Executive Briefing

When good design is how it feels

Tokyo’s Postalco made your favorite notepad. Now it wants to make your favorite shirt.

Postalco's Free Arm Shirt
Postalco’s Free Arm Shirt / Photos courtesy Postalco

Postalco, the Tokyo-based brand that’s best known in the US for its stationery products — but that also makes wallets, backpacks, and even a chair — has become one of my favorites by designing everyday tools with high utility, clever details, and impeccable, only-in-Japan craftsmanship.

But what I’ve come to love most about Postalco is how husband and wife designers Mike and Yuri Abelson — who started the company in their old Brooklyn apartment in 2000, and moved to Japan the following year — share the details of their thinking and process that lead to such specific products.

The New Consumer Executive Briefing is exclusive to members — join now to unlock this 1,500-word post and the entire archive. Subscribers should sign in here to continue reading.

Dan Frommer

Hi, I’m Dan Frommer and this is The New Consumer, a publication about how and why people spend their time and money.

I’m a longtime tech and business journalist, and I’m excited to focus my attention on how technology continues to profoundly change how things are created, experienced, bought, and sold. The New Consumer is supported entirely by your membership — join now to receive my reporting, analysis, and commentary directly in your inbox, via my member-exclusive newsletter. Thanks in advance.

Join: $60 / Quarter Join: $200 / Year More Options