How Attitude Turns Crafts Into Arts – 2138期

BY 沈容安(Bernice Shen)

Many people consider “made in Japan” as a guarantee of the quality of products. It’s because the craftsmen in Japan have very high standard of work ethic if compared with that of the others. “Craftsmanship spirit” is exactly the word that came from Japan to describe the essence like this. Japan-based stationery brand Kakimori is a representative of it.

In addition to the varieties of stationery, the customized notebook is the most popular product in Kakimori. Customers have many choices to creat their own notebooks by choosing whatever they like from the cover, inside pages even to the color of coil.

Though each material of the customized notebook was made in Japan, they all came from different workshops. From manufacturing to paper cutting, every stages and sectors are supervised by different masters. They divide works slightly to make sure the technical quality then combined everything together by the time making notebooks in Kakimori.

“I think the main emphasis in ‘craftsman spirit’ is how prudent they treat their works,” said Peihsuan Chen（陳培軒）, the store manager of Kakimori. Once he noticed a tiny defect after pricking holes onto the paper, he would start it all over again with no hesitation. Even it was just an insignificant flaw that the costumers will probably never find out.

Kakimori are now carrying the strong Japanese ideas forward to the world to make more and more people notice the “Craftsman spirit” behind the Japanese culture. They wish they can bring the writing desire back to people and show everyone that stationery are not only just the daily necessities but also can be the taste of life.