Konosuke Matsushita, the founder of Panasonic, was a regular customer at Gekkoso. The source of this business god's ideas was a piece of paper and a pencil.
Gekkoso's products are all original, from paints to bags, tableware, and erasers. As they completed each homemade product through dialogue with artists, all of the products they handled eventually became original.
One of them is the Usudo sketchbook, created in collaboration with Konosuke Matsushita.
"When I stand in front of a blank piece of paper, I feel intimidated. But graph paper or ruled paper limit my ideas. Thin dots with clearly defined 1cm squares can act as a starting point or guide when sketching ideas or drawing notes, and they are easy to use as they don't get in the way of your ideas. It would be even better if the dots magically disappeared when you made copies," was the suggestion made by Matsushita, and so the sketchbook called "Usten," with thin light blue dots, was born.
At that time, there were no computers, but we received a large order from Panasonic for use in their company.
This sketchbook won the Good Design Long Life Design Award in 2008.
Gekkoso's history is the history of bespoke, where we receive orders directly from customers and respond to them with custom-made products. The word bespoke comes from the English word "be-spoken," which means "to discuss." Gekkoso has gone beyond the framework of an art supply store and has continued to create products that cherish the essence of art, such as stationery, furniture, clothing, and miscellaneous goods, by repeatedly discussing with artisans in various genres in response to customer requests.
Even as the tools we use change with the times, Gekkoso's commitment to providing full support to those who create things remains unchanged. We look forward to meeting the next generation of Matsushitas, and will continue to refine the quality of our product development.
