Hi everyone! For today's "Discover the charms of the Hobonichi Techo Cover," Techo team member Susan looks back on a cover that had an interesting production process.

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Susan

Makino Collection: Navy x Brown




The characteristics of this cover is the three dimensional wavy texture. At a glance it looks like a standard plaid pattern, but when you touch it, it has a fun texture and it also has a different expression depending on the angle you look at it.

At first, the manufacturing factory seemed to have thought it was better for the fabric to be completely straight, so the first sample didn't have the wavy texture. When I visited the factory, I told them that we wanted the wavy characteristic of the fabric to stand out, and asked if they could make another sample.



This is when the staff members of the sample room of the factory efficiently created a sample for us. I felt bad for staring too much, but I couldn't help stop looking to study how it was all done.



Because the core material of the interior affects the texture of the exterior, they tried out a few.


Cover on the top: NG (The fabric is too loose)
Cover on the bottom: OK (The fabric is just right)

It wouldn't be right if the fabric was too straight or wavy. It was a cover that made me realize the importance of conveying the intent behind creating a cover.

The Hobonichi Techo covers are packed with the feelings of the many people involved in creating it. I hope you come across a new cover throughout this sale.


Hobonichi Techo Discover! Sale

The Hobonichi Techo Official Site is holding sale for a limited period! A variety of techo covers and standard Hobonichi Original stationery are offered at 30% off. Orders made during this period comes with a sheet of stickers.

Period: Tuesday, April 27 11:00 AM Japan time to Wednesday, May 12 at 11:00 AM Japan time

Discover! Sale

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Hello! For today's "Discover the charms of the Hobonichi Techo Cover," Hobonichi staff member Beckham 3 talks all about the past covers (from when it first appeared in 2002!)

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Beckham 3

I took this opportunity to look back on past covers, and I stumbled across these!



The covers on the top row are from 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005.
The bottom row has covers from 2007, 2008, 2009 (and an A5 size Cousin cover).

The Hobonichi Techo was born in 2002, but the cover from the first year was especially special for me so I had kept it preciously.

The reason why it was special was because I had entered Hobonichi in April 2002. When I bought the techo, I was still only a reader of the Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun, so I remember feeling excited that Hobonichi was going to bring out their own techo and I had bought it online.

Never had I imagined that I would join the company 4 months later, but when I read back on my techo from 2002, I had written in detail about when I first visited Hobonichi, how I was asked to design their Haramaki (a belly warmer), and how that lead to me joining the company. The techo brought back so many memories of this time 19 years ago.



The first cover had lots of tabs and didn't have the pockets yet. However, when I peeked through in between the covers, I found a ticket of a Prince concert at the Nippon Budoukan! I had totally forgotten I had gone!



Because I joined Hobonichi as a designer, in the 2nd year, I was able to design a techo and so the 2003 edition techo was the first techo I was in charge of. The techo cover expanded its lineup from the single navy in the first year to Tomato Red, Orange Range, Olive Green and Mystery Grey - a total of 4 colors! (But this was the most we could manage at that time!) Although I had chosen Olive Green for myself, Tomato Red was really popular.



Although it's positioned differently, the 2 pen holders was already present from this year. It came with an bonus pen too. It's rare now that the words "Only is not lonely" is printed on the front, but a few years after this, it was embossed on a leather cover alongside the new Hobo Logo, and that was my favorite design.



To go onto the 2nd row (covers from 2007 onwards), the Fake Fabric series from 2007, the two-tone colors from 2008 and the Makino Collection in 2009 were popular. In 2009, the Sunday-start techos and A5 size Cousin techo book joined the lineup, so this year, I used covers in 2 sizes.



From 2011 onwards, we were able to collaborate with lots of amazing brands such as Disney, mina perhonen, Harris Tweed and B-Jirushi Yoshida, and it made a huge advancement compared to the covers from the previous years.



