Any local stationery lover worth their salt would have heard of, if not already owned, the Ana Tomy notebook. Since the brand started in 2016, it has clearly carved a niche – and then filled it – in the stationery scene, with its offering of bespoke notebooks that can be customised from cover to cover.
Behind the brand are its three founders, Cliff Leong, Fidella Ch’ng, and Zeejay Wong, who were already working together in The Alphabet Press, which similarly fulfilled a niche in Malaysia for bespoke paper stationery printed using traditional letter pressing techniques. It was during an SME business challenge, while trying to tackle the question of how they could scale their business, that they realised the right approach would be to create a product instead of only selling a service.
“But the challenge with product design, as we found out, is that some designs may sell very well while others stay in inventory for the longest time. So we started thinking about how we can design a product that people really want – that’s how Ana Tomy started, and we decided to leave the choice to the customers where you decide what you want,” Cliff explains.
So instead of making something and hoping others will be interested in buying it, Ana Tomy was built to be a platform for creative freedom and expression. Cliff continues, “Our role focuses on the product from a creative perspective, designing a product and a comfortable creative space for you to explore and express yourself by mixing and matching however you want within our offerings.”
Fidella explains further, “We adopted the mass customisation model, where you can just come in, choose what you want and we can assemble it on the spot in 15 to 20 minutes. This was at a time where usually when you think of bespoke, like a suit, you’d have to wait for a long time.”
The reason behind bespoke
“We don’t believe in one size fits all,” Cliff answers when asked about why personalisation and customisation is the heart of Ana Tomy’s products. Touching back on how Ana Tomy was built for customers to have freedom to explore their styles, the customer experience is designed to cater to how all of us are unique individuals. “You have a preference and taste for what you like, and so we want to let you decide what’s the best for you,” he says.
Zeejay chimes in, “From a design perspective, it also allows us to do things that are not mainstream and slightly quirky. Sometimes my taste is a little bit unusual and the things I like usually can’t sell – but I’m able to release it in small quantities so the people who like it like me can buy it. It’s a flexibility that we can only do with a mass customisation model.”
Zeejay also points out another huge advantage for the small batch, bespoke business model: reducing waste. With ready-made products, there is no choice but to sell, and if any one product doesn’t sell even with promotions and discounts, they end up going to landfill. But when the product is parts (or inserts as Ana Tomy calls them) that can work in any number of configurations; there is a myriad more ways to sell them.
“The flexibility does come with a lot of caveats, like how we need to manage so many different moving parts, but this is what we built, and we enjoy doing this,” Zeejay summarises.
The Ana Tomy 2025 World Tour
Nine years later, much has evolved for the brand as it expands not just its product range but also its presence. For a small, niche business like Ana Tomy, approaching a milestone decade is a testament to the careful planning and thought that went behind its creation and management over the years.
“People have the perception that Ana Tomy is a stationery brand – and yes, we started as one, but in our heart it’s really a product design company. We wanted to see how we could put the Ana Tomy DNA – customisation and personalisation – into every product we make,” Zeejay says.
And since then, with launches like the City Bag and Book Tote as well as their range of personalisable leather goods, the purpose is being fulfilled one product at a time. And in finding their groove and momentum with the brand, where does Cliff, Fidella, and Zeejay plan to go with it in the coming year?
“We’re on the track of expansion now, we’re aiming high to go beyond where we currently are – not just in the online presence but also with in-store. This year’s theme for us is ‘world tour’ as we hope to bring Ana Tomy to the world. But we’ll start small, starting with Southeast Asia,” Cliff explains.
“We’ve always wanted to bring the Ana Tomy physical experience outside of Malaysia. When you have a retail store, you’re sort of stuck in that one location where people have to come to you. We did a lot of surveys and people want to have an in-store experience. Though it’s a big challenge for us to run a physical business, we wanted to go for it in the next few years,” Zeejay says.
And in a way, setting this theme and overall goal is how the team plans purposefully to achieve this next goal. Instead of getting overwhelmed by a big resolution, breaking it down into smaller parts, learning about the anatomy and structure of each step allows the team to move bit by bit in order to achieve the big goals.
He continues, “One person alone cannot handle the morale of starting a business. But when you break it into different parts and work together, that’s where magic happens.”
Planning with purpose
For purveyors of practical life products, the first and foremost being customisable notebooks and planners, we had to know what items they recommend for those of us looking to jump on the planning game in this first month of 2025.
“Well, the first thing has to be a customised Ana Tomy notebook, right?” Cliff starts with a laugh. “I see that notebook as more than just a notebook. It’s your commitment and promise to yourself that you want to start something – and not just for the sake of planning but you actually want to get it done. The notebook becomes a safe space where you can write down anything. It gives you the space to be purposeful and have the right intention to do something for yourself, and to think about how you can put that into a smaller action plans. So I think it’s a canvas for that purpose.”
Fidella also recommends the customisable notebook, but particularly the Time Boxing insert option. “There’s always so many things to do and so little time, so I’m practising to be more productive in terms of managing my time and energy. The Time Boxing method is useful for me to schedule and box out periods of time throughout the day to make sure I get things done instead of drilling too much on the same thing over a longer time,” she explains.
For Zeejay, his approach is a little different. “I don’t plan so much – I’m more of a blank pages kind of person. I don’t do new year resolutions because to me they are a continuous thing as I’m looking ahead for the next two, three years,” he begins. “What I practice is, rather than a resolution, to set a theme for the year. And just as Ana Tomy’s theme for 2025 is World Tour, for me personally, it’s to give more freedom to those around me as I want to nurture them into their own kind of creativity.”
“It comes back to looking at the purpose of things, and the purpose of planning or journalling for me is about productivity. With the theme in mind, every time there’s a decision to make, I know where I’m heading and I don’t derail from my goals. There’s so many opportunities every day and with a theme to guide you, you can be more intentional with what you say yes or no to,” Zeejay concludes.
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Photography by Imran Sulaiman