Atelier Fauni

{{Short description|Finnish company}}

File:Helena-Martti-Kuuskoski.jpg

Atelier Fauni was a Finnish arts and crafts studio, operating from 1952–1971 in Finland.

It was founded in 1952 in Naantali by {{ill|Helena Kuuskoski|fi}} and her husband, the actor {{ill|Martti Kuuskoski|fi}} (1917–2011). From Naantali, and later in Tusby and Träskända, the company made soft toys, mainly in the form of handmade trolls made from leather, fabric and skin.

The studio was best known for their Moomin figurines, which were produced from 1955 and are now collectors' items.{{Cite web |last=Korhonen |first=Risto |date=2014-01-28 |title=Fauni-peikkojen äiti loi ensimmäiset muumi-figuurit |trans-title=The mother of the Fauni trolls created the first Moomin figures |url=https://www.hs.fi/ihmiset/art-2000002705518.html |access-date=2023-01-23 |website=Helsingin Sanomat |language=fi}} The studio initially did not have a license to produce Moomin merchandise, but Tove Jansson liked the dolls, and between 1955 and 1971 they had Jansson's permission to create the Moomin figurines.{{Cite news |date=23 September 2019 |title=Hur mycket är Mumintroll från 1950-talet värda? |work=Allas |url=https://www.allas.se/inredning/hur-mycket-ar-mumintroll-fran-1950-talet-varda/145878 |access-date=5 January 2022 |language=Swedish}} Moomin merchandise has become popular collectors items, and Atelier Fauni's production belongs to the more valuable toys.{{cite news |last1=Ländin |first1=Johannes |title=Fynda fina finska antikviteter |work=Året Runt |date=17 February 2015 |pages=28–29 |language=Swedish}} The individually most popular figure, however, was the sumppi troll, which also inspired a band, which went by the name of the troll.{{cite news |last1=Lindfors |first1=Jukka |title=Sumpit toivat beatmusan Peikkometsään |url=https://yle.fi/aihe/artikkeli/2014/08/07/sumpit-toivat-beatmusan-peikkometsaan |access-date=18 January 2023 |work=Yle |date=7 August 2014 |language=Finnish}} Their creations also inspired a theme park, Peikkometsä, in Järvenpää.

The atelier name comes from the Roman forest god, Faunus.

Atelier Fauni was re-established in the U.S. in the 1970s by Kuuskoski and her children under the name Troll Store. Helena Kuuskoski died in Wilmington, North Carolina on September 1, 2013.