Layer Memo Block / Marumo Printing

• Dimensions: 70 × 70 × 58 mm
• Sheet Count: 720 sheets
• Weight: 240–248 g
• Material: Paper
• Designs: Ajiro (Wickerwork), Terracotta, Check, Block

Most memo pads treat the cross-section as an afterthought, the rough edge you see between uses. Marumo Printing, a Kyoto-based printing house, flipped that logic entirely with the Layer Memo.

The block is built by layering papers of different colors and patterns in a precise sequence, then cutting the stack so the exposed edge forms its own deliberate design. The result is a memo pad that reads as a pattern from the side: woven lines for Ajiro, earthy gradients for Terracotta, a grid for Check, and solid color blocks for Block. The top surface looks like a standard sheet, but the object as a whole has the quality of a cross-section specimen or a material sample.

Because each sheet removed slightly alters the visible cross-section, the block evolves over time. What starts as a crisp geometric pattern softens and shifts as pages are used. The note on the product is deliberate: this is not side printing. The pattern is inherent to the stacking and cutting, not applied afterward.