A Better Time: Handmade Stationery Notebook

"La Jeunesse" is a Hong Kong-based handmade stationery brand known for creating a series of paper stationery that blends traditional and modern aesthetics through handmade methods and traditional printing techniques. It was published and distributed by Hong Kong Sunrise Thunder Storm (晴天霹靂出版社) in the mid-2000s. The notebook series is currently out of print, with only a small number of copies of this book, "A Better Age: Handmade Stationery Creation Notebook," still in circulation.

Even though we are now middle-aged, every time we use this series of notebooks, we still feel a clear sense of "I am a new youth of this era, and I am heading towards a bright and righteous future."

"A Better Age" meticulously records the conception, execution, and production process of the notebook project. The book is divided into two parts: The first part is an interview with Benedict Leung, director of La Jeunesse, and the manager of Kubrick. It discusses a set of miniature notebooks named "53," "63," and "630," signifying the events recorded in a notebook on the eve of a major historical event. This set of notebooks is conceived as a work of art, an "ARTIST BOOK" meant for use.

The second part deconstructs "La Jeunesse" from a production perspective, explaining the details of its manufacturing process step by step, and features illustrations by cartoonist Chi Hoi.