snorkmaiden is struck by jealousy when Moomintroll falls for a visitor who has arrived in the valley. Happily, things work out for the two of them in the end.
Mischief in Moominvalley
Tove Jansson was known for thinking differently, so it comes as no surprise that the Moomins question a few conventions of their own.
Jansson was at her most rebellious in the original comic strips, and that's where Moomin Arabia found the inspiration for new Rebel Club mugs. The colors are wild, and the tone is funny, bringing just enough mischief to the coffee table with the gentle but fair spirit the Moomins are known for.
• Moomin Arabia’s Rebel Club mug >
• All products by Moomin Arabia >
HAY's Backflip has a curved seat and backrest in beech veneer, where the grain of the wood forms a pattern of its own. The frame is solid wood, which makes the chair pleasantly steady to sit on.
Quietly practical
Thinking differently isn't always loud rebellion. Sometimes it's just practicality, dictated by everyday life. HAY's new arrival for autumn is Backflip, a wooden folding chair, designed by Gudmundur Ludvik for the shifting demands of modern living. The Backflip chair works at home and in public spaces alike, at the dining table, in a meeting room, or as an extra seat at a party.
The Backflip chair folds flat with a mechanism built into the backrest, where it stays out of sight while you're sitting down. Once folded, the chair can be hung on the wall with a mount sold separately, keeping the floor clear when you don't need the extra seat.
• HAY’s Backflip folding chair >
• All products by HAY >
Normann Copenhagen’s Bit stool is an everyday piece of furniture with more than just one job.
Small stool with big character
Normann Copenhagen's Bit stool brings practicality home as well, and this autumn it arrives in a set of new colors. Designed by Simon Legald, the versatile little stool earns its keep several times over: it works as a seat, as a side table, or as a stand for flowers and plants.
It’s the dotted surface that gives the stool its big character. The quirky Bit is made from recycled plastic, and as the melted, colored fragments settle during production, they land a little differently on each one, so every stool comes out with a pattern of its own.
• Normann Copenhagen’s Bit stool >
• All products by Normann Copenhagen >
Made from washed European linen, the Kokki apron simply ties around the waist.
The secret ingredient
Lapuan Kankurit's Kokki pattern is Finnish designer Elina Helenius' take on the checked weave that turns up in kitchen textiles everywhere. As any decent recipe would have it, there is something unexpected in the mix: Kokki is jacquard-woven on a single-colour warp using a double-layer structure, which means the pattern appears on both sides of the cloth in different shades.
The Kokki textiles are woven from washed European linen, a fabric with exceptional absorbency. Linen also creases as it is used, which is why the apron never needs ironing: a few wrinkles are part of how it is meant to look.
• Lapuan Kankurit’s Kokki apron >
• All products by Lapuan Kankurit >
Botané's arrangements stay in bloom all year, whatever the season outside.
Even at close range, the flowers pass for the real thing.
Blooming forever
Artificial flowers and plants have long been something of a taboo in interiors. The Danish design brand Botané pays no attention to that, and makes flower arrangements you have to see up close before you can tell them from the real thing – if you can tell at all.
The range covers ready-made bouquets and single stems alike, and there is plenty to choose from: peonies, tulips, poppies, hydrangeas, eucalyptus branches, fern leaves, to mention a few. There is one difference, of course: Botané's flowers never wilt. They don't need watering, either, which the lazier gardeners among us will appreciate.
• Botané’s Elegant Lily bouquet >
• All products by Botané >
See also:
• What’s new at Finnish Design Shop >
Images: Manufacturers
Published on 28 Aug, 2026
