Co-founder of ana tomy, Zeejay Wong
Cover Zeejay Wong
Homegrown stationery brand ana tomy outlines a guide for a personalised writing experience with its customised journals and planners

About ana tomy

"We're like the Lego of notebooks," Zeejay Wong tells us at ana tomy's vibrant shop at the Zhongshan Building in Kampung Attap, KL. Established in 2016 by the same team behind The Alphabet Press, they have expanded beyond bespoke letterpress and printing to stationery and journals.

Similar to the plastic toy blocks, ana tomy lets you 'build' your own notebook with its wide range of materials and cover patterns sourced from Fedrigoni Papers in Italy and Bamberger Kaliko in Germany, as well as recycled paper sheets produced by Munken in Sweden. Watch the video above for a step-by-step guide.

Illustrating Blank Canvases

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ana tomy's Classic Series (Photo: ana tomy)
Above ana tomy's Classic Series (Photo: ana tomy)
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ana tomy x Janice Sung collection (Photo: ana tomy)
Above ana tomy x Janice Sung collection (Photo: ana tomy)

The simplicity and details of ana tomy's Classic Series with its fully concealed cover, colourful book band and a flexible insert paper combination led to it winning in the Product Design category at the prestigious Coveted Good Design Award 2019.

Treating the journal covers like blank canvases, Wong was keen to collaborate with artists and illustrators such as Janice Sung who created a tropical and modish theme for her collection of journals.

“We usually have a certain format to the book design but we allow some freedom for these artists to explore and interpret them,” shares Wong who plans to collaborate with more local artists.

See also: Montblanc Welcomes 2020 With The Power Of The Dragon

Journal-Making In The Digital Age

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Championing the art of writing with pen and paper, Wong believes that social media has done little to dilute the beauty of writing in physical journals. Wong notes: "Digital devices may have made our life easier and more efficient but jotting down notes on paper helps to make you more focused since you won't be distracted by other apps or mobile games. Keeping a journal also gives you the freedom to express your ideas, whatever they may be."

This can be seen in ana tomy's variety of paper formats from to-do-lists and recipe forms to habit trackers as well as textured papers for watercolour painting that can be inserted within a single notebook. 

Need to archive your writings? This can easily be done with ana tomy's innovative book filing system that involves folding their book packages. Add the choice of colours and art, and journaling is not only easy but also an incredibly fun and creative experience. 

See also: 5 Designed-In-Malaysia 2020 Planners That We Absolutely Love

 

 

Credits

Photography  

Goh Kwee Jin

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