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{{Infobox podcast transcript | name = The Pen Addict | number = 716 | title = Good Times | date = May 14th, 2026 | hosts = [[Brad Dowdy]]<br> [[Myke Hurley]] | guests = [[April Wu]] | link = [https://www.relay.fm/penaddict/716 Episode 716] | audiolink = [https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/mgln.ai/e/613/clrtpod.com/m/pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.libsyn.com/thepenaddict/penaddict716.mp3 Audio Episode 716] | length = 72 }} * '''00:00''' from relay this is the pen addict episode number 716 this week's episode is brought to you by the * '''00:12''' st louis pen show enigma stationery and squarespace i'm your host brad dowdy and joining me today * '''00:18''' this week and making their return appearance to the pen addict podcast april woo how are you doing * '''00:25''' april hey brad thanks for having me back on oh yeah hey thank you for coming back on it's like i * '''00:31''' didn't scare you off and you know always worry about you know the second time guest is the * '''00:36''' important one right you get somebody once and it's like man you think they'll come back do we do we * '''00:40''' scare them off no no i i think i was like oh wow brad you want do you want me to talk about more * '''00:47''' stuff from japan i can talk about more stuff from japan yeah i think we're gonna cover that pretty * '''00:52''' well today the first thing i wanted to ask you and i purposefully didn't say april april woo from * '''01:00''' wherever like i would say brad from the pen addict what is it that you say you would do april who do * '''01:07''' work for what do you do how do you describe yourself because i i can't ever answer that question when * '''01:11''' people ask me i want you to i wasn't going to put words in your mouth i want you to answer this * '''01:14''' question where what do you do april it's a it's a hard answer to say these days because i would used * '''01:20''' to say i'm april woo from penguins creative on instagram but i'm not using that anymore i would * '''01:26''' used to say i'm april woo from the stationery cafe podcast but we're on a hiatus right now * '''01:31''' um maybe april woo from design for america that's my official title i'm the brand communication * '''01:40''' manager at design for america but on the side stationery wise since i'm not using instagram * '''01:46''' anymore i am still writing about stationery on a sub stack publication called the penguin post so * '''01:53''' that's kind of where i go nerd all nerdy with my stationery stuff and wow do you ever we're gonna * '''02:00''' like specifically talk about like a few of the posts and what you've been up to this year but * '''02:04''' i wanted you to say design fill america that's what i would have gone with if it was me um so i'm * '''02:11''' glad you said that and i think a lot of our time on this podcast at least on the back half we're * '''02:17''' going to talk about design fill and what design fill is because i have questions i think listeners * '''02:21''' have questions just in the general sense because and not to lead too far into what we're going to * '''02:27''' talk about later but it's it's basically like at the top of the umbrella of several companies that * '''02:34''' a lot of us like and use in the stationery world that people know the names you know travelers * '''02:39''' company or prodder plotter or you know md product which we're going to specifically get into but * '''02:46''' they're all under a parent company called design fill so we're going to talk about that stuff later * '''02:50''' um until then i want to talk about this year that you've had so far um number one we're past like you * '''03:00''' have an entire month to yourself like we're recording this in may we've just ended april so like * '''03:05''' number one you have an entire month to yourself but just as so far in 2026 you've done a lot right * '''03:12''' like it feels like it like i read your i read your sub stack and i'm i'm going like goodness gracious * '''03:18''' like i know how busy you are to begin with and then what have you done so far this year * '''03:23''' and honestly it's busy but not like super all work based i just like to have fun with stationery so i * '''03:31''' stuff my month with fun events and places to travel to i love traveling so i've been to california * '''03:38''' pen show in february with for work um alongside travers company alongside plotter alongside md product * '''03:45''' um in march i went to san francisco stationery fest their first year it was really fun actually * '''03:51''' and then right on the tail of that i went straight to taiwan actually um to visit family slash oh no * '''04:00''' there's an illustration taipei festival on the third day that i land totally not planned at all * '''04:09''' and so i went to that one and then in the middle of my taiwan trip i did a little * '''04:15''' skip and hop over to south korea to to join a little art retreat um with my mother um it was these * '''04:23''' two art instructors in taipei that i follow and i randomly came across their facebook promotion * '''04:28''' about this trip and i'm like hey i'm the stranger in seattle i would love to join i speak chinese don't * '''04:35''' worry and so i we somehow like kind of tagged along this group trip um to south korea and then i've * '''04:43''' been back since mid april um just resting now yeah because it's gonna be a busy year for the rest of * '''04:52''' this year too yeah like i didn't even i didn't even put any notes for the rest of the year but we're * '''04:56''' definitely going to talk about that because i had so much to talk about already so just just so i'm * '''05:00''' straight you were taking a trip to taiwan you saw family but you of course worked in stationery * '''05:05''' and then you just saw this retreat and in south korea reached out to them and ended up doing that * '''05:11''' correct yes is that pretty much the story of your travel are you like an over planner travel i'm * '''05:18''' gonna hit this this and this and at 2 30 i'm doing this and at 4 30 we're gonna be here or are you * '''05:23''' hey i'm gonna show up and then we'll kind of figure things out as we go because all of these are * '''05:28''' pre-planned last november so okay i'm that kind of person so yeah i'm the 2 30 to 3 30 what are we * '''05:36''' doing kind of person what do you expect when you say you go back to see your family in taiwan * '''05:43''' from a stationery perspective do you ever go looking for particular things that you know you may not * '''05:49''' run into or you're just happy to go and and see things that you know we're in the age of the * '''05:54''' internet right we can see a lot of things online do you ever get surprised when you go * '''05:58''' oh for sure actually um although taiwan is just filled with station it's a perfect stationery * '''06:05''' destination honestly to anyone like second to taipei in my opinion oh sorry second to japan in my * '''06:11''' opinion lots of stationery things to do but i there's always these kind of like creative parks * '''06:17''' there's different parts parts of town where they host a lot of exhibits animations or different shows * '''06:24''' and so those i love to stumble upon and so i came across a really fun like tega chima tega misha * '''06:32''' pop-up at one of the creative parks that i didn't know was happening there so there's some fun stuff * '''06:37''' too but usually when i go back to taiwan i know i'm hitting a few of my favorite stationery stores * '''06:41''' there are a few travelers partner shops there that i love going back to and chatting with the owners * '''06:47''' um but most of the time it's also like hanging out with friends there and doing stationery fun things * '''06:53''' yeah yeah that's cool that's cool um and then back over stateside between like the california pen show * '''07:03''' which is in la and i guess this this is like their fourth year or something like that fourth or fifth * '''07:07''' year i think i went last year uh couldn't make it this year and then that was in february and then * '''07:14''' in april had the san francisco stationery march march end of march end of march yeah i definitely get that * '''07:20''' confused um end of march talk a little bit about both of those shows and if you from not just april's * '''07:30''' perspective but maybe from like a work perspective are you approaching a fountain pen show differently than * '''07:36''' you are a stationery show because design fill products like have a good crossover actually probably * '''07:42''' like one of the biggest crossovers between just a strict fountain pen person might think that * '''07:47''' travelers is a oh they're just a fountain pen company and then a person at a stationery show * '''07:52''' might think oh travelers is my favorite company i don't know what a fountain pen is so how do you * '''07:57''' approach that yeah honestly that's why i started going to show like that i i started asking my company * '''08:04''' to go to shows back in 2021 my first show was san francisco pen show and actually we were introducing * '''08:12''' plotter then and we brought travelers along and then turns out it was a hit too because when * '''08:17''' people have good writing tools like a fountain pen or just pens in general they want a good notebook to * '''08:23''' write with and so in that sense design for brands such as travelers travelers company such as plotter became a * '''08:30''' great uh kind of complement to the writing tools but for stationery shows i think it's actually the other way around * '''08:38''' because if you've you've been to a few now right so far um there's a lot of stickers accessories stamps and * '''08:45''' now the notebook