Archive for June, 2007

Rhodia ePure notebooks

Rhodia ePure come in sizes A5 (148 X 210 mm) and smaller 4×5 inches books at 120 sheets. The Rhodia logo is embossed elegantly on its soft leatherette cover. The individual pages are micro-perforated for easy removal and glued into a rounded spine. They come only in blank pages (no graph or lined yet).

I got an email reply from Exaclair (Rhodia’s US distributor) confirming that the ePure notebooks are not available in the US, but they will include it in the 2008 catalogue.

In the meantine, they can special order them for people but here’s the catch – they will need to order them by case pack (10) and shipping takes 2-3 months by boat and customs.

There’s an ongoing discussion at Notebookism here.

Image copyright © Blocs Rhodia. All rights reserved.

Sparkling new Rhodias

From our Flickr group’s granykass:

A great collection of new notebooks for pouring out any and every thought I may ever have. I’ve come to love the paper in these notebooks. The paper is a fine smooth surface excellent for fountain pen ink and quick notes.

From left: Classic staplebound notebooks, Spiral bound Polypros, and classic Clairefontaine (the makers of Rhodia)

Durable Polypro covers on the greatest paper. Elasti book. 180 pages 90 sheets 21 x 29.7 cm (8 1/4 X 11 5/8) Lined with elastic band to hold the book closed. Great for class notes it is larger than normal US notebooks, but you can tell your paper in a stack of classmates papers. Reverse book 160 pages 80 sheets, grid, 21 x 21 cm (8 1/4″ X 8 1/4″)
Note pad top spiral – 160 pages 80 sheets, grid, 10.5 X 14.8 cm (4 1/8″ X 5 3/4″). Great notebooks all round.

The Polypros laid open to show the paper, graph and lined, with wirebound in different colors.

View her complete set

When notebooks are not enough

Will Self’s writing room. A 360 degree view in 71 photos by Phil Grey

Plotastic gear

In his words, Mark is one of those “struggling” first-time novelists who can’t decide what his first novel should be.

He keeps changing his mind. One day he thinks he’s writing a thriller, the next day it’s a satire. He needs motivation, so he made a blog and asks readers to tell him what to write about. He’s set himself a deadline: 100,000 words in 6 months, and readers will get the lowdown on the progress; putting a word counter soon, just to make sure.

And he uses a Rhodia wirebound pad to write his first novel!

The gear is incredibly important. I am committed to writing the first draft by hand, which means NOTEBOOKS. God, I love notebooks. So here is my notebook of choice: the Rhodia wirebound tablet. If you have never used one of these I recommend it highly, for a number of reasons. First, it’s a tablet, so the binding doesn’t get in your way. Rhodia paper is also of the highest quality. These tablets have a very sturdy backboard, for writing on one’s lap or cramped spaces. And the wire binding is double-looped, ensuring that snags are a thing of the past.

Read the rest of Plotastic’s Planning and Getting the Gear.

Visit the Plotastic blog

Check out Rhodia wirebound notebooks at Exaclair

Focus on Rhodia pencils

Rhodia has been thinking about making a pencil for a while and it became a reality when the Rhodia Treasure Box was launched. The Rhodia pencil has an orange triangular body with a black ferrule and eraser. It is made from linden wood dyed into a black color. (Sculptors prize the linden wood because its uniform grain enable them to carve out intricate patterns without cracking the wood.) Rhodia pencils have a medium grade lead (HB), which is equivalent to US #2, suitable for most tasks involving writing or scribbling.

With the tremendous success of these pencils and to play with the two famous opposite colors of the brand, Black and Orange, Rhodia is planning to develop a black version of the Rhodia pencil (black body stamped with the orange Rhodia logo). This idea is consistent with the Classic Rhodia Collection where each orange notebook has a black counterpart.

All images copyright 2007 Rhodia Drive. All rights reserved.

Rhodia rules

Rhodia notepads not only come in different sizes and shapes outside, but also in different “line markings” inside, known as rulings. (I’ll update this post with the missing info on some rulings when I get them.)

