Muji: Look at This F*cking Notebook

Katrina's Team Pick:

After essentially having been on an extended summer vacation for like two years, I felt it necessary to go back to school with some hip-ass new notebooks. Marble notebooks were cool and retro, a little too common. Moleskines were beautiful and classy, but a little too predictable and way too expensive. I was at a loss. And then, much like Goldilocks struggling with the hot-and-cold porridge, I found the notebook that was just right.

Muji is a Japanese retailer whose theme I don't completely understand. Items for sale in their stores include - but are not limited to - LED aroma diffusers, furniture, menswear, storage items, wooden puzzles and paper Legos all sold to you by a team of quiet, androgynous, long-haired sales associates. It is the best store ever. And of course they have these fucking notebooks:

Muji is awesome because it's all about simplicity. No frills, no logo, their design seeks to capture the essence of an item where function dictates form, not the other way around. Is that a ridiculous thing to say? The way I feel about these items is ridiculous. And they're made from recycled paper. AND they're affordable. What is this devilry? I don't know.

The company only has three locations in the US, and they're all in New York. Luckily for you and also for me when I don't want to get out of bed, they have an online store! You can buy all the things. Would you like some socks or an umbrella with that notebook? Muji has it covered.

what the fuck is this

43 responses to “Muji: Look at This F*cking Notebook”

pyrrhic (member)
January 23, 2012 at 12:49 pm Permalink Reply Report user

I see your Muji and raise you a Rhodia wirebound notebook in orange. Extra points for the elasti-bound. And, like, my dad’s an architect, so…picture me flipping my hair.

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Lady Rainicorn
January 23, 2012 at 1:13 pm Permalink Reply

We have a Muji in the next town over. They have black rubbers. BLACK RUBBERS. It’s madness.

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1. Lady Rainicorn
  January 23, 2012 at 1:15 pm Permalink Reply
  
  Oh tits, I’ve just realised rubber means something different in America. I MEANT ERASERS, YOU GUYS.
  
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  1. Outoftehshower (member)
    January 23, 2012 at 2:06 pm Permalink Reply Report user
    
    Lol I actually thought a ball of rubber bands XD
    
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  2. middlemuse (member)
    January 23, 2012 at 2:55 pm Permalink Reply Report user
    
    And all the bi-sexual haters give a sigh. Nothing to troll here today. Everything is stationery and nothing hurts.
    
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    1. ppplease
      January 23, 2012 at 5:22 pm Permalink Reply
      
      meh, no one mentioned anything about bisexuals until you did.
      
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    2. Lenore
      January 24, 2012 at 4:32 am Permalink Reply
      
      Don’t forget: condoms are also used on sex toys by anyone who doesn’t want a mess on their hands.
      
      Chillout, mate. Pick your battles.
      
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      1. Bhan (member)
        January 24, 2012 at 8:59 am Permalink Reply Report user
        
        It was just a funny comment, she wasn’t being unchilled.
        
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        middlemuse (member)
        January 24, 2012 at 10:27 pm Permalink
        
        It’s fine, I kind of regretted the comment within seconds. One of those times when you try to make a joke over breakfast, you know, only 6:30 am isn’t the funniest time for making jokes? The beauty and curse of the internet is you can make an ass of yourself before you’re even capable of speech.
        
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  3. tanpopo
    January 24, 2012 at 11:44 am Permalink Reply
    
    and here i was hoping you meant rain boots…
    
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2. A. B.
  January 23, 2012 at 3:45 pm Permalink Reply
  
  Not as cool as the glow in the dark ones Star Wars Geeks FTW!
  
  For someone that doesn’t have sex with men I’ve got a pretty awesome condom collection
  
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3. Tamara (member)
  January 26, 2012 at 8:45 pm Permalink Reply Report user
  
  YOUR NAME FTW.
  
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Jessica (member)
January 23, 2012 at 1:34 pm Permalink Reply Report user

I have at least two of these notebooks on the go at any one time! They are just right and the paper in them is lovely. Also, for the record, Muji’s limited range of home furnishings is pretty great too.

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katiebug (member)
January 23, 2012 at 1:40 pm Permalink Reply Report user

http://www.muji.us/store/gift-and-memory/penguin-skittles.html

I’m so sad that this is sold out!

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Mollie (member)
January 23, 2012 at 2:20 pm Permalink Reply Report user

Katrina, lets stop fighting this and get Married, it’s evident to me we’d be perfect together..(This is apparently how I say, I LOVE THIS)

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Burmah (member)
January 23, 2012 at 3:35 pm Permalink Reply Report user

There’s a little store called ‘FamilyMart’ in Japan where I would stop everyday on my way home. I probably own thirty or so of these notebooks. They are lovely.

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1. ohgee (member)
  January 23, 2012 at 7:39 pm Permalink Reply Report user
  
  Whoa, I thought FamilyMart was Korean! There’s an FM on every block here. They have convenience stores in the US too- they’re rebranded as ‘Famima!!’ and are AWESOME.
  
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Claire (member)
January 23, 2012 at 3:48 pm Permalink Reply Report user

THAT OWL. If everything has a function, that owl’s function is to be awesome, or also to possibly sit next to my bed and protect me from all the monsters from Dr. Who, which I should stop watching before I go to sleep.

