KUALA LUMPUR – “How come the perfect notebook never exists ah? They were pricey, made of terrible paper quality and didn’t help anyone in organising their notes!” Haoyee wondered out loud upon finishing his STPM back in 2017.
Unable to tolerate the state of notebooks sold, he began to learn sewing, a rather niche and rare skill for a teenager like him to acquire.
Being one who had a passion for creating handmade products, Haoyee used his sewing skills to make power bank pouches, laptop covers and even sewed stacks of paper together into a thread-bound notebook as a Christmas exchange gift.
This same skill soon caught the eye of Papericco’s founder, Loo Ying Yong, who was deeply impressed with his craftsmanship. It didn’t take long for him to become Haoyee’s apprentice and eventually made his very own notebook as a gift for his uncle.
“I had this sense of deep satisfaction and accomplishment throughout the entire process,” Ying Yong recounted.
Determined to revolutionise this “old” industry, Haoyee and Ying Yong began to brainstorm how they could achieve this vision. A friend of Haoyee’s, Dylan Tan, later joined the duo in their quest along the way.
“Dylan and I reconnected during the Movement Control Order (MCO), where we were tossing multiple ideas around on how to start a business that would be bigger than ourselves so that we won’t waste precious time while under a lockdown,” said Haoyee. “Through our interactions with one another, we realised that all of us shared a common interest in making customised stationeries.”
News of their collaboration soon reached the ears of Fiona Tan, who became part of the crew not long after. A designer by profession, Fiona gave several prototype templates to the team and after intense discussions, they then embarked on their journey of creating personalised notebooks.
After knowing Ying Yong’s idea, Fiona, who works as a designer, decided to turn the idea into reality. She showed the initial productivity templates to them, and everyone went into intense discussion and decided to embark the journey of creating personalised notebooks.
Six months of toil and tears
If you’re thinking, “Hey, making a notebook isn’t that hard, right?” you may want to think again. According to Haoyee, it took the team six months’ worth of research and refinement to produce their prototype product – a labour of love fraught with exhaustion, frustration, and endless meetings after working hours, sometimes lasting hours past midnight.
“The learning curve was steep during this period, but in retrospect, I don’t think we would be able to learn so much in such a short amount of time without it!” he quipped.
The materials are sourced from outside of Malaysia as the team could not find local manufacturers and brands that were up to their standards. But this brought a new set of problems, too.
“When the second wave of COVID-19 infections hit, we experienced countless delays in the shipping of materials and notebooks due to movement restrictions and the closing of international borders.
“So, if you happen to be reading this, we’re truly sorry for being so annoyed during that season as we were busy chasing deadlines and pestering suppliers!” joked Ying Yong.
Aside from shipment problems, the team faced challenges in securing local support for Papericco as well. “Many factories in Kuala Lumpur were unwilling to lend us their support as we were unable to fulfil their minimum order quantity. Thankfully, some were kind enough to give young companies like ours a hand with the production process,” said Haoyee.
Establishing the ONE and only notebook
Papericco’s best-selling item is the Papericco ONE notebook, where you can choose a quality, ring-bound notebook from 195 colour combinations. It’s also perfect for those who handle high volumes of paperwork as it allows them to arrange their notes in an orderly manner. Buyers may also choose what kind of style they would like to have on their pages (e.g. blank, grid, dots, lines, or mixed).
Ying Yong told WeirdKaya that they are now working tirelessly on expanding the team and preparing for the next product launch when asked about their plans. Moving forward, they will also be exploring the international market in 2022 and set up a physical store in 2023.
“We couldn’t have done all of this without the public’s generosity. Thus, we are actively seeking more funding opportunities to realise our dreams,” said Ying Yong.
While we wish the Papericco team all the best, we are quite sure that they won’t need much of it as we believe their resilience and fighting spirit will take them to greater heights!
You may customise and order your very own Papericco ONE notebook over here, or reach out to them on Instagram!
Sources: Cover images via Papericco for WeirdKaya
Editor: Raymond Chen
Proofreader: Sarah Yeoh