became the main character and the station show became every other thing that could go * '''08:52''' into the notebook and so it was just a good mix and in fact i was trying to make the understanding about * '''08:59''' like oh what what exactly are the difference between pen shows and station shows now these days and i feel like * '''09:05''' there's don't you think there's like a slow blending of them getting closer and closer to each other like * '''09:11''' san francisco pen show historically had been mostly fountain pen brands but throughout the year there's * '''09:18''' more and more stationery vendors joining in and then with the stationery shows and what i just saw at * '''09:25''' little craft fest in april they had tono and limps there they had a lot of fountain pen brands starting to * '''09:32''' join in that mix of stationery and so we're in a very interesting time um of this melting pot i would * '''09:41''' say yeah every show trying to find their personality trying to see what makes them stand out and there's a * '''09:47''' huge battle between what type of things are there yeah it's it's super interesting for someone i haven't * '''09:54''' done this forever but i've done it a long time and i've just kind of come up through like the fountain pen * '''09:58''' show ranks if you will you know go into like four five six fountain pen shows traditional what people * '''10:03''' would call traditional fountain pen shows and even those have changed like discounting any stationery * '''10:08''' show even the fountain pen shows would try to change in different markets like you know san francisco pen * '''10:14''' show is such a different show from you know maybe chicago or something like that i mean i'm not * '''10:20''' you can you know i mean i wonder about dc pen show yeah i haven't been in a while yeah um i went last * '''10:26''' year it was packed it was it was actually pretty good i had a good time i do think there's one * '''10:31''' distinction i think pen shows are still more brands slash retailers okay versus small makers okay i mean * '''10:37''' there are makers sure definitely on the minority but stationery shows actually are more makers artists * '''10:45''' more than like brands and retailers there's a little bit of that more handmade self entrepreneurship * '''10:51''' with stationery shows maybe because the barrier to entry is not as high because you can make and * '''10:56''' design and create stuff very easily and create that presence whereas with pens i think it's harder to * '''11:04''' become a pen company or a pen major maybe no i i definitely see that and like i still get some of the * '''11:12''' same vibes from them in the people that go to the shows right there's definitely a crossover in the * '''11:18''' things that i like things that maybe i can't get at a fountain pen show that i can get at a stationery * '''11:24''' show and vice versa so like me personally i'm gonna go to both and enjoy both times both types of events * '''11:30''' you know pretty much equally um but i like now like let's say the last five years that we have this * '''11:40''' opportunity to see different types of shows see different types of creatives in kind of an all * '''11:49''' encompassing space and one of the one of the things you brought up which we're going to actually talk * '''11:55''' about later but i kind of wanted to bring it up now um is the whole like analog versus digital debate * '''12:03''' and to to me these types of shows are able to coexist side by side because there is such a push these * '''12:11''' days to get offline and get into your notebook and play and have fun and play with things do you think * '''12:17''' that plays a little role and like both of these types of shows clearly can succeed in our market right * '''12:24''' yeah for sure i think definitely the trend of analog is pretty big in the last two years or so * '''12:33''' us tech companies become more rigorous with like how they're trying to affect consumers capitalism * '''12:41''' with a capital c but i do think though i think it's just the even without that portion i think people * '''12:49''' are just learning to appreciate art more and like the stationery market is kind of like that you're * '''12:55''' getting you're attracting more um diversity more demographic in terms of age and * '''13:03''' like the pen show started out with just um people with fishing fishing vests to to now you have * '''13:10''' people bring their kids bring their family bring like their their spouse bringing their friends and * '''13:15''' introducing people are more inclined to introduce their hobbies to people around them now so i think in a * '''13:22''' way that is how these shows are growing it's just worth of mouth um people you know aside from * '''13:28''' trying to get away from tech there's also like oh what what brings me joy what brings my friend or * '''13:34''' or people i love joy i want to try to see that too and there's a lot of that slowly flowing out to * '''13:40''' like the bigger circles of people yeah and i think these pen shows definitely help and you know i know * '''13:46''' you know a lot of times if you're not in the area but when it's hard to travel to one but like guys * '''13:50''' obviously you know i've implored this for years like if you can make it happen somehow just once and * '''13:55''' like i think you'll see just how many people are like you in in those rooms and how much enjoyment * '''14:01''' you can get from this stuff like i would i like not to totally get off topic but i'd be lost without * '''14:06''' like stationery in my life even though like it's my job but it doesn't matter like i would be lost like * '''14:11''' if i don't have a notebook and a pen around like i feel different right so this kind of stuff is * '''14:16''' important to me so circling back to these shows the california show and the san francisco * '''14:22''' stationery fest specifically so you were there um under the design fill brand in general but do * '''14:30''' y'all it look like at least at uh san francisco um y'all put on like different events and hold * '''14:37''' like different like meetups and things like that at these shows um can you tell me just a little bit * '''14:41''' of like what you do off the show floor at these events because i find those types of things to be * '''14:49''' as someone who goes to a lot of shows those types of things make a difference in me wanting to travel * '''14:53''' to somewhere when i can do something else besides just shop oh absolutely i love that pen show organizers * '''15:00''' are giving space for vendors and brands to do something a little extra because as the popularity of shows * '''15:08''' grow obviously the show floor becomes more hectic and chaotic and really that engagement that * '''15:15''' may once exists is now getting more limited there's there's less time in front of the table because * '''15:21''' there's people behind you trying to get to it um that's a whole that's an entire podcast * '''15:27''' i think we've tried that one before yes that everyone's trying to solve right yeah so in a sense * '''15:33''' having the extra space like either a seminar after the show or like what sf sf and san francisco * '''15:41''' pen show was doing was on thursday they made it a whole day where people could do workshops or attend * '''15:47''' seminars uh hosted by brands or something like that so we we took advantage of that we were like * '''15:53''' please let us have two space and so we were able to recreate like a more fuller experience of the * '''15:58''' brand so for plotter this year for sf sf we did a plotter lounge where people get to try writing using * '''16:07''' and we gave out a ton of journaling prompts for people to try writing on rdp paper we have those * '''16:13''' refill pads all set out around two tables people can try collaging which is a different form of * '''16:19''' creative expression and the difference is part of the room there's a more kind of like demo area where * '''16:25''' i could spend more time explaining to people the difference between letters without the pressure to * '''16:31''' buy and people could really come and just like oh i just want to understand this and it's more personal * '''16:36''' too because you're not you know timidly raising your hand asking in a panel you know things like * '''16:41''' that you could ask any question you want and then we have like a we get to do something a little more * '''16:47''' special that takes a more real estate like we had this paper cocktail situation where it's kind of * '''16:51''' pick your own paper you can create your own blend so for plotter like to have that extra space that extra * '''16:58''' time to share with people why we love this thing so much other than you know that hectic two minutes * '''17:03''' you might have in front of the table it's just such a plus and i think a lot of other brands did that * '''17:09''' too like i'm sure at chicago outlaw stationery had like a full yeah sometimes they do q a's and then * '''17:15''' like i think sakura dragon one of the artist brands did a huge meetup and one of the nights in * '''17:23''' sfs of it was a it was a huge success every they had like all these stamps out for people to play with and * '''17:29''' people get to hang out with each other um and then you know i'm looking forward to more of that * '''17:34''' honestly at the shows i'm going to like stationery fest in new york um i'm going to sf pen show this * '''17:41''' year as a regular person no way i'm not we're not working there there's a little bit of a conflict * '''17:47''' so i'm going to sf pen show this year finally hoping to really immerse myself in all that all those * '''17:53''' experiences i could take classes i could like queue up at 5 a.m waiting to