Hasta La Ideas

Moleskine is following through on its big plans for little notebooks. The Milan-based company, which affects a storied history but in fact was created by design-savvy publisher Francesco Francheschi in 1997 to revive the sleek jotters favored by the likes of Ernest Hemingway and Pablo Picasso, is following up last summer’s foray into pop-up shops (at train stations in Milan and Rome) with permanent stores around the world. The first American Moleskine shop–stocked with notebooks, journals, bags, pens, digital device accessories, and cases–opened Friday at the Time Warner Center in New York City.

Among the Moleskine-y touches at the new ground-floor kiosk (pictured above) is a map floorcovering that “symbolizes the mobile identity of contemporary nomads,” according to the company. The NYC location follows recent openings in London (at Heathrow’s Terminal 4) and Shanghai. A Beijing outpost will bow in May. The timing of Moleskine’s retail push is no coincidence: it’s all systems go for a €500 million ($654 million) initial public offering that should see Moleskine shares begin trading on the Milan stock exchange next week.

Previously on UnBeige:
• Mickey Mouse Makes Mark on Moleskine
• Beyond Notebooks: Moleskine Taps Designer Giulio Iacchetti to Expand Product Line
• Moleskine Enters the Digital Age with Kindle Cover/Notebook Hybrid

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