Papier Tigre. Notebook A5/Atelier Mouti, Notebook A5

You would have thought that in this virtual age, the hegemony of screens and keyboards would have done away with the very real pleasure of writing on a nice sheet of paper. Wrong! The fact is that the stationery business is in great shape, to which the large variety of brands big and small bears witness.
In just a few years, stationery has burst onto the décor and fashion scenes. Can you think of a concept
store that doesn’t sell stationery? Impossible! Although in the past these products may have been a tad
dreary, today they have become the perfect gifts for others or to treat yourself. In Beloved alone, there are more fifty brands so you are literally spoilt for choice.

The zeitgeist is favourable to this creative effervescence in the world of paper. “The bigger the place
internet takes in our life, the more we need to get away from the virtual world and ephemeral E-mails. We still write, in fact we write a lot. There is a return to paper, but it is not symptomatic of an attachment to the past. Stationery used to be tedious, but now it has integrated notions of quality and luxury with fun products that convey the idea of pleasure”, asserts Maxime Brenon.
The latter, who founded Papier Tigre in 2011, is one of the pioneers who are developing this new and
creative take on stationery.
“This appetite for paper goes hand in hand with our increasingly hyperconnected lifestyles. There is a
flagrant need for materiality”, adds the founder of La Petite Papeterie Française, Sylvie Bétard. Vaunting the merits of her “Slow Office manifesto”, she advocates “lovely and environmentally-friendly
stationery” that features paper made from recycled almond, olive, leather, seaweed and kiwi waste etc.

To meet the needs of a clientele looking for these new kinds of stationery, brands are opening bricks and mortar establishments. After its Parisian store, Papier Tigre is opening a boutique/café combined with a development office targeting the Japanese market in Tokyo’s Nihonbashi district. In Paris’ Marais, Mark’s, the leading Japanese brand with 6,000 sales outlets worldwide and 21 shops in Japan, is opening a concept store, Mark’Style Tokyo. Designer Melissa Paszkiewicz, who founded Atelier Mouti, has also just invested in her own boutique/ showroom/workshop in Paris’ 18th arrondissement. As for Monsieur
Papier, the brand has opened a café/stationery shop facing the ocean on the Pointe du Raz in Brittany.

It is also noteworthy that luxury brands are increasingly adding this category of products to their ranges, think for example of Hermès’ silk twill covered notebooks. Christian Lacroix was at the origin of this trend with collections that reflected the couture label’s baroque chic aesthetic. Great names of design such as Normann Copenhagen, Hay, Tom Dixon and Monocle have also produced items of stationery. “Luxury brands ask us to design collections that are in tune with their universe”, explains Sylvie Bétard, who has worked for the Parisian Panache hotel for example. As a consequence of this new-found passion for paper – between the offer of small and highly creative companies and the leading names in luxury and fashion who are putting their brand on products in this new sector – there is now something for everyone, whatever your taste. The covers of note and exercise books mirror our desires and reflect a diversity of lifestyles and trends. A totally whimsical approach has been very successful for Letterbox ever since 1982, whereas Monsieur Papier has opted for sustainable manufacturing processes. Carnet Soumkine, founded by the graphic artist and typologist Fiodor Sumkin, counts on retro chic, handmade products. Xavier Le Gall’s French brand, Soixante 5, targets the high-end market with an artisanal marriage of leather and paper. Barcelona-based Octaevo sells bespoke products and completes its range with the Craftsman collection of paper vases.

This growing interest in the world of the office should continue to allow items of stationery to express their different visions, indeed  the notebook could well become “the 21st century’s candle”, in other words an affordable and appealing product that means customers can adhere to a brand without breaking
the bank. It is also a way of expressing your personality with a notebook that stands out from the crowd and bringing a touch of luxury into your life. In conclusion, “it is a buoyant market’ says Maxime Brenon, especially as stationery generates healthy profit margins.

To discover (amongst others) at Beloved in Hall 6

www.papiertigre.fr
www.lapetitepapeteriefrancaise.fr
www.atelier-mouti.com
www.marks-japan.eu
www.monsieurpapier.fr
www.letterbox.fr
www.soixante5.com
www.christian-lacroix.com
www.octaevo.com