Maruman (マルマン)

Maruman was born in 1920 as a maker of drawing pads, and remains the leading supplier to Japanese art schools with its Croquis range and its unmistakable kraft-paper covers.

Its most exported line carries the name of the Greek goddess of memory. Mnemosyne, launched in 2007, embraces total austerity: black cover, double spiral, smooth low-show-through paper and a single guiding idea — hold a meeting and walk away with clean detachable pages. It is one of the rare Japanese notebooks designed for the adult office rather than the illustrated journal.