Our playful pen loops are a staple of our range. When our founder Kateřina Šachová designed them ten years ago, they were unique – and so papelote was awarded an international patent for them. Since day one we have used elastic from the same factory in South Bohemia. This is then sent to our team of home-based seamstresses in Lidice, who transform it into the much-loved pen loops.
Rolls of elastic in 23 colours and 2 different widths arrive in the workshop in Lidice. Here the elastic is cut to the required size before being collected by our team of seamstresses – these are often retired women on mothers on maternity leave, and they sew the pen loops at home.
The seamstresses sew on the eyelets for pens, attach the label, tidy up the ends with overlock stitching before carefully removing any leftover threads – and that’s how our pen loops are made!
They are bound together in groups of ten, and individual types are sorted into cloth bags (made from leftover material). These packs are then put into sacks with protective cloth lining (again, made from leftover material!) and these then make the journey to our shop in Prague. Empty sacks are then returned to Lidice, where they are exchanged for full ones – and the cycle continues…
Our pen loops can be used for just about anything. Naturally they go very well with our pads, notebooks and diaries, but our inventive customers use them with book, wallets… even yoga mats!