buy that glass pens i like * '''17:59''' get what the experience for everyone else do some jostling in the hallways yeah right some some * '''18:08''' sweating in the aisle oh my gosh but no i it is it's it's tough when you're you're you're you have a job * '''18:15''' all weekend right like it's hard it's hard to break away uh from those but i know you did and i want to * '''18:23''' find out about you breaking away for a couple of things maybe at these shows but let me talk about * '''18:28''' our uh our first sponsor this week and a place where you can also break away and go find some * '''18:34''' school stuff cool stuff and that is the saint louis pen show so this episode of the pen addict is brought * '''18:38''' to you by the saint louis pen show if you love the feel of creative writing with a fountain pen * '''18:43''' or documenting your thoughts and ideas through journaling or even just doodling the 2026 saint louis * '''18:48''' pen show is the place for you it runs from thursday june 25th through sunday june 28th and they're * '''18:54''' featuring special appearances by our very own brad dowdy that's me and scott jones uh not not to dismiss * '''19:02''' scott scott great artist uh i got excited when i saw my name there i didn't read this ad ahead of time * '''19:09''' it's like i know that guy uh and emphasizing our our central location of meeting in the middle so * '''19:14''' st louis right smack in the middle of the country easy for a lot of people to travel there so they * '''19:18''' have 102 vendors across 25 states and canada that include artisan pens and pencil vendors vintage pen * '''19:24''' dealers nibmeisters pen repairmen ink journals paper stationery clothing vendors and much more * '''19:30''' thursday is a trader day friday opens to the public with an evening event of vintage pen panel and pen * '''19:36''' tasting followed by a free dessert party saturday and sunday open to the public again * '''19:39''' with an evening pen show after dark on saturday night there's 26 classes over the three days * '''19:46''' that's something that i personally love inserting myself here again uh including calligraphy book * '''19:51''' binding stamp making and card design there are also lots of additional activities this year * '''19:55''' including a silent auction scavenger hunt for kids and adults shout out adults for the scavenger hunt * '''20:01''' journal meetup corner limited edition stamp and sticker sticker collection booklets and much more * '''20:05''' including me that brad dowdy guy having a panel on saturday afternoon from 2 p.m to 3 p.m so i will * '''20:14''' be there this year there's so much to see and do at this year's st louis pen show so how do you get there * '''20:19''' it's at the sheraton westport lakeside chalet on the beautiful westport plaza plenty of free parking * '''20:25''' loads of restaurants and just 10 minutes from the airport you can also get a special pen show room rate * '''20:30''' of 155 dollars which includes breakfast so head over check out the st louis pen show website at * '''20:35''' stlpenshow.com you can buy your tickets for a ten dollar per day admission twenty dollars for a * '''20:42''' weekend pass or thirty dollars for a trader pass for all show access you can find vendor information * '''20:48''' sign up to classes get your tickets now at their website stlpenshow.com our thanks to the st louis * '''20:55''' pen show for their support of this show and all of relay all right when you're not working april maybe at * '''21:02''' the california pen show maybe at san francisco stationery first first let me ask you this which * '''21:07''' show was more of a problem for you personally to to stay behind the table and work oh my god where * '''21:14''' where was your team members yelling at you where's april because you couldn't come back * '''21:19''' surprisingly i think it was california pen show okay stationery fest i think i went in with a * '''21:25''' mentality of holy moly i'm going to be an illustration taipei in one week and that show was actually that * '''21:32''' show was 400 vendors a hundred thousand people whoa that that kind of scale so i my my wallet was like * '''21:39''' already quivering yeah so sf sf was like a week before you were heading literally okay so seven days * '''21:45''' before okay me going to that big one so i was i was much better but my favorite purchase was actually * '''21:51''' from sf sf okay so um brad have you seen my zento signature hang on one second i gotta get mine * '''22:00''' sorry that's your joke have you seen have you seen my zento signature i saw this beforehand and i was * '''22:06''' like she's gonna drop a zento signature on me isn't she exactly so um i scored it because i missed out * '''22:14''' on it at california pen show i heard that lisa van ness brought some to california pen show so * '''22:21''' when we were setting up at sf sf i was like lisa i will not be here the first thing but i will send * '''22:27''' someone do you have some in the back and so both kelly and i actually both got one that's great so * '''22:35''' this is one of my favorite purchases so did it i think has it changed your life at all in any meaningful * '''22:40''' way oh my god i've been using it since then like every day i think maybe the the scarcity of it * '''22:48''' makes it feel extra special that i i felt like i'm doing the world of the service by not using it * '''22:54''' enough so maybe um it's great on md paper by the way i love i love using it on md paper even though i'm * '''23:01''' it's the 0.5 i'm hope i bought a refill which is the 0.38 hoping to switch it out once this is gone * '''23:08''' to see if i like it because my favorite pen as i shared with you i think before was signal dx * '''23:14''' still the best in my opinion 0.38 so i'm just trying to see if this would give it a run for its money * '''23:18''' yeah um it it doesn't in my opinion like i have a we'll do a long uh recap of the zinto signature * '''23:26''' even more i i it's mostly a bit me talking about it because i think it's hilarious that it's such a * '''23:31''' hot item and it's like yeah you know it's like the the barrel is awesome the refills it's fine like * '''23:36''' it's it's not it's not changing anyone's life but the uh the stationery world loves to like pick * '''23:42''' out some of these like hype products and i i just tend to lean in and into it because i think it's * '''23:46''' absolutely hilarious so uh love my zinto signature i'm not going to stop talking about it is it the * '''23:52''' best pen in the world it is not but it's totally fine i wish i got the special color one though i know * '''23:57''' that's the problem they have they have um this is my whole uni ball ran they feel yeah they have * '''24:04''' it's not even a rant it's like i'm pro this they have figured out pretty quickly something with this * '''24:10''' product line that clicked from the jump they usually don't come with the full series of low end middle * '''24:16''' and high end on launch like launch minute had all versions of it and it's they did something right * '''24:24''' with this one so shout out to them they they marketed this one properly so and it's it's still they just * '''24:29''' just make more of a muni ball that's my only plea don't don't make people go to scalpers to buy them * '''24:36''' but i do like the california fan show back to that topic more in terms of spending i think it's because * '''24:40''' they have the better blend um sure but which makes sense because stationery fest is a stationery show * '''24:46''' there's more focus on the artist but i was missing the fountain pen a little bit yeah actually i was * '''24:52''' missing a little bit of i know it's weird not seeing drum goals there with their racks of inks * '''24:56''' and you know not seeing a few of our favorite you know makers you know showcasing their cool new pen * '''25:03''' which i think is art right in a in a sense so california actually this year i think california pen show is * '''25:11''' my favorite show now it's yeah the room the the convention hall no the hotel space is big there's two * '''25:21''' rooms now it's spacious and it just has a ton of stationery vendors too actually local artists that * '''25:28''' came down from sf and some retailers in the area and love well um and then you have paper treats things * '''25:34''' like that and so it's just it's it's a great combination i was able to get my fix with the * '''25:40''' pens and also a ton of my fix with the stationery so i think piggybacking on that with was sf sf * '''25:48''' i kind of was like oh i got all i needed true yeah yeah and that's one of the things like someone * '''25:53''' like yourself or myself who's lucky enough to go to a bunch of shows like we don't have to like * '''25:57''' splurge every show because we just did it a few weeks ago and like it's okay i did do that last * '''26:02''' year though and the year before so i'm trying to be better yes to your point about the california show * '''26:08''' i've only been once but i thoroughly enjoyed it i think that would be like a destination show for me * '''26:12''' that would be one like i would you know when i'm making my schedule out for the year that one's * '''26:16''' always going to be in the conversation because even though i've only been once the feedback continues * '''26:20''' to be positive um i like the hotel and the location right even out right outside the hotel you have * '''26:26''' everything you could ever want like there's literally a mall right across with like cool stuff and fun * '''26:31''' restaurants and whatever to do speaking of which i put this in the notes because i didn't want to drop * '''26:37''' this on you like too sneakily and i don't know if i should limit you to only like i don't to