Takeo matou Card Case – Fine Paper Business Card Holder

The Takeo matou Card Case is made of paper, which is entirely the point. Takeo have dealt in fine paper since 1899, and matou — from the Japanese for “to wear” — dresses a card holder in a single sheet of it. One outer sheet, two stiffened boards beneath, and a slim elastic band drawn around the whole. Your cards slide under the band and stay put.

Each of the nine papers behaves differently in the hand. The mermaid in neo citron carries a faint rippled tooth; the pearl black is cool, dense and finely rasped; the champagne gold is embossed to a whisper of texture you notice before you see it. Paper warms to a pocket in a way metal never does, and it takes the marks of a working week without apology.

Small Details, Big Difference