The summery bloom of Summer ray adorns Arabia’s new Runo tableware

Arabia Runo Summer Ray

The story of Arabia’s Runo tableware collection continues on the threshold of summer.

The vibrant fantasy flora drawn by ceramic artist Heini Riitahuhta sprawl across the new Summer Ray dishes. They turn a table setting into visual poetry. Runo brings to life Arabia’s strong decorative tradition, in which the artist’s vision is transferred to ceramic items as a rich, surface-filling element.

The Runo collection was launched in 2009. Runo’s story draws inspiration from nature and the changing seasons. The collection is adorned by Summer Ray, Autumn Glow, Winter Star, Spring Drop, and the wintry Frost Berry. The patterns are not static — the story lives and flourishes, inspired by the rhythm of the seasons.

After a short break, Summer Ray was reintroduced to the collection in 2025, and this spring the pattern becomes even richer in new pieces:

• 21 cm plate
• coffee cup
• saucer
• small bowl

Unique colour talent with a rich decorative tradition

Arabia’s rich decorative tradition is strongly present in Runo, where the artist’s drawing covers the item’s entire surface. However, Runo differs from a typical pattern. The decoration varies from dish to dish, and every item in the set is individual.

Riitahuhta has created unique flora for Runo:

“Runo’s plants, blossoms, flower heads and seed pods are products of my imagination. Different varieties occasionally grow from the same stem. In a single flower, I may have used features from six different plants.”

“I brought more ornamental richness to the new Summer Ray items: pink has gained a larger role alongside green, and red serves as an accent colour,” the designer continues.

The Runo pattern flows effortlessly from one surface to the next. The design continues seamlessly across the collection, creating a playful visual symphony that brings each piece to life. Arabia’s unique colour expertise is especially visible in this collection, and the tones work beautifully alongside older Arabia pieces.

A collection like a poem

The theme colour of the Runo pattern is ink blue. It ties the different seasons together and gives the miniature decoration of the maker’s mark on the base of the pieces its colour. A rich colour palette and sprawling decoration allow endless combinations of dishes.

In table settings, Runo tableware can be arranged so that the pattern continues across the pieces, creating an uninterrupted cascade of flora on the table.

“Runo invites you to enjoy a riot of colour! For celebrations, we may set the table with dishes and drinkware of different colours to complement the Runo pieces. Sometimes, the table setting is complemented by Birger Kaipiainen’s black-and-white Paratiisi, which shares its shape with Runo,” says Riitahuhta.

“At a table, during shared dining occasions, people encounter one another as equals. Equality is part of our tableware culture and is more broadly integrated into the foundations of Finnish design,” she continues.

The Runo tableware collection takes its name — meaning poem in Finnish — from the designer’s childhood hobby, when she began writing poetry:

“When I was small, I dreamt of being a poet. Ultimately, this collection became my poem — expressed in the language that I know best. The beauty of household items is that they find their way into many homes. Each user can create their own visual poem with them,” notes Riitahuhta.

Runo Summer Ray will be launched for sale starting from 8 April 2026 in Japan only at local points of sale.