the not * '''26:45''' us travel but one of the things you do so well and honestly like one of my favorite things about your * '''26:51''' writing is you always talk about food right and i'm not i wouldn't consider myself a foodie but i'm * '''26:57''' very like exploratory in food like i will eat kind of anything try anything so i like to see what other * '''27:01''' people do so i wrote in the notes i want you to pick your favorite meal so far this year because * '''27:08''' you put them in you right you write about it so i feel like this is fair game to put you on the spot * '''27:13''' and it could be from you know taiwan korea it could be from the u.s you gotta you gotta give me i know * '''27:19''' you gotta get i'm not gonna give me some restriction i know i'm not gonna make you how about this * '''27:24''' because i know i know you're into like the drinks can you do like a favorite meal and then like a * '''27:29''' favorite drink like would that be too challenging uh so favorite meal i i just love writing about * '''27:36''' food oh no well i love food yeah and i love sharing like my favorite restaurant places with people and * '''27:43''' then it just makes sense that i write about them when i journal about my travels and you know the * '''27:49''' pandemic always has really comprehensive write-ups about the show and i was like let's not do something * '''27:54''' the same i'm just gonna write about what i eat instead let me let me stop you right here * '''27:59''' shout out kimberly because if i know if i don't shout out kimberly i'm gonna get texts so i love * '''28:04''' you thank you for doing such a great job with those but yeah to your point yeah you put in a lot of * '''28:08''' extra stuff um well i had i kind of had to squeeze to come up with the answer for the favorite meal so * '''28:15''' the drink's gonna throw me for a loop favorite meal is definitely it's that it was actually lunar * '''28:21''' new year's eve right before california pen show i went down a week earlier and so i got to um i got * '''28:28''' to visit our headquarter in signal hill in long beach california and job me our friend rj who runs * '''28:36''' pinky elephants down in pasadena another friend jackie we went on lunar's new year's eve it was * '''28:42''' uncharacteristically pouring rain in california and it was so cold but we made it to the front * '''28:50''' of the line at sea harbor seafood restaurant it's a dim sum place for lunar new year alongside all these * '''28:57''' other asian people it was a there's a sweet victory i think in the sense that we got to be at the head * '''29:03''' of the line we got to eat like piping hot like hargal and like delicious dim sum food do you do you like * '''29:11''' chicken feet yes yes braised chicken feet yes oh so good i'm in yeah truffle filled dim sum like * '''29:21''' it was just so good i i still remember that meal to this day that's that's how you know it's a good * '''29:28''' one that's why i specifically wanted to ask you because i know like that's that's a passion of * '''29:32''' yours too and i think it's it's cool to see like all the other things you get up to like when you're * '''29:37''' traveling for work you can mix in some food mix in some you know some some of the cities that you're * '''29:43''' in so yeah i keep keep doing that part because i i certainly get a kick out of it and i love it and * '''29:48''' like if i'm ever back in there it's like i know where i know where i'm gonna start my list right i * '''29:52''' know hopefully people who follow my blog they could like now you can go eat that too the next time you * '''29:57''' go to as a pen show or like next time you're in town for another place totally this is what i've * '''30:02''' always told myself i have to give myself at least an extra day to not do pen show stuff so i can go * '''30:06''' like you know get out of the hotel for a minute and explore but you do a wonderful wonderful job at * '''30:14''' all right we have a mega topic here to get into which uh is is right up your alley because it's * '''30:21''' literally your job and i i call this topic the design fill universe which we want to get into i want to * '''30:27''' go ahead and take our second ad break before we get into this because i have a feeling like i have * '''30:33''' a lot of questions and you have a lot of things like for us to talk about but i have a feeling like * '''30:38''' knowing me i'm gonna have like diversions and so i want to go ahead and talk about our good friends * '''30:44''' over at enigma stationery so this episode of the pen act is brought to you by our friends at * '''30:50''' enigma stationery enigma stationery offers unique items made from in-house designs along with top * '''30:56''' brands and hard to find imports so i mentioned on a recent podcast that i went shopping at enigma * '''31:04''' stationery and i ran across a certain character uh by the name of business frog and i fell deep * '''31:11''' into the business frog world and um enigma heard me heard me and got not just the big business frog * '''31:23''' washi back in but we have business frog enamel pins we have it's actually called business frog yeah * '''31:31''' yep bit with a z b-i-z-n-e-s-s and this it's from uh robot is it robot dance battle i think is the the * '''31:38''' maker so they're a popular like sticker and maker um they have a business day planner sticker sheet where * '''31:44''' business frog is doing all these things they have a business frogs meeting sticker um there is oh where's * '''31:50''' the one that i like the most they they of course have the business frog stamp washi back i think * '''31:55''' they're just going to need to make me a dedicated business frog page um oh here's my my favorite one * '''32:00''' is called business frog jumbo vinyl sticker and it's like it's like a rectangular sticker like for * '''32:06''' your laptop i don't even know if it'd fit on a on on a notebook but business frog says bigger desk * '''32:13''' bigger business and i feel that business frog i think that's an important like i think that's a life * '''32:19''' philosophy right there bigger desk means a bigger business so um if for all your business frog needs * '''32:26''' enigma station i heard as you covered i mean plus they have tons of other washi stickers pins * '''32:31''' accessories i i i just load up my cart whenever go over there so i'm going to go back and fill up on the * '''32:38''' business frog now that uh they have them in stock and have expanded uh my my favorite uh my favorite * '''32:45''' frogs lineup so go check out everything they have on the offer so they have um you know ten dollars * '''32:51''' off orders of fifty dollars or more at enigma stationery.com slash pen addict so if you go to * '''32:56''' that link enigma stationery.com slash pen addict use the code tpa 26 at checkout you know what mike * '''33:02''' gave me grief for using our code last time and i feel that that me using that code is business frog * '''33:08''' approved i mean business frog cannot make the line go up unless he is taking advantage of all the proper * '''33:14''' discounts i mean this is business frog philosophy at its finest use the code tpa 26 at checkout to get * '''33:22''' ten dollars off your off your orders of fifty dollars or more so thanks to enigma stationery.com * '''33:28''' for their support of this show and all of relay so yeah i i'm in the business frog lifestyle i don't * '''33:35''' know you need to maximize your business that's why you need to use those codes yeah like business frog * '''33:40''' literally has a sticker with a chart and and it's just like the line going up on the chart and he's * '''33:45''' just pointing at the chart it's like it's called business pro business frog presentation sticker he * '''33:50''' points at the the board it says business and the arrow goes up like that's it that's that's * '''33:58''' he's so philosophical like i i just appreciate everything about him so i love this friend so * '''34:03''' it's crazy so um all right speaking of brands i love um i must i'm assuming brands you love you * '''34:13''' kind of work for them but i'm not gonna put words in your mouth no actually it is work but it's like * '''34:18''' yeah we have a problem um let's talk about design phil and let's talk about design phil as the parent * '''34:25''' company to travelers travelers travelers company plotter md product um many others knox who else am * '''34:34''' i forgetting them midori midori yeah of course so um all the things so let's start with this how long * '''34:42''' have you worked for design phil and like what's your main role i know you mentioned it earlier but * '''34:48''' like tell me like how long you've worked for them and kind of what's your or or if things have changed * '''34:53''' like since you've started did you start in one area and kind of morph into some uh other area of * '''34:58''' the business yeah for sure so i've worked at design phil america since 2021 um may i'm actually about * '''35:07''' to cross my sixth year anniversary oh nice there um and i started out as a marketing specialist i moved * '''35:14''' up to marketing manager and last year i officially became the brand communication manager design phil america * '''35:21''' because my former manager yuri yuri aida went back to japan to fulfill her destiny of becoming * '''35:28''' design phil's third generation owner and president and ceo i'm happy for her though not salty at all * '''35:38''' she's one of the rare women ceos in the japanese stationery industry which is pretty cool i think * '''35:44''' there's only another one that's a woman ceo and i think that was hobonichi i believe yeah but that even * '''35:50''' with hobonichi they were working with the shigesato ito is the founder but yuri is the ceo