- Moleskine
-
Inside view of a Moleskine ruled notebook; the elastic band is visible on the right, as is the bookmark in the center.
Moleskine is a brand of notebooks, planners, diaries, sketchbooks and albums manufactured by Moleskine Srl, an Italian company based in Milan. Moleskine notebooks are typically bound in coated paper cardboard, with an elastic band to hold the notebook closed, a sewn spine that allows it to lie flat when opened, cream colored paper, rounded corners, a ribbon bookmark, and an expandable pocket inside the rear cover, packed in a paper banderole.
Moleskine does not have an official pronunciation as it is a "brand name with undefined national identity".[1] The Italian pronunciation is [mɔleˈskiːne].
Contents
History
Notebooks with the same features as the present Moleskine notebooks were a popular standard in 19th and 20th century Europe, handmade by small French bookbinders who supplied the stationery shops of Paris. As documented by many art collections and museums, in the late 19th to early 20th centuries, these nameless notebooks became a prominent creative tool for avant-garde artists who enjoyed drawing and writing outdoors, putting down impressions on paper, painting from life in the streets and cafés, and capturing extemporary scenes, ideas, and emotions.
Among artists who used similar black notebooks were Oscar Wilde, Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway and Henri Matisse.
The present Moleskine notebook is specifically fashioned after Bruce Chatwin's descriptions of the notebooks he used in his travels. The name itself of “Moleskine” is a nickname that Chatwin uses in one of his most celebrated writings, The Songlines (1986). In this book Chatwin tells the story of his original supplier of notebooks, a Paris stationer who in 1986 informed him that the last notebook manufacturer, a small family-run firm in Tours, had discontinued production that year, after the death of the owner. “Le vrai Moleskine n’est plus” ("The real Moleskine is no more") are the words Chatwin puts in the mouth of the owner of the stationery shop in Rue de l’Ancienne Comédie.[2]
In 1997 a small company based in Milan named Modo & Modo SpA decided to bring this kind of notebook back to life, establishing the Moleskine trademark and starting production of Moleskine notebooks with 5000 pieces. In 1999 Modo & Modo SpA started distributing outside Italy, in the US and Europe. In 2004 Moleskine notebooks arrived in Japan and from there Moleskine started distribution in the rest of Asia. Perhaps due to their link to the literary and cultural heritage of the Moleskine notebooks, bookshop retailers and design stores everywhere are the main distribution channel.
In 2006, according to an article in The Daily Telegraph, the company’s small staff was unable to keep up with demand.[3] In August 2006, the French investment fund Société Générale Capital purchased Modo & Modo SpA and started investing in its expansion. The company name changed into “Moleskine Srl”. According to an article in the German magazine Brand Eins, Moleskine notebooks are now distributed in 53 countries, through 14,000 stores, 65% of which are bookshops.[4]
On April 18, 2011, an official Moleskine note taking app was released for iOS (Apple).[5]
Moleskine production
Moleskine notebookMoleskine items are designed in Italy. Most of them are printed, assembled and stitched in China. Since 2008, large formats for Volant, Cahiers and Folio hard cover collections have been manufactured in Turkey. Watercolour paper is supplied by a specialist French manufacturer. Moleskine Srl claims to invest considerable resources in the research of ever-new potential suppliers, according to criteria of quality, price, logistics and fairness. Details printed on the external label band indicate production details. Each item has a quality control number connected to a specific production lot number. The localization of production in China has been criticized by members of the community of Moleskine users. See Controversy (below).
Moleskine notebooks are made with acid-free paper. Paper for Folio collection is Forest Stewardship Council certified. According to Moleskine Srl all suppliers are selected after careful screening about quality standards. Labour and environmental fairness criteria are included in specific clauses of all suppliers’ agreements.
Communities
Moleskine is a brand supported by worldwide communities of enthusiasts who write, sketch, paint and draw on Moleskine notebooks. These communities often share images of decorated pages through blogs, social networks or photo and video sharing platforms. The Moleskine team had organized the first Passions Book Journal Asia Travel Show in year 2010, this involved the communities members like Tan Haur,[6][7] Gwen Yip and many more to share their personal passions in sketches, writing and collages with the audiences in Hong Kong, Bangkok, Singapore, Malaysia and China.[8] The active members have influenced more and more talented people to join the group and these communities have grown independently from Moleskine srl, even though they are becoming a growing focus of attention for the company, as Business Week reported in May 2007.[9] According to official statements, Moleskine srl highly values the opinions of Moleskine users, replies personally to everyone through customer care and is in direct contact with various Moleskine communities.[10]
iPhone and iPad apps
Starting in April 2011, Moleskine has made a web application available for iPhone and iPad users from the iTunes app store. The app allows you to customize your virtual Moleskine notebook according the company's real-world designs. The app functions in some cases like a pared down content management system, allowing users to organize their writing using customized categories, inserting images, assigning tags and geotags, and then posting the result online at any number of social networking sites and services. The Moleskine app has received lukewarm reviews on iTunes, and has been reviewed as lacking compatibility with other native and cloud applications and services like Dropbox[11].
Controversy
Production based in China has generated criticism among some Moleskine users.[12] According to official statements by Moleskine Srl,[13] production is mostly based in China because of quality and tradition in the Chinese paper industry, with a unique combination of automated and handmade manufacturing. All Moleskine suppliers are ISO 9001 certified and most of them are ISO 14000 certified. Specific clauses in the supply agreement bind each producer to a given set of strict labour standards.
In 2010 Moleskine began labeling many of their products with California's Prop 65 warning label. The warning concerns a chemical that is known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm.[14] The chemical of concern is known as DEHP (Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate), a type of plastic softener used in all Moleskine notebook covers except for the Cahier line which are made of cardboard. This new warning has caused many users of Moleskines to question the company's commitment to high environmental and safety standards.[15]
Since August 2010, all Moleskine new products offered to retailers, in California and throughout the world, are Prop 65 compliant.[16]References
- ^ Moleskine.com "How to Pronounce the Name Moleskine"
- ^ The Songlines, p.179-81
- ^ Horowitz, Jason (2004-10-16), "Does a Moleskine notebook tell the truth?", International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 2007-08-31.
- ^ brand eins, February 2008, "Das ungeschriebene Buch".
- ^ http://ca.gizmodo.com/5792977/moleskines-official-iphone-app-lets-you-scribble-notes-on-plain-ruled-or-squared-paper
- ^ http://www.moleskineasia.com/Events-hk/Book-hk
- ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tan_Haur
- ^ http://www.moleskine.cn/Events-cn/Book-cn
- ^ Business Week reported in May 2007
- ^ Moleskine communities
- ^ Moleskine for iPad: Write at your own risk.
- ^ Google Groups: Molsekinerie
- ^ Moleskine.com "Moleskine Quality"
- ^ Moleskineus.com: Posting of Prop.65 Notification
- ^ Moleskinerie.com: Complaints from users about a previously unnoticed odor.
- ^ State of California Proposition65 Labeling Law
External links
Categories:- Manufacturing companies
- Stationery
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
