The Little Boom of the Carnet

Even if technology is gaining space in our homes, the notebooks and paper planning tools are not about to give up their place on our offices or our kitchen counters.The stationery even experiences a small golden age, and Quebec creations are cutting a good place there.

Le plaisir d'écrireEn ce lundi après-midi de veille de rentrée, la boutique Boucle & Papier ne dérougit pas.Customers enter and get out of the small stationery of Mile End tirelessly to fill up on notebooks, agendas, pencils, wrapping paper, cards of reviews...

As autumn approaches, the agendas and weekly planners are very successful, says Jessyca Houle, owner of the store Sis Boulevard Saint-Laurent."People still use a lot of paper organization tools," she observes.And besides, she is the first to share this passion with her customers."The paper, for me, is important.I always have an agenda, I always have a notebook.The notes of this interview were also written by hand...Which also tends to prove him right!

If technology comes to our rescue most of the time, it does not allow to have an overview of our tasks."The more people use their laptop, the more they need a complementary tool," believes the illustrator Mélanie Ouellette, co -founder with her spouse Brice Salmon of the Montreal brand Baltic Club.

"Yes, we almost all have our agenda on our phone.But to plan the week and to-do, it's nice to have it visually.»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»

Le tandem vient justement de conclure un partenariat avec Vanessa Sicotte, de Damask & Dentelle, pour créer un agenda de l'année 2018.The blogger laid the texts, while the illustrations are signed Baltic Club.

Small craze

Chez Boucle & Papier, la boutique a triplé son stock en deux ans d'existence, ce qui confirme l'engouement, constate Jessyca Houle."The sale of online paper, it will never be like clothes.Because often these are more spontaneous purchases, and people want to see them, touch them.»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»

For the young businesswoman, it is with the designs that it all started.For the record, his mother has kept all her birthday cards since birth!"It started from there and, afterwards, I said to myself: you have to live with it.So, from thread by needle, the whole stationery side was added.»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»

At Baltic Club, we also made cards before expanding the offer to the notebooks, posters and even pins.Mélanie and Brice have just opened a shop, also boulevard Saint-Laurent, very close to Bernard Street.

"It happened almost by accident," explains Brice Salmon with a smile.We were looking for another room, because we had bought new equipment that did not fit in our workshop.So as long as we got, we got a storefront.»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»Entrepreneurs have also seen an opportunity to get closer to their community, and they take the opportunity to give carnets manufacturing workshops.

It is precisely in the same premises, behind the shop space, that they design and make all their products. «On est les seuls dans ce domaine à Montréal à tout faire nous-mêmes, du design jusqu'à la vente finale»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»», affirme Brice.

Their creations are sold in a hundred shops in the United States, including Home Goods. En contrepartie, une section de leur magasin montréalais est également consacrée à des marques «amies»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»», qui viennent d'un peu partout et qu'ils se plaisent à faire découvrir aux passants.

Things are going so well that they are already thinking of a second branch, although the first opened in May only.

"A little pleasure"»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»

The cards sold in this kind of stationery are more expensive than in supermarkets, but they remain affordable.

«C'est un petit plaisir qu'on peut se faire pour pas cher, autant si on a une mauvaise ou une bonne journée»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»», croit Jessyca Houle, dont la grande majorité de la clientèle est d'ailleurs féminine.

"Sometimes, buying a new notebook can be synonymous with a new start.»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»

The paper also has a little solemn, even emotional side. «Donner une carte, ça reste quelque chose de spécial»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»», note Mélanie Ouellette.

Collectibles

The stationery trend is surely not about to go out, because young people are very fond, according to Brice Salmon.And above all, they tend to collect these beautiful objects rather than using them!"The desire cards, they do not send them," specifies the co -founder of Baltic Club.They keep them, they hang them...Same thing for notebooks: often they dare not write in it, because they are afraid to damage them.»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»

One thing is certain, these young people are seduced by the unique aspect of these creations."What we are selling, just go to the internet and they find it with a shovel. Mais le fait d'avoir quelque chose de tangible, tout de suite, fait main, ici, ils aiment beaucoup»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»», conclut Brice Salmon.

Brands from here

Baltic Clubbaltic Club is the work of two young Montreal entrepreneurs, business and life partners.We recognize their signature by their notebooks on marble patterns, as well as those marked by the illustrations of Mélanie Ouellette.

Archipelats boats, small robots, the patterns imagined by Véronique Richard are printed on her geometric notebooks.Ideal for a well -structured thought.

Paperolela Small Montreal company of Notebooks, Cards of Green and other objects of paper uses various illustrators for its collections.Here, Justyna Stasik imagined the Cahiers Foodie: to eat, to drink and to sweeten the beak.

Well in you Idanne Joly and Patricia Lanoie knew each other by working in the music industry.From this meeting was born their small business well to you, where they create a multitude of cards, but also some notebooks.

Kayéderrière Les Cahiers bilinguals de Kayé is Vanessa Girard, a former from the Lowell boutique.These thematic mini-carnets (cocktails, food, trips and plants) allow you to keep the heading of everyday gestures: when did we sprinkle the plants for the last time?Is it time to add fertilizer?

Couple of ideas couples of ideas, it is a...couple, who do not lack ideas!Their notebooks all have a concept: shirt style, half white, half lined...Without forgetting their four notebooks which total 1 km of writing.

Merci aux boutiques Boucle & Papier et Baltic Club de nous avoir prêté les exemplaires des cahiers de notes.

Some classics even if we like new things out of the ordinary, some irreducible prefer sobriety when it comes to notebooks.Here are some classics that always hold their promises.

Moleskine

The famous Italian brand no longer needs presentation.The notebooks have several variations, but the classic format has a rigid cover and an elastic flap.There are even moleskine shops in some big cities in the world.

Rhodia

We usually recognize the Rhodia notebooks by their orange cover crowned with two fir trees.But the French brand - bought by Clairefontaine 20 years ago - also innovates.She notably released a collection limited to the retro style, of which we see a copy in the photo.

Supplement

Supplement est une entreprise où tout est fait localement...in Washington!Their big notebooks have sober colors without being boring, and have an interesting finish.

Rifle Paper Co.

The flowery patterns of this Floridian company have toured the world.We find them printed everywhere: on notebooks, desire cards, iPhone cases, candles...The couple behind Rifle Paper Co.even recently established a collaboration with the Keds shoes.

Field Notes

Simple and utility, the Field Notes notebooks also have a vintage side.Chicago's company specializes in pocket format notebooks, which are often sold by three.They draw their inspiration from the notebooks of promotional notes formerly given to farmers.

Shinola

The luxury brand of Detroit is known in particular for its watches and its bikes, but it also manufactures notebooks.Like the rest of its products, notebooks have a simple and flawless aesthetic.