Weaving a Life Story with Pen and Paper

One day, the Hobonichi Techo team received the following email:

Hello, I hope that my email finds you well. I am going to travel to Tokyo, as I have been invited by Short Shorts Film Festival to attend the Award Ceremony. A short movie done for my store was shortlisted. I’d like to visit while I’m in Tokyo.
― From Take Note owner, Jolanta

We watched the video linked in the email and were quite moved. Rather than try to explain it ourselves, we recommend just watching the short film first:

You never find out what the main characters look or sound like. There also aren’t any major events. What you see instead is a tabletop like any family would have, and a simple pen and paper. So how can it be so moving, and tug so strongly at our heartstrings?

The short film is entitled “Notes - a life story, a love story.” We felt an affinity with the film, as the Hobonichi Techo shares similarities with its own “Life Book” theme. We decided to meet up with Jolanta while she was in Japan for the film festival so we could talk about it.

―: Welcome to Japan, Jolanta! So you’re the owner of a stationery store.

Jolanta: I opened my store Take Note two years ago in Canada. Before that, while still in Poland, I pursued a Masters Degree in Environmental Engineering. When we arrived in Canada, I attended the Ontario College of Art & Design and received my Bachelors Degree in Fine Arts. I also designed my own line of leather handbags named YOLA, and later went on to become a buyer for different stationery stores. I think the combination of these experiences in my life cultivated a passion for identifying where impeccable design and beauty intersect. When I started my own shop, it was a goal of mine to visit stationery shops here, but I never dreamed I would be visiting Tokyo for something like this!

―: So you’ve always been interested in Japanese stationery.

Jolanta: I feel like there’s a stronger appreciation for stationery in Japan than in Western culture. We had a stationery culture once, but it was quickly abandoned when everything turned digital. Only a fraction of stationery was left, but in Japan, even though you have digital media, you still cultivate that high quality in paper, notebooks, and pens.

―: Yes, it seems that way. So, how did you come to participate in the Japanese film festival?

Jolanta: The idea for the movie actually started from a conversation with a customer.

―: Wow, just talking with a customer!

Jolanta: The movie turned out really well, so I posted it on our Facebook page around Valentine’s Day. We got a lot of shares and comments from people who enjoyed the video, and in the end I was asked to submit it to the Short Shorts festival.

―: We heard you won the Grand Prix for Branded Shorts of the Year in the International category, which included international companies and organizations. Congratulations!

Jolanta: Thank you. I still pinch myself and can’t believe it! (laughs)

―: Tell us more about the conversation you had with your customers that started it all.

Jolanta: I was talking with one of my regular customers about how I have a bunch of letters written by my father. I’ve always kept them, and every time I read them, they feel more and more alive. My father was a beautiful writer, and would mix storytelling and jokes, so I really treasure his letters.

―: What a wonderful story.

Jolanta: And my customer was telling me that she has love letters her grandfather had written for her grandmother 80 years ago, and she treasures them.

―: Wow, 80 years ago!

We talked about how sad it was that most of the communication nowadays is done through text and emails, so it’s not personal. But handwriting has its characteristics, the color and feel of the paper, and it becomes more memorable.

―: That’s true.

Jolanta: That conversation sparked the idea that it would make a great story for a short movie. She worked at a creative agency and introduced me to the team that would film the short.

―: I see.

Jolanta: I shared the concept with them, and let them make all the decisions for filming. When they showed me the final piece, it was very nice. The story was simple yet genuine. It showed the characters weaving through life, facing problems in their marriage, solving them, and staying together as they keep moving on. There were no dramatic moments in their lives, but somehow their lives are made by these small, valuable moments.

―: It was nice to see that message and how well it expresses the concept of the Hobonichi Techo’s daily pages, and the way the book is crafted by all the little things in our everyday lives.

Jolanta: Right.

―: There are all different kinds of stationery in the movie. Do these also serve as a kind of product promotion for your store?

Jolanta: I didn’t want to promote certain products from my store, since it wouldn’t feel objective. I let the creative team decide what to use in each scene. Plus, the characters Tina and Rob were writing quick notes. People don’t pick out the best pen and paper when they’re in a hurry.

―: Ah, that makes sense!

Jolanta: The film shows how people just grab the first thing they see.

―: That’s true, now that you mention it.

Jolanta: I just wanted to tell people how important it is to keep in touch using a pen and paper. I have many customers who collect fountain pens, and they keep them in cases and never use them.

―: So they basically just like collecting stationery to keep.

Jolanta: Of course, it’s wonderful if you have nice paper and a nice pen. There’s nothing wrong with that. But I wanted to send a message that it’s not about just having a tool, but using it and making commitments and connections.

―: Even without a script, I think the movie did an excellent job of portraying that message.

Jolanta: There are plenty of Japanese products, such as Pilot and Midori, which people may enjoy when they watch.

―: It moving to not only see these messages being written by hand, but to see the wonderful styling and visual setting behind it. Sometimes there were flowers on the table, and other times invitations and pills, bringing each scene to life.

Jolanta: I’m grateful to the amazing creative team that did such an amazing job.

―: Do you keep a journal or write letters regularly?

Jolanta: I don’t write letters anymore. I do write down my thoughts at the end of the day, and change the notebook depending on the scale of what I’m writing, sometimes even using an A4 size notepad. Sometimes I write down things for planning, or my worries, but mostly it helps me with work.

―: I see. Just like you, we’d like to come up with ways to express the joys of handwritten notes, and make planners and stationery to serve that joy. Thank you for talking with us today!