In 2018, I enjoyed the Beatles collaboration cover so I used that and another cover, but now, in 2021, I change up the cover of the A6 Original every once in a while, and use the TS Black for my A5 Cousin.

The covers I showed today are those that go all the way back from the covers that are included in the Discover! Sale lineup, but I hope you take this opportunity to find a new cover and create your own cover history!





Hobonichi Techo Discover! Sale

The Hobonichi Techo Official Site is holding sale for a limited period! A variety of techo covers and standard Hobonichi Original stationery are offered at 30% off. Orders made during this period comes with a sheet of stickers.

Period: Tuesday, April 27 11:00 AM Japan time to Wednesday, May 12 at 11:00 AM Japan time

Discover! Sale

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Hello everyone! Hobonichi Techo Discover! Sale these days reminded me of the time I used to choose techo covers as gifts for my friends. Often it's like, "Wow! This one has her name on it!" I do not need to think twice about it and she will definitely love it!

I met a girl who loves seals when I studied abroad in Milan. We went on a lot of trips together, and she told me that she had a lot of seal dolls and found them as lovely as white balls, which is really addictive.
Unfortunately, we didn't have the opportunity to go to the northern country to see the real seal with our own eyes together. When I first saw “Harp Seal Pup”, I decided to give it to her without even one second of hesitation. She was also very excited when she received it. Now when we see cute seals on social media, we share them with each other. Although we haven't seen each other for a long time, we are still good friends who talk every day.



The other is my high school classmate. Our university is not in the same city and we later we went to different countries. We both changed our direction along the way, and we knew that we were both doing our best in the places we love. In high school, we were the only two art students in our class. We sat together in the last row of the classroom. When we finished our self-study homework, we secretly went to the studio to draw and also took each other as models. Although our work now has almost nothing to do with painting, when I see this cover, I think, "this is it!" She also used to use techo on a daily basis, and she liked it very much when she received it. Now that she works on gallery, I hope this gift will accompany her every day.



Is there such a moment like suddenly fell in love at first sight? or want to give it to someone important?
We see, we use techo everyday, just like gentle eyes, which give people strength.

Hobonichi Techo Discover! Sale

The Hobonichi Techo Official Site is holding sale for a limited period! A variety of techo covers and standard Hobonichi Original stationery are offered at 30% off. Orders made during this period comes with a sheet of stickers.

Period: Tuesday, April 27 11:00 AM Japan time to Wednesday, May 12 at 11:00 AM Japan time

Discover! Sale

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Hi everyone! Today, I’d like to talk about my first ever techo cover.

To be completely honest with you, before entering Hobonichi, I had never properly used a techo cover, as I used to think it was a bit expensive. (This is also because I always used to use my techo at home, so I didn’t really feel the need to protect it from wear and tear)

However, just about a year before joining Hobonichi, I came across this cover at a Loft store.


The sticker that was on the bottom right (that awkward blank space) came off . . .
*This cover was from the 2018 lineup

I liked how it was affordable, it seemed light and most of all it was super cute. I was also excited that I was finally able to dress up my plain looking techo (by this point, I had seen pictures of people using all the cute techo covers and really wanted to join in on all the fun)

As I wasn’t used to using a cover, it was the perfect first choice because all the features were quite simple (it didn’t have the 2 pen holders like the other covers, there weren’t that many pockets and was slim) so I didn’t feel overwhelmed that I wasn’t using it to its full potential. Most importantly, it was fun to customize the cover to make it the way I wanted it to look, using all the cute stickers.

After entering Hobonichi, I definitely feel less overwhelmed and I’m enjoying all the features of the covers, now that I carry it around with me all the time. I use the pockets to store stationery such as sticky notes, stickers, washi tape and even a pen-type scissor.