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1. Bhan (member)
  January 24, 2012 at 8:58 am Permalink Reply Report user
  
  When packing to go home I was lonely and sad and so chose to watch The Empty Child at three am. I do not think this was a smart decision.
  
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2. Jes R (member)
  January 25, 2012 at 1:48 pm Permalink Reply Report user
  
  The other day I marathoned all the weeping angels episodes. That definitely was a mistake.
  
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Leah Love
January 23, 2012 at 4:19 pm Permalink Reply

When did Lisa Frank folders stop making the cut? Give me a gangster bear with backwards 90′s cap and some plaid cargo shorts, two penguins in neon colors making pouty faces, or a yellow kitten who is more adorable than any LOLcats thing (okay, so I don’t really know or understand that LOLcats obsession…).

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1. SC
  January 24, 2012 at 9:42 am Permalink Reply
  
  lisa frank folders were the best! this is for you.
  
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2. chrissie riot (member)
  January 24, 2012 at 3:11 pm Permalink Reply Report user
  
  Lisa Frank stuff just isn’t the same anymore. They went all Bratz dolls with girls with obnoxiously large heads and tiny bodies. I mean there’s still some angel kittens to be found but it’s just not the same.
  
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Seth
January 23, 2012 at 4:33 pm Permalink Reply

The kanji (Chinese characters) that spell out Muji in Japanese literally mean “no brand” …hence the lack of logos. The “theme seems pretty straight forward: reduce all design out until you are left with nothing but what is necessary to serve the function.

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nippy (member)
January 23, 2012 at 4:33 pm Permalink Reply Report user

My parents used to have the wall mounted CD player. That thing was awesome. :’-)

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Klee
January 23, 2012 at 4:51 pm Permalink Reply

Oh. Stationary. Love.

Is it too nerdy to be excited about new stationary tips?

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1. L.J. (member)
  January 24, 2012 at 1:22 am Permalink Reply Report user
  
  Never too nerdy
  
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2. Bhan (member)
  January 24, 2012 at 9:11 am Permalink Reply Report user
  
  No.
  
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Rachel (member)
January 23, 2012 at 6:01 pm Permalink Reply Report user

Those nice ones with the different color tape, does anyone know how many pages they contain? I see that the spiral-bound ones have 80, but I can’t find it on the others.

Anyway, I like these. Thanks.

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1. Rachel (member)
  January 23, 2012 at 6:02 pm Permalink Reply Report user
  
  Wait, it’s 30 sheets. I’m terrible at finding things.
  
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  1. biensurmacherie (member)
    January 24, 2012 at 1:53 pm Permalink Reply Report user
    
    The paper is so thick and lovely you could wrap yourself up in it, so thirty pages feels like a lot
    
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mdn (member)
January 23, 2012 at 9:51 pm Permalink Reply Report user

Nice

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Caitlin (member)
January 23, 2012 at 10:29 pm Permalink Reply Report user

Game changer.

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kazoot
January 23, 2012 at 11:34 pm Permalink Reply

also, muji has the BEST pens and the most comfortable slippers ever to walk this world

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elliot (member)
January 24, 2012 at 12:48 am Permalink Reply Report user

The chronotebooks from muji are also quite spectacular: http://www.muji.us/store/chronotebook-am-pm-scheduler.html

Instead of a regular lined planner the pages are divided by am/pm and you make plans and notes around a graphic of a white clock (am) or a black clock (pm)

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1. March (member)
  January 25, 2012 at 4:03 pm Permalink Reply Report user
  
  I just bought one of those! I’m very excited.
  
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L.J. (member)
January 24, 2012 at 1:25 am Permalink Reply Report user

I bought one of those Zequenz things, hoping that fancy notebooks would make be a better writer. Didn’t work, but it is fancy.

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Charli (member)
January 24, 2012 at 4:38 am Permalink Reply Report user

There are like a bunch of Muji stores in Manila now. My friends and I were making fun of the winter clothes they were selling, it had a lot of plaid and fake fur lining. I wanted to buy some highlighters from there though. They were like the clicky kind, like retractable? You guys know what I mean.

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liseuse (member)
January 24, 2012 at 6:47 am Permalink Reply Report user

I love Muji so so much. Their pens are amazing. Though, I was saddened that they seem to have discontinued the style of diary I loved so much and owned for about five years on the trot. *sigh*

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Lali
January 24, 2012 at 7:11 am Permalink Reply

I LOVE Muji!
I used to live close to one of their big stores in NY and I would often go there to browse for hours. I would then be overwhelmed by all these things I wish I needed but didn’t actually need and leave in confusion.
I did buy a sweater and some markers once. They’re both fantastic.

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Olli (member)
January 24, 2012 at 2:30 pm Permalink Reply Report user

Muji is so expensive here you might as well just spend the extra fiver and get the Molekine thats going to last. Muji stuff falls apart and the paper is too thin.

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Gi (member)
January 25, 2012 at 11:43 am Permalink Reply Report user

I fucking love Muji. Best CD cases EVER.

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Danielle
January 26, 2012 at 1:15 pm Permalink Reply

My girlfriend got my brother a shrink-wrapped t-shirt from Muji for Christmas. It’s like a 2 inch cube which he keeps handy “in case of emergency.”

I got my 2012 planner there and I’m now addicted to writing about my week. Also mittens. And socks. I think I have a problem.

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