The ARABIA, VUOKKO cup and saucer series caught me by surprise with its lightness, far beyond its appearance, when I first held it. It is one of the vintage cups that I use most frequently in ARABIA, with its simple design and thin lip.
Its unadorned design may seem dull at first glance, but it feels fitting for an everyday cup. The designer Raija Uosikkinen was strongly influenced by modernism in the early 1960s when this cup was made.
Modernism
A cultural and artistic movement from the late 19th to the 20th century, pursuing simplicity and clarity, removing unnecessary decorations.
Vuokko, meaning anemone in Finnish, is depicted with each petal drawn in delicate, smoky green lines. The cup I introduced in a previous article, ‘The Deep Indigo World | Arabia Anemone’s Charm,’ also features the same anemone motif. However, compared to the design where the brush strokes and dynamism can be felt, this one holds a very contrasting impression of tranquility. When researching the frequently used theme of anemones, I found that the anemone symbolizes the arrival of spring. After a long and dark winter, this flower heralding the beginning of a new season also appears to be a symbol of hope and joy.
A personal discovery about this cup is its thin lip. A thin lip on the cup allows the drink to touch the tongue directly, reducing the area where the lips contact.
Especially good for enjoying specialty coffee, particularly lightly roasted to medium single-origin where you can appreciate subtle changes. I hadn’t thought about it deeply before, but while writing this, it struck me.
I’ve introduced you to the ARABIA Vuokko series this time, focusing on its simple design and thin lip. Until writing this, I hadn’t been fully conscious of why I use it so often, but it seems that the very fact of ‘using it before thinking’ encapsulates the reason why it feels so suitable for everyday use.