Arabia Ruska: brown ware that carries a Finnish autumn

Brown ware doesn't sound especially tempting.

Put a piece in daylight and the impression changes. Pale honey through to something close to dark chocolate, shifting within a single plate. It is not a flat brown.

That is what Arabia's Ruska is.

"Ruska" means autumn colour

Ruska is the Finnish word for autumn foliage — the short spell when northern forests turn red and brown.

Nordic autumn is over quickly. The series takes that moment and holds it.

We think that is why Ruska sells so well in Japan: the sense of autumn colour needs no explanation there. It is no accident that the browns sit well on a Japanese table either. Next to kohiki or amber-glazed ware, the boundary almost disappears.

Why every piece is different

There is a concrete reason for the variation.

Powdered iron was sprayed over a matte glaze before firing. Spraying is never even. Some areas come out pale, others sink into depth. That becomes the character of each piece.

Variation produced by the process, not by failure. The series assumes it.

Ulla Procopé (1921–1968)

Ruska was designed by Ulla Procopé.

She graduated in 1948 and joined Arabia's hand-painting department, moving to model and decoration two years later. She designed both shape and pattern, leaving Liekki (1957–1978), Valencia (1960–2002), Anemone, Ruska and Meri. She received a diploma of honour at the 1957 Milan Triennale.

On 21 December 1968 she died, aged forty-seven, of silicosis — an occupational disease from decades of dust in the factory.

Ruska went on being made for thirty-one years after she was gone.

Forty years in production

Ruska was launched in 1960 and produced from 1961 until 1999, one of Arabia's longest runs.

A long run means two things for a buyer. Pieces can still be found. And there is forty years of range within the series.

The shapes

Plates, teacups and saucers, coffee pots, bowls, lidded pieces, egg cups. Ruska comes in a surprising number of forms.

The most useful is the side-plate size: it works with anything and takes daily use. The teacup and saucer suits coffee and Japanese tea equally.

Ruska at Wasurenagusa

Sometimes several pieces come at once, sometimes just one. When we can lay them out and compare the range of browns, we try to get that into the product photographs.