My current cover collection. I customized the cover on the right using a mina perhonen brooch I bought at an exhibition
*The cover on the right, Plain Stripes (Powder Pink), is available in the Discover! Sale

Most of all, now that I see the process of each cover being made, and the thought processes that go behind it, I always go through the dilemma of choosing which cover to go for that year . . . ! (Should I choose the A6 or the A5? Do I go for the normal cover of the Zippers type? Do I choose a simple one or a cute one? The options are endless . . . )

A lot of the covers in the Discover! Sale lineup are one’s from the years I didn’t bother to purchase a cover, so looking at it now, truth be told, I’m tempted to buy one. Have you found a cover that you like the look of?

Hobonichi Techo Discover! Sale

The Hobonichi Techo Official Site is holding sale for a limited period! A variety of techo covers and standard Hobonichi Original stationery are offered at 30% off. Orders made during this period comes with a sheet of stickers.

Period: Tuesday, April 27 11:00 AM Japan time to Wednesday, May 12 at 11:00 AM Japan time

Discover! Sale

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Hi everyone! For today's "Discover the charms of the Hobonichi Techo Cover," Techo team member Hoshino shared her story of a cover she was in charge of the very first time.

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Hoshino

When I was looking at the lineup of the Discover! Sale, it made me happy to see so many covers that I feel attached too.

Out of those covers, Day Camp (Sun) and Day Camp (Mountain) were covers that I was involved in choosing its shape and material from the very beginning.




When I thought of a cover I personally would like to use, I came to the conclusion that it would be one that I can throw in my bag and use it roughly and casually.



Durable tarpaulin material
I chose a sturdy tarpaulin material that's used in tents. It's durable, you don't have to worry about making it dirty, and yet it looks cool. It was the perfect material for this concept.

Tri-fold cover that closes with snap fasteners
The charms of a tri-fold, snap fastener type cover is that you can use it instantly once you open the butons. I feel it doesn't take much time until you actually write from when you thought of starting to write.

Energizing vitamin colors
The Day Camp covers uses a yellow just like the sun, and a green that's reminiscent of the mountains.



I chose them hoping that anyone carrying this cover will take it with them and go outdoors loads, and would feel energized simply having it close by.


The styled images were taken with the image of using it energetically outdoors

I chose the A5 size for my work techo and used it loads for three years. (I started using the A6 size from this year so it's currently resting in my drawer)


I put in my two favorite pens in the slightly loose pen holder

Because it was the first time I was involved in product development, at one point, I was stuck with its specifications and design and found myself saying "it might be better if I give up." I'll never forget Susan (who's in charge of production control) telling my that it would be such a waste to give up after coming up with this concept, and it's just steps away from turning into a cute cover. I remember being so happy to see several staff members using it in the office too.



There's an article called The Techo Team Takes a Loving Extra Look (Techo 2020) where each team member involved in product development talks in depth about the covers they were in charge of. There were several comments for covers that are in the Discover! Sale lineup, so if you find a cover you're interested in, I hope you take a look.




Hobonichi Techo Discover! Sale

The Hobonichi Techo Official Site is holding sale for a limited period! A variety of techo covers and standard Hobonichi Original stationery are offered at 30% off. Orders made during this period comes with a sheet of stickers.

Period: Tuesday, April 27 11:00 AM Japan time to Wednesday, May 12 at 11:00 AM Japan time

Discover! Sale

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Hello! For today's "Discover the charms of the Hobonichi Techo Cover," Techo team member Annen shared ways to customize the Colors cover.

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Annen

I'm currently using the Colors: Classic Chocolate cover in which I fell in love with the chocolate brown color.



Of course it's cute on its own, but another reason why I chose this cover is because I wanted to customize it. So, I decided to try different customizations!


No. 1: Paste adhesive patches





I tend to buy adhesive patches because they are just too cute, even though I have no plans on using it . . . I finally found a home for them by pasting it on my techo cover!

The Dancing Fox Adhesive Patches also look super cute.




No. 2: Slip in my favorite cards and stickers.



By putting on a Cover on Cover, you can slip things in between the cover, so you can customize it as freely as you like. I have a habit of collecting things, so I have a bunch of cards and stickers. Slipping them in between the cover at random makes it look nice.