so she left * '''35:58''' us in the dust um design phil america just kidding um so i've been working at design phil america now * '''36:05''' managing in the past i used to just kind of work on like the marketing end of um the brands that we * '''36:12''' manage which is travelers company and plotter um but now i also work even further up in like production * '''36:19''' um project management basically many many hats and with a very small team gotcha and would you say * '''36:31''' and this is kind of like an overarching conversation i want to have is your responsibility just for like * '''36:37''' the u.s market or are you working like design phil is obviously based in japan has i guess other * '''36:44''' markets as well is your work focused basically on like the america market you're correct so design * '''36:51''' for america is created solely as a subsidiary that's based in the u.s and serving uh north * '''36:56''' america region but right now mostly the united states only uh i know a lot of people always come to us * '''37:03''' asking about hey how about plotter europe or you know other regions but i'm literally in my notes * '''37:08''' i have no say in any of that uh i don't work there in that region so it's like i i don't have any say * '''37:16''' in that um the design phil universe is very interesting like the whole way it works yeah * '''37:23''' can you talk about that as as you can probably tell like it it's design phil is the umbrella company * '''37:29''' over all these separate brands and all these brands actually have their own team um and that's like * '''37:36''' 10 to 40 people the smaller ones would be down to like even five people on team that manage their own * '''37:43''' production planning their own strategy their own business thing so uh in a sense if i was in hq * '''37:51''' in japan like they have a division called overseas department which really is the main * '''37:58''' company that um sorry the main org that helps share the information of all these separate brands to * '''38:05''' all the other regions outside of japan and so design for america was kind of created to help the * '''38:12''' overseas team to have its own branch in the united states so the overseas team no longer have to worry * '''38:18''' as much about the u.s region outside of their typical distributor partners yeah um in the past * '''38:28''' because it's based in this company is based in japan they've always worked through distributors in * '''38:32''' different regions so we do have a distributor here in the united states so that's why you can * '''38:36''' see travelers company items at your local stationery stores gotcha um there's i think over 150 places in * '''38:43''' the united states carries travelers company items now and design for america actually doesn't interfere * '''38:49''' with our distributors we don't want to step on their toes we're not stealing their business yeah we work * '''38:55''' uh through our direct channels and so here's the little interesting thing is design for america is * '''39:01''' actually a separate entity from design field we're not on their payroll we are on our own financial * '''39:09''' sheets and our own little team we're interesting we we used to be a team of just literally four people * '''39:14''' we finally grew to eight this year um and so most of our work is supported through the revenues from * '''39:22''' traverse company online shop plotter usa online shop gotcha and a little bit of plotter wholesale * '''39:29''' distributorship because that part was never um our distributors they never got to distribute a * '''39:36''' plotter so yeah we get to that's all that's me doing like you know the the mind mapping of like how * '''39:43''' does this actually work so it's actually like i'm super interested in this the listeners are probably * '''39:47''' like okay brad can we talk about it's definitely interesting but i find it super interesting because * '''39:53''' of just just the overarching design field operation works i mean this is a company that's been around * '''39:57''' since what like the 50s i think you said yeah 75 years okay wow wow so yeah and seeing how they've * '''40:06''' changed over the years and i'm gonna have some links into like some of the um some of the history pages * '''40:11''' that april shared with me and and following through that there's some really interesting * '''40:14''' y'all should go through that there's some really hilarious products yes that they are very proud of * '''40:20''' throughout the history of the company it's worth a click um so yeah putting it all together like * '''40:26''' is design fill america separate is design fill america only like a couple of like you know have a couple of * '''40:32''' the uh brands but not everything like knox is considered basically a japan only brand is that fair to say okay * '''40:41''' right now yes yeah we in japan actually design fill is made up of several things so not just the five * '''40:47''' brands we mentioned there's also touch and flow which is a retail store our only retail store in japan like * '''40:54''' that holds all of design fills brands and also source a lot of interesting goods from overseas we also * '''41:00''' have our commercial department that works with businesses and like okay that makes yeah corporate * '''41:08''' stuff so we call it commercial design um we also are developing i think a new line of brand underneath * '''41:14''' touch and flow called art touch so that's more for like i think branching towards art supplies a little * '''41:21''' bit but uh that one's not super built out yet but md product recently separated from midori to * '''41:28''' become its own brand so now we have one more sister brand now that we can call them sister * '''41:33''' friends and work alongside us and they're gonna have their own trajectory as well okay so this may * '''41:39''' be an unanswerable question and it may be unfair to ask you but i'm gonna ask anyway we'll try * '''41:44''' how does design fill as a corporate parent decide when a brand is ready to fly on its own like trap * '''41:51''' travelers for example like was travelers founded as a design fill in-house brand and then came out of it * '''42:00''' and to be this thing that it is today or i guess maybe every story is probably a little bit different * '''42:07''' for each little brand i think this question is the perfect opportunity for me to talk about that md * '''42:12''' thing okay people get really confused about this is a new this is a new thing so let's talk about it in * '''42:18''' that aspect so midori md product explain uh yeah you have the floor midori paper midori notebook midori * '''42:28''' travelers notebook md paper what the heck it's i know and i know it's so confusing and i think it's * '''42:36''' our own fault because we change our names and we reorg so many times um but to this day because i am so * '''42:43''' knowledgeable about design for products now i do get a little irritated when i hear people say midori * '''42:48''' notebooks you know so it's like it's not uh but i feel like let's break it down and i hopefully by * '''42:56''' understanding the history of design fill it'll be easier to understand why things are called a * '''43:00''' certain way so 75 years wind it back 1950 midori company was established and back then it was like * '''43:08''' the japanese name was midori shokai and they officially renamed it to midori eventually um but * '''43:14''' when it was first founded they were just doing simple stationery they actually were selling like * '''43:19''' even like little toys that people would find at gift stores a lot of different variety of things * '''43:24''' uh stationery goods i would say there's a slash there and then one of our key product was diary items * '''43:33''' so that's actually if you look at the history back then that was when we developed the three-year diary * '''43:37''' where the concept of writing on the same page over three years was developed and so we were making a * '''43:44''' ton of diary a ton of techo what you call the techo journals for for people that was 1960s and we * '''43:51''' weren't satisfied with the paper quality and that's when md paper was okay developed to use specifically * '''43:59''' for these high quality diary products so there's a little bit of a lore what does md stand for it * '''44:05''' actually stands for midori diary paper paper made for midori's diary products but we just call them * '''44:14''' and the paper for short right now so it was called midori all the way um until 2007 but right before * '''44:23''' that 2006 that's when traverse notebook was first created and it is still a series of products * '''44:31''' underneath the midori brand and right now this year we're celebrating our 20th anniversary for traverse * '''44:37''' notebook that's exciting milestone so back then that's why for people who bought a traverse notebook * '''44:45''' in the past you might see some that was labeled that's right traverse notebook yes because that was * '''44:50''' one of the products in the midori brand like now that you say that i'm sure i've like titled things * '''44:55''' because i always try like to your point like i which totally makes sense because in the past it was * '''45:00''' called yeah okay i do remember that time okay sorry go ahead yeah so so that's why a lot of people * '''45:07''' still refer to it as oh it's i have the midori traverse notebook that's the real traverse but no * '''45:12''' it's all the same but back then our our director from traverse worked under the midori uh department * '''45:21''' and he was developing products and then he entered a competition and he developed traverse notebook * '''45:26''' and then that was the star product in 20 2006 um 2007 the company officially uh