"My grandparents would send a lovingly wrapped package of school supplies to us each fall" from their general store in Sheffield, Ill., she says. "I loved it."

Thus began Plantan's personal relationship with paper. Years later, when she went to work as an architect and was uninspired by the notebooks, notepads and folders in the office supply closet, she made her own. Then she did the same for her daughter.

Rather than sending her child to school with a store-bought vinyl binder, Plantan made one out of heavy-grade book board. She covered the spine in bright red-orange linen, attached a dry-erase board to the inside cover, and wrapped a big rubber band around the whole thing to avoid "binder explosion."

When classmates began offering her daughter money for her homemade binder, Plantan knew she was onto something.

Today, she is the founder and owner of a successful high-end stationery and office-supply business based in Minnesota. The products are designed to be fun and functional - to "add life to your work," according to Plantan. She named the company after her grandparents, Russell and Hazel.

Started as an e-commerce site in 2003, russell+hazel has a flagship store in Minneapolis, and its supplies can also be found at www.russellandhazel.com, and the Container Store, among other places. Last year, the company did almost $2 million in sales, a remarkable showing for a paper-based business in a sluggish economy and a society bound to iPhones and BlackBerrys.

But these are not ordinary office supplies.

The company's clean, colorful take on notebooks, pens, binders and storage containers has made it a favorite among designers, shelter magazines and movie studios. (Its products have appeared in The Devil Wears Prada and the latest Indiana Jones movie, to name two.) This summer, russell+hazel was invited to open a temporary shop in Manhattan luxury department store Henri Bendel.

Binders start at $14, single-subject notebooks at $12. The vibrant and stylish products beg to be displayed on a desk or carried about town.

It's office supply as personal accessory.

We talked to Plantan about russell+hazel and the appeal of paper.

Question: How does a company that so heavily relies on paper continue to thrive in an increasingly electronic world?

Answer: I don't think we'll ever become a completely paperless society - we're just not wired that way. I think we need to hold products and use things instead of just type away. Being able to write things down is a part of who we are as a culture.

Q: Who are your competitors, and what makes r+h stand out among them?

A: Our competitors are big-box stores where purchases are made out of convenience. We are a separate destination. Shoppers have to make the decision to visit our site or a place that carries our products. . . . It's the level of quality and our attention to detail that makes us stand out. For example, our designs have lines that don't run off the pages, which is more expensive. The paper is made of mostly recycled content. The weight of the paper is heavier, so there is no bleed-through, and we use metal corners for reinforcement so products don't fall apart. We don't add things to drive up the price point. Everything is added for a reason and enhances the product.

Q: Who is your typical customer?

A: Female, ages 18 to 45 - but I think I'll say 50, so I can be part of that group! - from urban areas.

Q: What is your favorite product?

A: The mini-notebook. I use one per week, and I date them by week. I carry a whole month's worth in my mini-binder. When the month is over, I organize them in my desk, where I keep the whole year for easy reference. They are great when you're on the go, because you don't have to carry a whole binder.

Q: Do you prefer paper?

A: I do for my recordkeeping and personal date-keeping, and I still take notes that way. I will say that I don't know what I'd do without my BlackBerry, but . . . I can't imagine ever going completely electronic. I think I'd panic.

Q: How do you come up with new ideas?

A: We look at what people will be wearing each season and bring in colors that will add a lot of punch and juice in small doses. We take the colors we see on the runways and in the stores at the moment. . . . Someone may not look good dressed in one of those colors, but they can spend $16 on a binder and have fun with it without making a huge financial investment. This fall, the new colors will be apricot and mandarin.