No. 3: Slip in photos



It's also fun to slip in memorable photos depending on the season to change it up a bit.


No. 4: Decorating with sparkly spangles





Spangles that are hard to make use of turned the cover into a cute one! (I've pasted the spangles on a see-through film and slipped that in between the Cover on Cover.


No. 5: Slipping in my own work



If you're into handicraft, why not slip that in your techo cover? (Mine is an embroidery that's halfway through . . . )

The Discover! Sale has lots of Colors covers available on offer, so if you're interested, I hope you check it out!



There are several illustrated Cover on Cover's that are available through a trial price of 30% off at the moment too.
*The plain Cover on Covers are sold at their usual price.

It's also fun cute to customize using illustrated Cover on Covers!




Hobonichi Techo Discover! Sale

The Hobonichi Techo Official Site is holding sale for a limited period! A variety of techo covers and standard Hobonichi Original stationery are offered at 30% off. Orders made during this period comes with a sheet of stickers.

Period: Tuesday, April 27 11:00 AM Japan time to Wednesday, May 12 at 11:00 AM Japan time

Discover! Sale

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Hi everyone! The Hobonichi Techo Official Site is currently holding the Discover! Sale. We hope you take this opportunity to discover your favorite cover!

Starting today, I’ll be introducing you to Hobonichi Techo team members and their stories related to techo covers, such as their memorable covers, or their most favorite cover.

For today, let me introduce you to how Shimada utilizes her techo cover that she isn’t using for her techo.

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Shimada

Today I’d like to share how I use my Hobonichi Techo cover.

The cover I used in 2020 was Taut, a leather cover that fits snugly around the Hobonichi Techo (pictured on the left). For this year, I chose Dark Cherry, which is a leather cover that has a deep color reminiscent of real dark cherries (pictured on the right).



Although I did switch up covers, I was quite fond of the Taut cover and kept it by my side.



It was perfect for stationery that doesn’t have much thickness, so before I knew it, my Taut cover turned into a case to store sticky notes and stickers.



I laid out everything I keep inside, but as you can see, it fits quite a lot.



I can easily open and close it and pull out items I need on the spot. Although it’s slightly different to how it’s supposed to be used, I found it comes in handy.



This was my small introduction on how I use covers I don’t use for my techo any more!

Hobonichi Techo Discover! Sale

The Hobonichi Techo Official Site is holding sale for a limited period! A variety of techo covers and standard Hobonichi Original stationery are offered at 30% off. Orders made during this period comes with a sheet of stickers.

Period: Tuesday, April 27 11:00 AM Japan time to Wednesday, May 12 at 11:00 AM Japan time

Discover! Sale

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Hi everyone. Today's Techo News is a small technique by Techo team member Marutani on how to paste packages that have thickness in your techo. Below are her comments.

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Marutani

Recently, I've been into wind-up toys. My most recent purchase moves in such a cute way, so I decided to keep a record of that in my techo.

Firstly, I peeled the tag that was on the toy. This peeling technique is useful when you want to paste something that is thick, such as tickets and cards, but you don't really want to make your techo bulky.


▲I peel is off carefully like this


▲The tag split into two neatly. This time, I'll be pasting in the back of the tag as well.

By peeling it like this, I can paste it in my techo neatly without making my techo bulky. The pages won't get bumpy either, so it doesn't interfere with the rest of the pages.

After pasting in the tag, I wrote a lot with a ballpoint pen, but it seems quite sad when I use only a black pen . . .



In order to make the page a bit more fun,



I decided to line it using the Zebra Mildliner.

This was my first time using it, but the ink doesn't bleed so I really recommend it! Using a marker makes it easy to add some color to your spread.

The ballpoint pen I used is Zebra's "bLen'' ballpoint pen in 0.5mm; another item I hadn't used before despite purchasing it a while back. The "stress-free writing experience" makes it really easy to write, so I recommend this too.

What I actually want to do is to draw illustrations of the toys I bought! I'm sure I won't be good at it though . . .


