There’s a provocation in the title “Finally, we’re selling QUADERNI”, which in 1993 marked the launch of one of the most emblematic projects in Arbos’ history. A title that plays on paradox: in a world dominated by the race toward innovation and excess, what could be more simple, more essential, than a notebook? And yet, it is precisely in that simplicity that we find immense creative, cultural, and human potential.
“QUADERNI” is not just a product. It is a project — a collective, open work, conceived and created by the… Mala. Arti Visive conceptual art group and by Arbos, in collaboration with the contemporary art gallery Neon in Bologna.
A powerful idea born from the encounter between art and craftsmanship, celebrating the notebook as a free space for individual expression.
A democratic object, accessible to all, yet capable — in the hands of those who write, draw, or reflect — of becoming a unique and personal work of art.
A cultural and manufacturing project
At the heart of the project lies a clear vision: culture and business are not separate worlds. A healthy economy can generate culture, and authentic culture can thrive even in everyday objects. QUADERNI was conceived with this in mind: an object with essential design, understated graphics, and a practical structure — sold at an accessible price to be truly “popular.”
Not in the sense of simplified or generic, but in the noblest sense of the word: something that can reach everyone and speak to all.
In 1994, to launch the project, ten Italian art galleries — from Bologna to Milan, from Turin to Piacenza — exhibited notebooks that had already been used by artists, writers, journalists, and students.
Each notebook thus became a unique piece, carrying meaning and life.
Completing the project were installations, drawings, large-scale prints, and a photocopier made available to the public to duplicate and share the contents.
A way of saying that even what is created to be personal can become collective.
QUADERNI, a mental space
There’s a sentence that has accompanied the QUADERNI project from the very beginning:
“Thoughts — and perhaps even the world — don’t exist unless you think them.”
We no longer have objective realities that impose themselves on their own: it’s up to us to create meaning, every day. And to do that, we need a place. A mental place, yes — but also a physical, tangible one.
A paper container where ideas can pause, grow, fail, and evolve.
The notebook is exactly that: a home for thought.
A timeless product.
More than thirty years after its debut, QUADERNI remains one of Arbos’ bestsellers to this day.
Constantly reprinted and sold in stationery shops and bookstores around the world, it is living proof that a strong idea — when it’s authentic — doesn’t age. On the contrary, it stays alive, relevant, and able to speak to new generations.
The lasting success of QUADERNI says a lot about Arbos’ approach to making products. Objects that speak, that tell stories, that invite reflection. Beautiful, yes — but also meaningful. Created for those who love to surround themselves with things that have a soul. For those who don’t settle for good design alone, but look for a message, a deeper meaning, a gesture of responsibility.
Communicating objects, not just tools.
With QUADERNI, Arbos reaffirms its mission: to transform products into cultural messages.
Every notebook, every planner, every Arbos creation is born with the intention to communicate something — a commitment to the environment, to beauty, to memory, to the freedom of expression.
Sustainable products made from recycled materials, crafted with care, and shaped by a contemporary vision.
In an age where speed often comes at the expense of depth, QUADERNI is an invitation to slow down —
to take the time to think, to write, to plan. To restore value to the objects that accompany us every day.
Because a simple notebook, when thoughtfully designed, can become so much more: a gesture of freedom, a cultural act, a personal work of art.
So yes — “Finally, we’re selling QUADERNI.”
But what we’re really selling — above all — is possibility.
The possibility to express, to create, to imagine.
The possibility to pause and reflect.
And in the end, isn’t that what truly makes a product valuable?