We meet again today for a rather special article! One week before the launch of our second collection, we wanted to share with you our daily life over the past six months.To do this, nothing beats telling you some of the little "secrets" behind Foglietto, through the creation of one of the flagship products that you can find from September 3 on the site: the shirt organizer. Kanban.

From ideation to photo shoot, via prototyping and printing, let's discover together what steps and what trades are hidden behind one of our favorite stationery items.Find the full behind-the-scenes video of this second collection, produced by Papier Plié, at the end of this article.

Secret #1: How do you create a new object?

When you create a new product, something that does not yet exist, do you necessarily start from scratch? The answer is no.

This is the case with our cards, with their unique concept, and our Kanban folder organizer, which you will soon be able to discover.The idea rarely comes from a “Eureka” moment.It is built rather like a small house, over the course of our observations, readings, exchanges... So many small bricks that fit together until they form, one day, a real building.This is a process that necessarily takes a long time, which brainstorming can at best boost.

Hence the importance of remaining curious and open to the world, of consulting people or media with opinions and subjects different from our favorite fields… In short, getting out of your comfort zone.

It is these different confrontations, experiences, inspirations and discoveries that can lead us to question established and dated formats, such as that of the notebook, in order to better re-invent new ones, such as the Foglietto cards and their future Kanban organizer.

This is how Foglietto was born.From a combination of readings, observations (colleagues who were all struggling to find a single, common and effective system to manage their various projects together and individually), my own frustrating experience with one or more notebooks, and inspirations from other fields, in this case History and “Gender Studies” as well as collaborative management, where I had my first professional experiences.

Secret n°2: a passion for history that shines through in our creative processes

Far from being an essential step for product designers, historical research is, however, at Foglietto, the basis of our work.We rarely reinvent the wheel, and a bit of research often tells us that we are not the first to seek to meet these needs.From there, it is interesting to study where these questions led our predecessors, what objects or practices were born from their work and, if they did meet their audience, how they were received by the latter.

To this historical research is systematically added research on current uses: surveys, exchanges, in particular on social networks (), interviews, observations, readings and workshops allow us to understand who feels this need to which we are trying to respond. , how is it perceived, what solutions are implemented to respond to it and what impact it has on daily life.

This is what allows us to identify the main and secondary functionalities of our product, its “added value” and its potential.Finally, in the Foglietto philosophy, it is also important to understand how it will fit into its environment, that is, for example, with your other office tools.

As far as the Kanban organizer is concerned, its 3 main functions are:

1. Visually arrange your note cards according to different models (eg: double-entry table, calendar, Kanban, etc.),
2. Retain its visual organization (for example in a standard binder, thanks to its universal perforation strip),
3. Create project files integrating Foglietto with other “classic” documents (documents, brochures, etc.) thanks to its A4 format and its flaps.

And its 2 secondary functions:

1. Visually classify your files by project, category, activities, month, etc.in particular thanks to its system of removable spacers,
2. Encourage collaboration, especially when used as a “mobile Kanban”.

Secret n°3: visualization before you even design

Foglietto, and in particular the Kanban organizer, are stationery items whose objective is to promote visual management (in the broad sense of the term), their visual aspect is therefore essential and sometimes even guides their design.

The choice of colors and materials are among the most important steps.Here, the choice is made based on the color charts of our paper manufacturer: Fedrigoni.The Kanban organizer is made from the same paper as our index cards, in a slightly heavier weight.It is a paper made in Italy, composed of 80% recycled fibers and 20% fibers from forests with the FSC label (the most demanding according to WWF).The color chosen, a very soft grey/beige, allows all the colors of our cards to stand out by contrast, so that all your attention can be focused on them.

It was equally important to us that this organizer stand out as much for its functions as for its aesthetics.It is from this requirement that we imagined an ingenious system of cuts which, in addition to securely holding your files in place, creates an original graphic pattern on the cover of your folder organizer.

Finally, from a very personal point of view, it is essential for me to first visualize the final aspect of a project, its overall coherence, both visual and functional, before being able to unfold it. all the more technical features.You have to know how to get rid of academic methods or work processes that do not correspond to our intrinsic modes of functioning (we do not all function in the same way, and more than being normal, it is also and above all exciting and rewarding), especially when they hold us back and constrain us.

Secret #4: We never.

If there's one little secret that's important to me to share, it's this: my academic training is not that of a graphic designer, nor even of a designer short by the way.And yet that was never an obstacle.

This main secret contains many others, such as that of continuously training in new techniques and new knowledge, of accepting error as an integral part of the process, of having a strong motivation and, above all, never be afraid to ask for advice or help.

A big yes, then, to crossovers between skills and sectors, to continuing education, formal or informal, and to retraining projects! Believe in your abilities and surround yourself with the right people.

Secret #5: Failures and Challenges

Once the first version of the technical file is finished, we start prototyping in parallel.

This is an essential and often unpopular step, because it involves being willing to question everything.This is typically the moment when we realize that what we had imagined does not look so good “in real life” or that something is wrong with our measurements.There are therefore many iterations at this stage!

Prototyping is also the moment when we will be able, for the first time, to take the object in hand... and have it tested by others than ourselves.This is therefore a crucial step.

Below, you can see a photograph of the prototype of the removable dividers offered with your Kanban folder organizers.The final colors will be the same as those of our sheets, since these inserts are made from our leftovers and scraps of paper, to avoid waste as much as possible.

Secret #6: Who do we "work" with?

Optimizing our resources, both for economic and environmental reasons, is one of the main constraints we impose on ourselves.Just like the fact of working only from natural raw materials and only with suppliers located in France or even, when this is not possible, in Europe.

All of our paper products, including our cards and our Kanban organizer, are thus manufactured, stored and shipped within a radius of… 10 meters! This means that apart from their delivery to your home, our products do not require any transport, since our various partner suppliers are all located in the same street, in Maine-et-Loire.This consolidation of all our production, storage and shipping activities is also a great novelty since this summer.

For us, this also means increased dialogue and better integration of all the professions involved throughout the life of Foglietto, since all you have to do is cross the street in case of a question or go- back during production!

On the other hand, Foglietto's offices are located in Nantes.This is where Foglietto's other activities take place: creation, communication, management, etc.

As for this little “I” which is difficult for me to pronounce and thus often disguises itself as “we”, it seems so unnatural to me when, on a daily basis, Foglietto is built up thanks to so many different people, to their expertise and their advice.Even if "I" am the only one to speak in the name of Foglietto, Foglietto is far from being summed up and from depending entirely on me.So if you want to find out more about me, and therefore better decipher this juggling of pronouns, go to the site's Our story page.

Secret #7: What's behind our prices?

You might think our work ends here, but it's only just begun! Once the manufacturing is finished, we can move on to the communication stages.For this, we continue to surround ourselves well: photographer, videographer, developers to help us with the most technical aspects of the site...

It is also time to decide on very concrete aspects, such as the selling price of our products.This always includes:

1. The manufacturing, the raw material and the remuneration of the people we work with,
2. VAT! We often tend to forget it when we buy a product, but 20% of the price we pay is directly in taxes,
3. Our fixed costs: the rent of our workshop, our insurance, taxes and professional contributions, the operating costs of our site, accounting costs, etc.,
4. A margin, which will allow us to earn money and continue to grow Foglietto.
5. Part of the postage costs we bear (a parcel costs us around €10 to ship, so we bear on average 1/3 of the postage costs, if not all when you pass an order over €89),
6. The packaging and order preparation costs of our logistician.

Once the photos are taken, the new shop page created, our inventory updated, we make sure the good news spreads: Instagram, Pinterest, partnerships, newsletter… And here we are!