ExaClair is a manufacturer and distributor, a subsidiary of the Exacompta Clairefontaine group, creating an improved and varied offering for customers.
We offer a wider range of consumer brands for trade, e-commerce and wholesale including stationery and art products from Clairefontaine, Exacompta, Rhodia and craft products from Avenue Mandarine, Décopatch and Maildor. We also provide traditional stationery items from Brause, G. Lalo, Herbin and Jacques Herbin.
ExaClair has been a member of the BOSS Federation for many years, being a sponsor of the annual BOSS Awards in London.
Sustainability
As part of the group, investments have been made in our sustainability, including new environmental criteria and solar panels generating energy on site. Many of our products are now made from recycled material, and our procedures are continually monitored internally to meet ISO standards.
125 years of expertise
ExaClair has a long history as a trusted stationer. Originally operating under the name Tollit and Harvey, our organisation started producing stationery and office products in London in 1897, supplying local stationery stores with handmade account books.
Our history in brief
The story of ExaClair begins with a different name: Tollit & Harvey Ltd. At the age of just 25, Charles Clifton Tollit and his friend and colleague John Harvey (who sadly died in 1902) decided to give up their jobs as managers of stationery shops and enter into business themselves.
The pair initially rented small basement premises in London's King Street. They made use of their excellent reputation in the City and the company did well in its first year. So well, in fact, that witinh two years it was time to move to larger premises on Gresham Street.
The First World War temporarily halted the company's development, but business resumed in 1918 when the first factory was acquired. At the same time, Clifton Tollit's father noticed his accounts clerks manually ruled their paper in ink. He considered this to be a huge waste of manpower, thus resulting in the creation of ruled paper. By the 1920s, business was booming and by 1930 Tollit & Harvey had become established as 'The Ruling House'.
September 3rd 1939 saw war declared, and within a month the windows at the company's premises were blacked out and steel helmets were issued to staff. The diary entry for October 3rd 1940 reads: "Raids all day. Gresham Street fire and blast". Although two showrooms were badly damaged in the blitz, and despite no gas or electricity at times, Guildhall account books continued to be distributed throughout the war.
As business spread nationwide, rather than just the capital, transport suited to longer journeys became necessary. In the 1950s, Tollit & Harvey bought two Bedford vans for deliveries, a modern update to the tricycles used previously to travel around the capital. Today, ExaClair sub-contracts its deliveries to a number of reputable hauliers, resulting in greater coverage of the UK and much faster deliveries.
In 1967, the manufacturing unit was moved to King's Lynn, Norfolk, where a suitable factory was built. A warehouse and administration offices were added three years later. Such was the loyalty of employees that most followed the company in the move (only twelve remained in London!).
The Guildhall manilla range is launched, a reliable filing collection including document wallets, spiral files and legal products. Still one of our more popular ranges, this premium quality card is perfect for storage and the protection of important documents for archiving.
Guildhall account books have long been an established range in the UK, but the company was wary of resting on its laurels. A simple but inspired idea resulted in the launch of a new, unique account book - the Headliner.
It features cut out pages for column headings at the top, so they don't need to be rewritten every time a page is turned. What a time saver!
In 1990, the Europa range of brightly coloured pressboard products were added to the portfolio, as an alternative to the manilla Guildhall range. Marketed as 'the brightiest, snazziest files yet', this collection of files, folders, pads, wallets and dividers became a sure hit with students across the country.
Tollit & Harvey are officially appointed as the new UK distributors of Exacompta's desk accessories range, at the time known as Multiform.
The range incoporates a variety of plastic desktop products such as desk tidies and filing trays, storage systems, leaflet holders and dispensers.
A new 40,000 sq.ft warehouse is purpose-built to store an expanding range of products, consolidating the existing five warehouses in and around King's Lynn. Providing space for future expansion and at a cost of over £1.3million, the state-of-the-art Distribution Centre represents a huge investment for the company.
Tollit and Harvey was acquired by industry experts Exacompta Clairefontaine, a family-owned group known worldwide for their expertise in the filing, arts and crafts sector and based in Paris. The company is rebranded ExaClair, a portmanteau of the group's two leading brands. The catalogue soon expands from over 3,000 to 12,000 products, manufactured by the organisation.
Mark Daisley becomes Managing Director, having been in the business since 1993. Mark's leadership as a renowned figure in the office products industry revitalises the new-look business and continues to this day.
This year ExaClair rolls out the flag banners and gets the party poppers ready, with not one but two big celebrations!
Exacompta celebrates 100 years of innovation, starting from a small workshop in the heart of Paris where it is still based today. Beginning with account books, the brand is a market leader in filing, organisation products and desk accessories. A new collection incorporating all these stationery types is launched: 1928 by Exacompta.
Clairefontaine celebrates an even bigger milestone of 160 years! The paper experts are a household name for their vast notebook collection, but have also developed comprehensive fine art material and handicraft ranges.
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of Exacompta and 160 years of Clairefontaine paper, ExaClair invests in two new advertising campaigns, shown on popular television channels throughout the UK.
ExaClair are delighted to be the recipients of two trophies at this year's Stationery Awards, presented in London.
The company has a long history of nominations and winning trophies over the years, whether it be for our innovative products or hard-working support teams.
The UK enters a period of lockdown, with home working becoming the norm and offices across the country adapting with precautionary measures. No steel helmets this time, but the swift launch of Exacompta's antimicrobial Clean'Safe filing and ExaScreen PPE ranges help businesses and medical organisations keep moving during the pandemic.
> See the Clean'Safe collection > View our ExaScreen range
ExaClair continues to release exciting new ranges in the stationery, art & craft sectors. New ranges such as Exacompta's kraft-style Eterneco and pastel coloured Aquarel collections continue to display our innovation and flair for consumer trends and exceeding customers' expectations.
> Eterneco Collection by Exacompta > Aquarel Collection by Exacompta