▲Bonus. The wind-up toys I bought. I will try drawing this . . . It might be a bit hard for me . . .

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How did you find it? I also have a lot of tags that came with the items I bought that are too cute to throw away but am not sure where to keep it. Pasting it in the techo after thinning it out seems like such a great idea! I'll be sure to try it out.

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Hi everyone! This is Ono, and I'm back again to share with you another shop that carries the Hobonichi Techo. Last time, I talked about a store in Texas, but this time, let me introduce you to a store all the way from Italy!

*Please note that the photos do not reflect the latest shop status, so the items shown may not be in stock.


The entrance is already nice

Stilo&Stile is located in Rome, Italy. They started off as a fountain pen store, and so they are continuously searching for products that pair well with those kinds of writing utensils.

Their search for products also included looking into special diaries that they can place in their store, so they started to look into Japanese products too. That's when they found out about us, Hobonichi. They also actually visited us in Tokyo in 2018!



They decided to carry the Hobonichi Techo because of the paper quality and the variety in sizes such as the A6 size, A5 size and the wallet-sized Weeks.





They told us how their customers are often women, and their interest lies in bullet journaling, writing utensils and products with good designs. They also found that their customers who are interested in the Hobonichi Techo are those who love fountain pens and have a desire to write on good paper.

If you're a lover of fountain pens and live close by, I hope you stop by to see their beautiful lineup!

There are other shops around the world that carry the Hobonichi Techo. You can check them from the link below.

>Where to Buy


About Stilo&Stile

Address: Via Gallia, 101/a, 00183 Rome, Italy

Website: http://www.stiloestile.it

*Please contact them directly for their shop opening hours and current stock status.

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Hi everyone! Today, I wanted to share how Techo team member Komata uses her Weeks book as her work techo. This Techo News is a re-edit of Komata's Techo News she wrote in Japanese this time last year.

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Hello! I often get asked how to use a Hobonichi Techo for work. I'm sure there are lots of you who use your Hobonichi Techo for work, but it's actually quite hard to share its content on the Internet.

So today, I want to share with you how I use my Weeks book. There are only 4 rules I've set myself upon using it. As for everything else, I use it as freely as I like.


▲I rewrote the contents of my techo from last year into this year's techo for this photo.

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Rule No. 1
Write my work schedule in blue, private schedule in black, and use red for super important factors.

Rule No. 2
Write down my to-dos for work on that day's entry after the □ mark. (If it doesn't fit, I write on the right page)

Rule No.3
Open my techo and check my to-dos in the morning, after I arrive at the office. Start working from tasks that are important. Once I'm done with the task, color in the square from □ to ■.

Rule No. 4
If I have □'s that I haven't managed to color in at the end of the day, I either work hard to finish it within that day, or slide it to the next day (consulting with my deadline that is . . . )
If I want to move it to the next day, I write a ↓ mark, and if I want to move it to the following week, I write the → mark.

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That's it! I simply write down my to-dos and tick them off, so it might be quite a simple usage example. But by organizing everything on the Weeks that I can use everyday and look at the whole week at a glance, I've been experiencing the positive aspects of it:

- I can see how much work I have that week, so I can plan out my future schedules and how to work that day.

- I won't lose my to-do list and work memos because it's all in a single book.

- I can minimize the number of times I forget to do small tasks and not meet deadlines.

I also love how the Daily Quotes give me inspiration for work.

I use the right page to write down memos and ideas for work.

On another note, I tend to take a lot of notes, so the Weeks Mega is perfect. I mainly use the 3-color ballpoint pen that comes as the Hobonichi Store exclusives and Frixion stamps as stationery to accompany my techo.



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How did you find Komata's tips? I always have the image that Komata is super efficient and always works ahead of schedule, and her Weeks book might be her secret! If you're looking to find a way to utilize your techo for work, why not try out Komata's tips?

Thanks for reading this week too, and I hope you look forward to next weeks' Techo News too!

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