Why We Make What We Make
At Topdrawer, we design tools for creative people—things that help you write, draw, think, walk, carry, see, travel, paint, and live better. Ninety percent of what we sell is designed by us in Boston and Tokyo under our own brands, Kolo and Topdrawer. What we don’t make, we choose carefully—with exclusive relationships with brands we admire like Paper Republic, Romeo, Original Vintage, and others.
We started with a simple idea: if you make things with care, they’ll be used for years. Not just owned, but carried, worn, and lived with—pens that record your best ideas, leather goods that age beautifully, notebooks that carry your story. Like good cooking, good design starts with the best ingredients, and we are obsessed with finding and using the finest raw materials. Beautifully simple design. Amazing quality. That’s what we’re after.
Where We Came From
Topdrawer started as a collaboration between two friends, Peter Dunn in Boston and Akira Ito, the fourth-generation owner of Itoya—one of Tokyo’s most revered retailers. Under Akira’s stewardship, Itoya was known for craftsmanship, precision, design, and creativity. Peter, obsessed with good design, had spent his career in the creative industry working with Canson et Mongolfier, the French paper mill, and later as the co-founder of Kolo, which began as an archival-quality photo-album company. Together at Topdrawer, they built something new—a creative company with its own point of view.
At Topdrawer, we design most of our products here in Boston, rooted in the neighborhoods we love—Boston, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Tokyo—but always with an eye on Japan’s rich culture of artisanal craftsmanship.
How We Choose Our Locations
We open stores where creative people live and work. Not in malls, not in generic shopping centers, but on the streets where artists, writers, designers, and curious people walk every day. Places with a bit of history and soul. Neighborhoods with universities, galleries, and good coffee.
Each Topdrawer shop is designed to feel like a little creative studio—part library, part toolshed, part gallery. A place where you want to spend time with warm, creative, and helpful shopkeepers.
What We’re About
We make small leather goods because it's really hard to find an amazing wallet. We make fountain pens because writing slows you down, and slowing down can sometimes be a good thing. We make house shoes because home should feel good. We make notebooks because your best ideas deserve better than the Notes app. We make vintage, old Hollywood-inspired sunglasses in Italy because we think old Hollywood was cool. And we make rugged colorful bags to carry it all.
Every bag, every pen, every piece of paper is built with one purpose: to be used. To get better with age. To help you do your best work, or at least enjoy trying.
No hype, no overthinking. Just well-made tools for a creative life.
Topdrawer. Tools for the Impossibly Creative.
Wanna Join Our Team?
We're looking for passionate, creative individuals who are eager to challenge the status quo.
Our headquarters is located in the vibrant Coolidge Corner neighborhood of Brookline, MA, in the Boston metro area. We have a Topdrawer shop downstairs from our design studio. Our other locations are also in some of the most dynamic, creative neighborhoods in the country. These are exciting places to work, and we’d love for you to be a part of it. Join us!
Topdrawer News
1% For The Planet
1% For The Planet
1% of Kolo Bags, Pens, Artist Books and Sunglasses sales go to non-profit organizations in Africa to save the great wild animals.
Hello Brookline!
Hello Brookline!
We are excited to announce our store re-opening in Brookline, MA! If you would like updates on store openings, sign up for our newsletter.
Product Launches
Product Launches
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