changed its name to design * '''45:37''' phil inc i think it was between the time yuri's father took over he kind of had a reorganization a new * '''45:44''' vision uh design phil is a merging of the word design and phil harmony which is like an orchestra like * '''45:52''' different instruments working in harmony so design phil was kind of the concept because it is starting * '''45:58''' to it has such a wide range of product underneath and they think it's like oh they all play together * '''46:03''' even though they're very different so even though the company changed its name to design phil midori * '''46:09''' continues to be that brand underneath design phil that sells stationery so leather sets stamps cute * '''46:17''' stationery pens the xs scissors i don't know if you know about that series so these are all * '''46:23''' the whimsical fun stuff are all under midori and then in it as well there's traverse notebook as its own * '''46:29''' series traverse notebook refills and then 2008 they were like let's develop a new series of product under * '''46:37''' midori but let's highlight our md paper we have this great md paper that we use in some of our products * '''46:43''' but what if we made a series that's made fully with md paper cover to cover so an md notebook you can * '''46:50''' even draw on the cover because that's also md paper so md paper products was developed then 2008 * '''47:00''' underneath midori and i think this is when it starts getting confusing because some people would just call * '''47:04''' it oh md for short instead of saying the whole word md paper products yeah and then they might also * '''47:10''' associate oh maybe md stands for midori but not really md is that specific line called md paper * '''47:18''' products with md notebook as the main item featuring md paper i know sorry to get a little confusing * '''47:26''' not confusing at all i know and now we finally roll it forward 2014 all you have to remember that's the * '''47:33''' year april really got into stationery yeah 2014 nice traverse notebook officially separates and * '''47:41''' this is where it comes in so midori as a brand cut they are it's a very innovative organization * '''47:49''' underneath design field and each year they're challenged to come up with new concepts and new * '''47:54''' products and new things but they all kind of live under the midori name but sometimes when a brand and the * '''48:01''' team behind it has their own vision for it and how it wants to go and doesn't want to be confined by * '''48:08''' the name or the concept of midori that's when they feel like okay maybe we can stand on it now and * '''48:15''' that's what happened to traveler's company our director ijima and miho-san who's the creative designer * '''48:22''' had a great vision for what traverse notebook could be and so that's when they decided let's pull * '''48:29''' travelers notebook series outside of midori and establish it as travelers company so that's the * '''48:36''' one of the rare first few times where oh a brand now jumps out of midori um so we still have midori * '''48:42''' with the empty paper in there and the empty notebooks in there the traverse company is on its own but * '''48:49''' because empty paper it belongs to design fill it's still shared among all the brands so that's why you * '''48:55''' see traverse notebook using refills using empty paper because it's a design fill proprietary paper it * '''49:02''' doesn't belong to midori it doesn't belong to md it belongs to design fill interesting yeah i have * '''49:07''' paper questions believe me so they're all the same paper and then finally this year empty paper products * '''49:16''' is also finding its own vision finding its own trajectory um and officially it is now separating * '''49:24''' it's separated from midori since january to become md product and the reason they did add a little name * '''49:32''' change there is because when you were used to be called empty paper products you're kind of it's * '''49:38''' restricted a little bit the scope is only for paper and notebooks and letter sets which which it used to do * '''49:44''' but empty product is a new lifestyle vision okay i can go a little bit into it later but they wanted it * '''49:52''' to be a little bit more than notebooks because now the whole vision for empty product just like travelers * '''49:58''' is about traveling and like plotters for like a system that makes for creative work empty product is about * '''50:06''' giving the user the space for reflection there's a whole concept around yo haku the word yo haku in * '''50:12''' japanese means margin or blank space so it refers to those blank margins on empty notebook but it also * '''50:21''' can refer to breathing room in your daily life some reading space and so there's this whole aesthetics and * '''50:29''' vision for empty product and that's why they separated from midori but they still again the core * '''50:35''' paper that's been used throughout md product is still md paper gotcha and one of my favorites so * '''50:43''' i'll let you catch your breath here that was a lot that was actually very very helpful and as someone who * '''50:50''' like not just uses this stuff but like covers it and has to field questions and tries to help people like * '''50:56''' find things that you know work for them getting some of that feedback in a bit of fortuitous timing * '''51:04''' of this show like in a what a day or two after this show the um the md product usa site launches is that * '''51:11''' maybe yes definitely who knows or day or two before day or two before so what's this yeah * '''51:17''' yeah it's launching on may 12th for for empty product usa so spoiler alert this is a podcast from * '''51:24''' the past we're recording this like a week ahead so of course i get the date screwed up so yes it'll * '''51:29''' be like a couple days before your site the the md product usa site will be live and i'll have the link * '''51:35''' in the show notes which will be live by the time uh this show airs right what can people expect to * '''51:41''' see what type of products i know there's been some teases and there's been some different products * '''51:45''' uh hitting the market out there that are under the md product um um brand so what kind of things can * '''51:53''' people expect yeah for sure we actually brought some to sfsf2 but md product now consists not just * '''52:00''' the md notebook lineup which people love you know we have all kinds of sizes we added dark grid which * '''52:05''' is a to the permanent lineup before it used to be a special edition um and now we are also introducing * '''52:12''' a lot of other stationery items as well as desktop interior lifestyle tools so uh in japan and some * '''52:21''' markets already in the u.s you'll see there's md drawing pen which is our version our answer to pigment * '''52:27''' pens and it's actually the favorite pen that our creative director of md product uses tayo sound he * '''52:33''' loves using pigment pens to draw and then we also launched other items that could add to your living * '''52:41''' space or your stationery desk space so we have pen rest made from different materials there's mortar * '''52:48''' there's glass there's wood there are three slots they're in this round circular shape and it will * '''52:54''' blend seamlessly on your desktop and you know reduce the clutter of what i'm looking at right now four pens * '''53:01''' stacked against each other push against the edge you know those kind of situations * '''53:08''' we also developed this cool new item called the scent clock uh i mean i don't know some people saw it at * '''53:14''' the show and they all loved it the incense burns in a circle which oh yeah i think i did see the pictures * '''53:19''' of that kind of imitates the duration of an hour so in a sense when you're enjoying the incense you also * '''53:26''' have a sense of time as you see the incense burns around the circle and it sits on these beautiful * '''53:32''' stands that's also made of mortar um glass and wood and those are available that those will be available * '''53:39''' in our online shop and i think the good part about us being a direct channel is that we will in the * '''53:44''' future get a lot of exclusive items okay we also help incubate and think of new items so when people came * '''53:50''' to the show they saw our tester item which is that giant block 200 by 200 centimeter testing block empty * '''53:58''' paper and everyone wanted to take it home yeah that's just our testing paper but who knows it might * '''54:06''' become an actual product um in the future as well so yeah the uh i'm gonna uh on my desk i've always * '''54:14''' had just like the small paper blocks so that the times four yeah so i have like these are i think * '''54:20''' we're 500 sheets or so i'm down to like 150 so it looks like just barely like a post-it size but * '''54:25''' those things live on my desk so like i love that type of product just to have additional desk * '''54:30''' accessories well this stuff will you start to have these types of products the md product it shows * '''54:35''' later in the year like um are you going to be able to carry some of that or are you kind of sticking * '''54:40''' with like say plotter and traveler setups and then how are you mixing and matching that if you're on the * '''54:45''' road later throughout the year we really hope to bring md product to more shows in the future * '''54:51''' because i think it's just such a great answer to both pen shows and stationery shows because they * '''54:57''' work in both um the no the plain notebooks the md notebooks are perfect for scrapbooking and stickering * '''55:03''' whereas you know for the fountain pen lover md paper is just the best yeah so we are thinking * '''55:09''' about mixing it up next year is going to be quite interesting uh because we want to go to both sf * '''55:16''' pen show and san francisco stationery fest if they do it again but will we bring all three brands to * '''55:22''' both that might be something that we might shake it up a little bit um and see maybe for as a pension * '''55:29''' we'll only bring plotter and md which makes sense sure and then for sf stationery we'll bring * '''55:34''' only travelers and md product oh i like that okay yeah kind of creating that distinction and then * '''55:40''' also because as a pension already are notorious for its crowdedness we we kind of pull back our * '''55:47''' our nuisance of a queue sorry guys i wasn't gonna say you were the problem but you said it honestly * '''55:55''' everyone always says it's plotter's fault but it's actually travelers it's travelers fault yeah so i * '''56:03''' wasn't gonna say it doesn't get that long of a line honestly i'm glad you said that before me so we're * '''56:11''' we're making a few changes just to shake it up a little bit but i know people will miss us so they * '''56:15''' don't see travelers so we'll see we'll figure it out um eventually then okay well we have some more * '''56:21''' things to figure out in this episode like a product you have enlightened me to that i have * '''56:28''' never seen before that i want to talk about and i think our listeners are gonna yell at me like brad * '''56:33''' how do you not know about this so let me talk about our our last sponsor this week and that's our friends * '''56:38''' over at squarespace so this episode of the pen addict is brought to you by squarespace squarespace * '''56:44''' is the all-in-one website platform designed to help you stand out and succeed online whether you're * '''56:48''' you're just starting out or scaling your business squarespace gives you everything you need to claim * '''56:52''' your domain showcase your office offerings with a professional website grow your brand and get paid * '''56:58''' all in one place so i've been using squarespace i swear one of these days when i read this ad i'm * '''57:03''' gonna find out the exact date it's got to be 12 to 15 years i've used squarespace the the functionality * '''57:10''' and consistency of the quality of the product has just been perfect for me someone who likes to have * '''57:16''' their own space out on the internet share their thoughts about stationery sell some products * '''57:24''' and just have the flexibility to really do anything i want with the website at just the press of a few * '''57:29''' buttons so like anyone you know that's just wants a personal site or like a business site can use * '''57:35''' squarespace even a membership site which is something they've added over the years so one of the things * '''57:41''' they help me with from a writing perspective is you can get discovered fast with integrated seo tools * '''57:46''' it's nothing i ever have to worry about they can just um they just you know their built-in systems * '''57:52''' you know have it optimized to be indexed with all the search engines and you know all the descriptions * '''57:58''' that are throughout the um the creation of your writing like my blog and my pictures and everything all * '''58:04''' that stuff's automatic and squarespace optimizes all this and it has an auto-generated sitemap * '''58:10''' and it just gets people to the site more to see what you're creating and as i mentioned before you * '''58:16''' can offer your your services and get paid from consultations to events and experiences you can * '''58:21''' showcase your offerings with a customizable website designed to attract clients and grow your business * '''58:27''' think built-in appointment scheduling email marketing tools and keep everything cohesive with * '''58:32''' on-brand invoices and get paid easily with online payments so they make it easy to do anything you * '''58:36''' want to do online and uh we can help you out with a discount if you're getting started over at * '''58:43''' squarespace you can head over to squarespace.com slash pin addict for a free trial and when you're * '''58:48''' ready to launch you can use the offer code pin addict to save 10 off your first purchase of a * '''58:54''' website or domain so that's squarespace.com slash pin addict offer code pin addict to get 10 off your * '''59:00''' first purchase and show your support for the pen addict so our thanks to squarespace for their * '''59:04''' support of this show and all of relay okay is there anything else in the the design feel universe uh * '''59:12''' that we need to wrap up here before we talk about a couple of specific products i gotta shout out midori * '''59:18''' because i think because we were on the tail end of that topic about midori paper or the confusion * '''59:24''' about midori paper um it's empty paper actually but the carton opener i was heavily recommending * '''59:31''' this to brad yeah so midori in the history first made their first carton cutter product in 1990 when * '''59:39''' i was born but 2019 is when they really honed in and created this round carton opener and immediately * '''59:49''' won like the good design award um it's a very lightweight um ceramic blade carton opener that * '''59:58''' is in a it's a retractable blade so you instead of like pushing it out so it comes on one end it's a * '''01:00:04''' full circle that you actually kind of like pull open to expose it into like a flat kind of handle and * '''01:00:12''' then you can easily use it to open all your boxes and it doesn't it goes through airport security just * '''01:00:18''' fine like i brought it to so many pen shows and there's never been a problem um and it's it's * '''01:00:26''' sharp but not enough that it will like hurt you in my opinion like it just works so great so these * '''01:00:31''' ceramic blade cutters i actually i guess i've technically heard of that concept for a while but * '''01:00:36''' never really used a product with them and then recently like literally just this year like blowing * '''01:00:41''' up on instagram maybe the japanese stationery awards they had the little animal ones that you drag * '''01:00:45''' across with the blades underneath that were super cute super hot i have that one too yeah * '''01:00:50''' but this this is actually looks like a proper tool that is very useful and i have a confession to make * '''01:00:58''' if you don't follow me on instagram um you should um but i have a post where i fessed up to my jetpens * '''01:01:06''' order queue and because i was looking for a product i was like did i get this here where was this and * '''01:01:12''' april i'm not ashamed to admit that i have ordered 1622 products from jetpens over my history maybe i * '''01:01:23''' should be ashamed but i'm not and i have never i have never laid eyes on this product and it's * '''01:01:28''' sitting right there it like you know you can find it many stationers i just happen to you know go into * '''01:01:33''' jetpens and see midori carton opener there it is no it's it's no telling how long it's been sitting here * '''01:01:39''' staring at me and the great part is it's magnetic so it just sticks to my fridge right by the door * '''01:01:46''' yeah when i need to open boxes it's like you will never lose this because it just goes on your fridge * '''01:01:51''' like a magnet yeah and then there's a regular one like that are uh i guess like a plastic sheathed uh * '''01:01:57''' that come in green and white it's like an off-white like cream color yeah there's a beige black * '''01:02:02''' mine's the black one and then there's a black one in aluminum right the aluminum one is the newly * '''01:02:09''' refreshed one which i also like because it's brighter so these are so useful and there's like * '''01:02:14''' a little hole you can like hook it up to a keychain bring it with you in the bag things like that so * '''01:02:20''' yeah midori brand is just i feel like if i were to define midori brand for everyone out there's not a * '''01:02:26''' stationery company it's a stationery incubator it's the part of our design field company that * '''01:02:33''' innovates the most they are they are free to try and do as many things as they want and so that's * '''01:02:40''' why traverse notebook was able to come out of it traverse company that's why md paper products * '''01:02:45''' eventually became md product was able to come out of midori because there's the team in that in that group * '''01:02:52''' um gets to try gets to use the full advantage of our in-house factory nagariyama and the letterpress * '''01:02:59''' techniques they get to source all these different places for resource and material ideas and they host * '''01:03:07''' like contests occasionally within the team ourselves and they just every time i go back to visit i love * '''01:03:14''' kind of like sailing over to the midori side of the office and just like hey what's new over here * '''01:03:19''' yeah and i have a friend there that's she's chinese and she will hook me up with some new news and i was * '''01:03:26''' like oh that looks interesting so so i i love like hibino okay yeah the amazing hibino is also from * '''01:03:34''' midori um so just kind of like all these fun little stationery not just limited to stickers stamps the goat * '''01:03:42''' stamp is also underneath the midori brand it's taking over my life the paintable stamp um so * '''01:03:50''' in the core design field you know used to be called midori and now midori is still the powerhouse of * '''01:03:55''' stationery innovation but on next to it your new concept is now called house of brands is that you * '''01:04:02''' have these quirky sisters quirky brothers the travelers company plotter you have md product that they all have * '''01:04:10''' their