Rhodia Meeting Book

The Rhodia Meeting Book in a new compact size:
6 ½ x 8 ¼”. 160 pages (80 sheets) of Rhodia 80g paper.

All of the original features of the Rhodia pads are incorporated into these modern and functional notebooks. It comes in the original waterproof coated cover available in orange and black, Inside, the non-detachable perforated preprinted sheets separate notes from the action items (Dates + Notes + Action) to make organized note-taking a daily reality.

View larger images at my Flickr set here

All images copyright 2007 Rhodia Drive. All rights reserved.

Rhodia at Famima!!

Like the British stores, Famima!! recognizes that even though you’re stressed and 15 minutes late for work—or a party—it doesn’t mean you can’t be happy. And if, say, you forgot your reporter’s notebook—or birthday gift—at home, well, they’ve got you covered there, too, with sleek stationary and notebooks (I especially like the orange Rhodia line), rows of toy machines filled with Hello Kitty baubles, Japanese incense, anti-stress eye pillows, a fairly large selection of beauty products from Avalon organics and, of course, DVDs (Catwoman!).

Ellen Griley reports at The District Weekly.

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Famima!! offers a range of imported stationery products like Rhodia, Clairefontaine, Mudlark and Delfonics.

Visit the Famima!! website

Where to buy Rhodia

Exaclair, Inc. is the exclusive U.S. distributor of Rhodia notepads, notebooks and accessories, as well as Clairefontaine, Exacompta, Quo Vadis, G. Lalo, Brause, J. Herbin, Mignon and Decopatch products.

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For product-related questions, call 1-800-933-8595, Ext. 10
or 1-646-473-1754, Ext. 10
or email them at sales@exaclair.com

All buttons used with permission
© Exaclair.com. All rights reserved.

Rhodia rules

Rhodia notepads not only come in different sizes and shapes outside, but also in different “line markings” inside, known as rulings. (I’ll update this post with the missing info on some rulings when I get them.)

Rhodia France site is now open

A catalogue website exclusively for the complete line of Rhodia products. On mouseover, a product description pops up, with specifications like sizes and rulings. I can’t find it, but I’d really love a page that shows the availability of Rhodia products around the world. You can follow the contact link though, if you need the information.

Visit Rhodia France

In the US, Rhodia is exclusively distributed by Exaclair in New York.

Joshua Ferris and a Rhodia

Claire Zulkey interviews Joshua Ferris, debut author of a book about working in an ad agency at the tail end of the dot-com boom. Two answers make us notice:

How, when and why did you begin writing the book?

The How: with Pilot pens and a Rhodia pad, 5×5, No. 38. The when: March 2002 – September 2003 & March 2005 – June 2005. The why: because we work and we work and we work, and yet write very little about it.

Did you have a system, when you were working on the book, for keeping track of all the characters?

On the final, cardboard page of that Rhodia notepad, I wrote out all the names of all the characters. When I needed to reference them I turned to that page and saw who was in my virtual office. I learned about the characters much as I suspect the reader learns about them — very slowly at first. Then, after a tipping point, they clicked into place for me and I no longer needed to reference the back page. Hopefully they click into place for the reader in much the same way.

Read the rest of the interview here.

Thanks, Leah & Karen.

The official book site is here

Enter the Big Gay Dragon

Her profile reads: Worker bee from Nevada, US. Enter the trippy world of the Big Gay Dragon.

Sunday+blues

Untitled+dress

unoriginal

angerball

About

Rhodia Drive is a blog about Rhodia notebooks and the people who use them. It’s a place where devotees of this “French orange notebook” contribute ideas, experiences and links on the latest tools, events and general notebook-related news.

Rhodia Drive attracts creative people passionate about their Rhodia. Designers and artists, writers and pen collectors, thinkers and free spirits—anyone who loves notebooks—come together on Rhodia Drive.

If you are looking to find a store selling Rhodia pads here’s a place to start.