Issey Miyake has introduced a new design item called Note-a-Note, and the only thing that comes to mind first is that I want-a-want. In the age of manifestations, affirmations, and journaling, one could genuinely get excited by a good-looking book, and Issey Miyake and Moleskine cleverly deliver. The project between Miyake Design Studio and Moleskine makes writing on paper as joyful again as it was before digital notes took over. A large populace would still agree there is no replacement for writing on paper, even in an increasingly digital age.
With Note-a-Note, one gets the best of a notebook, a card case, and a memory capsule, perfect for jotting ideas, meeting notes, or keeping an everlasting record of thoughts. Sized like a card wallet, this hardcover business card holder opens to reveal two expandable pockets built into the inside covers. It may look diminutive, but each pocket can hold up to 20 cards, for a total of forty.
The magic of writing takes place in the center, where a seemingly endless folded insert made from one continuous sheet of paper allows you to pour out your stream of thoughts. It is a typical trait of Issey Miyake, whose legacy is built on pleating and structural manipulation of fabric. The pages are beautifully pleated into 14 tiny accordion folds. Inspired by traditional Japanese emakimono scrolls, which unroll to reveal painted illustrations, the Note-a-Note comes in an array of attractive hues. From classic black to myrtle green, gray, earth brown, brilliant blue, scarlet red, dandelion yellow, and orange, each one is striking and sells for $46.
A video shows that Note-a-Note is much more than a book with pages and pockets. It’s a rare fusion of art and utility, practical, tactile, and timeless, adapting the A-POC concept (short for “A Piece of Cloth”) that emerged from Issey Miyake’s studio in the late 1990s. Compact enough to carry yet spacious enough for your thoughts, it’s neatly secured with an elastic band that cinches the middle.
Owning one also places you in the same creative company as Van Gogh, Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, and travel writer Bruce Chatwin, all known to carry Moleskine’s simple black pocket notebooks.
