In the mid-1970s Fog & Mørup made a brief return to its roots in ironmongery when it embarked upon a collaboration with Finnish company Arabia which embraced several lines of enamelled steel kitchenware and lighting. First to appear, in 1973, was the Finella range, pictured below.

The Finella advertisements included the legend: “Her eyes widen in surprise. She thought that Arabia was only glass and porcelain. And now she gets the finest cookware – in wonderful non-fading enamel colours on special steel.” No designers were acknowledged in the advertisement, but the coffee jug at right back is a 1957/58 Antti Nurmesniemi design on permanent display at Helsinki’s Design Museum and New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). The jug at centre back has been attributed to Kaj Franck, and the book Finnish Design 1875–1975: 100 years of Finnish Industrial Design attributes the pans to Seppo Mallat. 

In 1974 a new, more colourful range of F&M/Arabia kitchenware was launched (pictured above), entitled Kalas and produced initially in yellow, red and green, and later also in brown. “Arabia enamel,” the advert said, “is like having nature come right in through the kitchen door! Arabia is Finnish applied art in bright, clear, natural colours, decorated with beautiful forest flower motifs.” The Kalas kitchenware was accompanied by matching Kalas lights in two sizes (below). 

Although the Arabia company logo did not appear in the advertisements for the lights, the blurb explained that “F&M has developed an exciting and versatile lamp, inspiration for which comes from the prestigious Finnish Arabia cookware.” 

Other design variations in both kitchenware and lighting followed, including Rondo (pictured above) in late 1974, described as “a brand new pot series of yellow and red with wonderful – slightly Japanese-inspired – decorations, designed by one of Arabia’s famous Finnish artists”, and Troubadour (pictured below), which appeared around 1976. 

With the designers and decorators of these lines unacknowledged in the advertisements, various members of Arabia’s design team (Raija Uosikkinen and Esteri Tomula among them) have subsequently been proposed as their creators. If anyone has reliable information on the subject we’d love to hear it: please email us at info@classic-modern.co.uk.