» Rhodia Calendar: Clairefontaine turns 150
In an era of instant messages and 15-minute YouTube fame, you become more appreciative of age and longevity. Like vintage wine, they progress in taste as they advance in age. Clairefontaine, the French parent-company of Rhodia notebooks, epitomizes that brand of staying power. This year, the paper mill company established by Jean-Baptiste Bichelberger in 1858 in the Vosges mountains of France, turns 150. We just got hold of its anniversary banner, and it’s bursting with colors that exude so much energy; a visual testament to its embrace of 21st Century technology with a touch of 19th Century elegance. It’s a well-earned anniversary, mind you, surviving even the ravages of World Wars. Under its present CEO Jean-Marie Nusse, it continues to be a trailblazer in quality paper products, including our very own “orange notebook.” Now, Clairefontaine has gone beyond its confines, by partnering with Unicef in supporting initiatives to educate impoverished kids from around the world. In 2007, it donated € 453,245 or almost three quarters of a million dollars for education of Moroccan school children. There’s also an ongoing movement to help save the Earth, yet another cause worthy of praise. So, here’s to many hundred years of existence!
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