In a short film produced by ITO Bindery, anonymous hands slot geometrically precise blocks in layers, and stickers describing the products are applied with just the hand and the eye. You see only simple tools at work: a paintbrush, a butter knife, and a metal ruler; book glue and two skilled hands. Everything is assembled and packed manually with exacting care.

Founded by Haruo Ito in 1938, ITO Bindery traded as a simple bookbinding business named Hakucho-do. When the business passed to Ito’s son, Toshio, in the late 1980s, the business changed a little too, adopting its current name.
It wasn’t until 2009 that ITO Bindery began developing the notepads that we know and love today, but they were almost immediate successes. Their sobriety belies a deft originality, the kind that comes from following an idea from beginning to end with thought and method.

Ito’s care, delicacy and precision match our own, and we’re glad to have become one of their first supporters in the Netherlands in 2016. We have them on display in our shop in Amsterdam, and available online both nationally and internationally.