Submitted: The Two Sides Team June 30, 2015

At Two Sides, we are partial to all things paper!  But so are many other people as evidenced in several recent articles about the continuing appeal of paper notebooks (bullet journal anyone?), and the rising popularity of adult coloring books. 

David Sax wrote in a recent article in The New Yorker, "Why startups love Moleskines," that “the popularity of Moleskine notebooks seems to defy the widespread worship of technological innovations coming out of Silicon Valley.” He goes on to point out that “Moleskine’s ascent … is symptomatic of a shift that I call the revenge of analog, in which certain technologies and processes that have been rendered “obsolete” suddenly show new life and growth, even as the world becomes increasingly driven by digital technology. This goes beyond the well-documented return of vinyl records, encompassing everything from a business-card renaissance sparked by online brands such as MOO to device bans during meetings.” 

In an interesting article on npr.org, “In A Digital Chapter, Paper Notebooks Are As Relevant As Ever,” Eric Weiner notes that “Paper can make the abstract tangible in a way that digital devices don’t.”  

Adult coloring books are at the top of Amazon’s best seller list, and their popularity is attributed to ‘anti-stress’ benefits and nostalgia.  These coloring books include titles such as Adult Coloring Book: Stress Relieving Patterns and Secret Garden: An Inky Treasure Hunt and Coloring Book.  Read the full article from The Guardian here.

Marvel recently launched a new line of adult coloring books which kicked off with Age of Ultron, Civil War & Little Marvel!  Marvel's inspiring press release encourages us to “dig out those crayons, markers and colored pencils and prepare to return the color to the Marvel Universe, True Believer. But don’t forget your imagination – you’re going to need it! Channel your creative energies, unwind after a hard day’s work, or just relive your childhood memories!” 

Share this story