own unique personality when yeah but they coexist underneath the design field and it's a it's a house * '''01:04:18''' where everyone has the freedom to experiment have the freedom to grow and show their own colors * '''01:04:25''' because if you look into all these brands they appeal to different people like it's like they all * '''01:04:29''' have their own stories their own trajectory and different people relate to the story and the ethos behind * '''01:04:36''' each brand yeah i love i love that midori will be there just like that playground that encourages all * '''01:04:42''' that as well that's super cool that's super cool all right i don't want to take up too much of your * '''01:04:46''' time but i do have one i think i want to finish it on the paper topic because we've kind of talked about * '''01:04:51''' it um a few times just going around and talking about so design fill as a company has their own paper * '''01:05:02''' factory essentially right and then so everything from the design fill brands will come out of this paper * '''01:05:08''' factory is that fair to say or is there just is that too is that too specific or too too generic like not * '''01:05:15''' every you can't say everything because there's always like special limited stuff but are so if i have * '''01:05:21''' let me put it this way so i have a traveler's notebook i have an md product notebook and i have * '''01:05:28''' plotter inserts are all these papers the same do they come from the same factory do they each have * '''01:05:34''' is plotter have their own paper does travelers have their own paper does md product have their own paper * '''01:05:38''' help me out with that a little bit like i think that i think people might be interested * '''01:05:41''' a station company uses a ton of paper yeah a ton and a variety of paper so there's actually a lot * '''01:05:48''' of different papers that go through our factory the fact the factory that makes our paper are * '''01:05:53''' actually not in tokyo because to make good paper you need to be close to like really nice source of * '''01:05:58''' water so our paper factory is actually in another prefecture okay in japan but they make they use our * '''01:06:06''' for they have we have our proprietary formula there to make md paper we also source paper from different * '''01:06:12''' paper factories so actually we don't necessarily make all of our paper like md midori makes so * '''01:06:19''' many notebooks and diary items and some of them have you will see like pink paper blue paper like * '''01:06:25''' i have three or four different types of plotter paper in mind right and plotter made develop their * '''01:06:33''' own propriety paper called design fill pocketbook paper okay paper because the rings are so small so * '''01:06:39''' they can't really use paper that were out there or existing md paper because it'll bulk up really * '''01:06:45''' quickly so for them it was a it was they needed a solution okay to fit their product to make the * '''01:06:50''' thinnest paper they can that is still durable so i would say off the design for innovation we've * '''01:06:57''' made md paper and dp paper and md paper is shared among a lot of the brands now whereas dp paper is * '''01:07:04''' specifically for the knox and plotter division gotcha yeah okay that was the ring planners that * '''01:07:10''' was helpful that was one i missed uh when we were in that conversation i didn't want to leave that * '''01:07:14''' hanging out there um in case people were curious okay that's awesome all right um i think that's about * '''01:07:21''' it unless there's anything like you know any you know you've been into the lab you have the lab * '''01:07:25''' yourself maybe you want to tell us you know any secrets coming out of the lab soon anything anything * '''01:07:30''' else i think i would i would like to share like just like a final kind of like a conclusion about * '''01:07:35''' like the vision that yuri has because i think it it touched me a lot as a stationery lover especially in * '''01:07:44''' this age like back to that topic of ai and digitalization and all the ai-fication that's * '''01:07:50''' been pushed in my faces sorry i'm like a little bit of like tired of it but from that um but yuri's * '''01:07:58''' stance on it it was very strong and that's the direction design fill is heading in and i i love it * '''01:08:03''' so much so design fill and in fact actually last year when she went back she attended this all-hands * '''01:08:10''' company she made like a whole keynote speech that all those japanese colleagues did not expect because * '''01:08:16''' usually in the past it would be that her father or someone up in the operations team doing this like * '''01:08:20''' sales report kind of presentation and she like pulled out her powerpoint and just gave this huge * '''01:08:26''' inspirational speech everyone was shocked all the javasians were shocked we're not shocked yeah * '''01:08:31''' like that's that's how yuri is but yuri's vision for design fill which i found really interesting and * '''01:08:37''' i actually shared i think a script with you last time she said that design fill is not about making * '''01:08:43''' the best stationery it's actually about protecting creating and preserving the culture of analog so that * '''01:08:52''' it can expand the sum of people's good times good times and in quotations and i can't help but think * '''01:08:59''' about that one time when you mentioned on the podcast or maybe in your streams you're like * '''01:09:03''' stationery is about having fun yeah like that's that's what it's about if you're not having fun yeah * '''01:09:08''' there's no point in really being into stationery and so like today with like digitalization * '''01:09:14''' like all the tools it's all about making it more fast more efficient cheaper you know easier convenience * '''01:09:23''' but is instant gratification really the answer to people having fun or having a good time and to her * '''01:09:31''' she thinks the the definition of a good times because at the end of the day we all die like what what * '''01:09:37''' defines our life right is it the success or how much we got done or is it do we have a good time * '''01:09:43''' that's right so she she she explained like these feelings such as like those feelings like oh i love * '''01:09:49''' this or i can't wait for that or you know when you host something it's just like this feels so good * '''01:09:55''' so these are moments and feelings of good times that she thinks is more important for humanity in a * '''01:10:02''' sense writing on the third year of a five-year diary right when you get there when you unbox a package * '''01:10:09''' effortlessly when you're surrounded by your goods not necessarily writing but like * '''01:10:13''' just you have your good pen rest over there you have your bottle of ink waiting for you like * '''01:10:18''' these are good times that she wants to she wants design field to work towards expanding so the the * '''01:10:26''' core mission she wants everyone like if she was talking to the staff to all the employees of design * '''01:10:31''' feel like think about the good times that you enjoy in life and how can we expand that feelings for the * '''01:10:39''' customers so let's not try to make the best stationery out there let's try to think about * '''01:10:44''' how we can touch the end user and allow them to enjoy that good time whether it is like traverse * '''01:10:52''' notebook a book that encourage a person to go travel or to look at things around you and jot them down * '''01:10:58''' or you know book like md notebook sit down and you can be reflective you can enjoy that space that's only for * '''01:11:06''' you or midori that goat stamp when you stamp it down you feel so whimsy so whimsical and then * '''01:11:14''' for me the carton opener that just opens all my deliveries like so effortlessly these are all the end * '''01:11:22''' goal of of design feel like we just want to be a company that makes stuff for people to have as much * '''01:11:29''' as much good times as possible yeah i mean that's perfect sign me up for like literally all of that * '''01:11:34''' you know that's something i very much believe in um you know some of my you know i hope i show that * '''01:11:42''' in the things that i do and like what's important to me so yeah that's a philosophy i can totally get * '''01:11:48''' behind well that was amazing i appreciate you sharing that april and appreciate all the details um going * '''01:11:54''' through like design fill and then talk about your pen shows and like everything all the time you spent * '''01:11:58''' with me today i really really appreciate it i hope our listeners enjoy it um is there any anything else i have * '''01:12:04''' all the links for you know all the all the products and everything that we can share uh anything else * '''01:12:09''' you need to shout out before we go you still doing the creative refills podcast you or job or * '''01:12:14''' you know we're wrapping up season two with actually an interview with yuri so look forward to that * '''01:12:20''' awesome yeah okay i can't wait for that so yeah we're gonna see we're gonna look into her plotter * '''01:12:24''' oh nice all right so i'll put a link in too so y'all can go subscribe to that uh you can listen to my * '''01:12:29''' episode back from february um which i was on uh with april so yeah um i think that's a wrap i wanted to * '''01:12:37''' thank all of our sponsors for this episode the st louis pen show enigma stationery and square space uh * '''01:12:44''' thank you april for joining me and until next time say goodbye april goodbye [[Category:Podcast Transcripts]] [[Category:The Pen Addict Podcast Transcript]]
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