2023 Author: Cody Thornton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-24 11:20
Let's face it: we all feel a bit artists when we hold the small notebook with a pasty black cover in our hands, invariably closed with the beautiful matching elastic and with the neat ivory-colored pages with rounded corners.
Moleskine: just holding it in your hands, even though it is neither Van Gogh nor Hemingway, gives us the impression of absorbing a bit of their bohemian personality, their talent, their genius, even if in reality we are just copying simple phone numbers or the shopping list.
If then, combined with the pleasure of holding the cult notebook in your hands - whose name comes from the wandering writer Bruce Chatwin who thus renamed it - we add that of sipping a good coffee accompanied perhaps by a fragrant biscuit, in a comfortable, well-kept environment, that reconciles calm, meditation and deep thoughts, then we can say that we have found a small portion of heaven on earth.
Indeed, more precisely in Milan. Here, in fact, the first Moleskine café was inaugurated a few days ago in the Brera district.
A particular type of coffee shop all in the name of the black notebook, now actually available in various cover colors, inspired by Northern European models and which is intended to reflect the climate and mood of literary cafes; places to stop, where to rest, where you can easily read a book, or even, of course, make a quick sketch of your Moleskine, sipping a glass of good meditation wine.
The setting is refined, with black-matte walls reminiscent of the agenda note, alternating with ivory shades that evoke the pages.
The goal, as Arrigo Berni, CEO of Moleskine explained to the American magazine Slate, is simple and ambitious at the same time: to refer to a lifestyle in the name of creativity and good taste, directing customers towards an experience that goes beyond simple shopping, thanks also to the careful design of the exhibition spaces with works and sketches by architects Cino Zucchi and Kengo Kuma, illustrator John Alcon and stylist Salvatore Ferragamo, among others.
The space is spread over two levels: the basement is dedicated to the Moleskine corner, with all the brand's products; on the ground floor the environment is minimal, were it not for the presence of an imposing counter where you can enjoy coffee and baked goods, both sweet and savory.
The café is entrusted to Seven Grams, specializing in the creation of blends and the import of single-origin coffees also sold in elegant Moleskine-branded take-away packages.
To complete the offer, the actual kitchen, made up of five young chefs. The 'intercontinental' breakfast ranges from French croissants to "tray breakfasts" with plenty of bread and savory products. Instead, the lunchtime proposal is lighter, which includes, for example, salads with sprouts and seasonal vegetables or open sandwiches.
Average bill for a full meal on 30/35 euros.
In short, a place of meditation and creativity in the sparkling Milan, where you can regain your own rhythms and enjoy the small pleasures of life in serenity: a small wine, a small snack, and a moleskine in your hands to pin down our light thoughts.