Moleskine Opens First U.S. Store, Preps IPO

Moleskine is following through on its big plans for little notebooks. The Milan-based company, which affects a storied history but in fact was created by design-savvy publisher Francesco Francheschi in 1997 to revive the sleek jotters favored by the likes of Ernest Hemingway and Pablo Picasso, is following up last summer’s foray into pop-up shops (at train stations in Milan and Rome) with permanent stores around the world. The first American Moleskine shop–stocked with notebooks, journals, bags, pens, digital device accessories, and cases–opened Friday at the Time Warner Center in New York City.