Archive for September, 2009
Rhodia No. 10
Rhodia No. 10 was introduced in 2009.
Our nickname for the No. 10 is the “palm pad.” The name came after a friend of mine spotted them in a store window in midtown Manhattan. The pads were perched in the hands of mannequins as a fashion accessory. People–take note–they seemed to say.
No. 10s are the smallest (2 x 3″) pad Rhodia makes. They are not for writing or sketching at a desk or table. Instead, they are pads for when you’re on the go and don’t have a lot of room to pack a notebook. They fit in the skinniest jean pocket or tuck in out-of-sight in a jacket or vest pocket.
Use them to jot down ideas and reminders, addresses, phone numbers, book titles–anything important or interesting you spot and want to keep. No. 10s are handy little friends.
Bloc Rhodia Cover Doodles
Image courtesy of Flickr member Gentian.
About a month ago, we asked on our Blank Pad Forum whether or not you doodled on your Rhodia Covers and the answer appears to be yes. Continue Readering »
User Review: Bill from the FPN compares the Webbie to several similar journals
Gratuitous photo of packaging, pages, and Visconti Van Gogh Cappuccino.
Bill was gracious in allowing us to use his review of the small Webnotebook and images he had posted to the Fountain Pen Network. Thank you Bill for your detailed review and most excellent photos of the Webnotebook and its peers. We always appreciate honest reviews of our products and we want you to know that they are reviewed by the powers that be.
1. The paper is not a disappointment. A light ivory color, it is smooth and resistant to bleed-through, certainly better than all the notebooks shown here. No surprise if you have used Clairefontaine and Rhodia papers before. Black ‘n Red will give it a run, Continue Readering »
Flickr Friday: Your First Rhodia – Which, Where and When?
Flickr member Eric Morgan noted this image as containing his first Rhodia. Way to go Eric for choosing the Webnotebook! My own first Rhodia was a No° 11 Bloc pad that I bought at Blick in 2005 after finding that one of my favorite jewelry designers, (Thomas Mann) never went out without one in his back pocket. I can’t say that I ever used it for designing jewelry, but I did use it to store information that I wanted to be able to refer to again and again and the No° 11 was small enough to reside in my bag for several years. Rhodia fans – which was your first, and when and where did you get it?
Susan Cianciolo and Quo Vadis at Fashion Week in New York
Quo Vadis recently provided a few goodies for the gift bags at Susan Cianciolo’s show during Fashion Week and we were told that the environmentally conscious crowd really appreciated the eco-friendly traits of the Equology planner.
Note the model in signature Rhodia orange & black :o)
Rhodia No. 8
One of our most popular pads is the No. 8. It is the long, skinny Rhodia pad – 3 x 8 1/4.” Up until recently, it only came with graph paper. Now, the No. 8 comes with a black cover as well as orange, and lined or graph paper. But the orange graph pad continues to lead all other versions in sales. 
I use mine to write household lists – lists of errands, to dos, and the weekly grocery list. Out of habit, I still use graph paper although generally I prefer lined to write.
The No. 8 is responsible for getting the Rhodia brand into a nationally known bookstore chain. The sales rep took the buyer out for a cup of coffee to discuss products and put her No. 8 on the table to take notes. A young man walking by (it was an outdoor cafe) noticed the pad and exclaimed it was just the one he was looking for! Where could he buy it?
That remark clinched the deal for the sales rep.
That was a heart-warming story for us at Exaclair! This story has many different versions but one common theme: People who use Rhodia are its best ambassadors.
Pick 15 Songs for your “Stranded on a Desert Island” Playlist
Imagine that you are stranded on a desert island and you have a solar powered iPod that can only hold 15 songs. These are the 15 songs you are willing to listen to over and over and over again until MAYBE you are rescued. These are the songs that you will spend dancing on a moonlit beach with your friend Wilson, drinking coconut wine and eating fresh conch. Hmmmm – that actually doesn’t sound like such a bad thing…
After much consideration, (ok – I really only spent about 10 minutes on this but it was a HARD ten minutes) this is what I came up with. I’m proud of the fact that I managed to pull a list together that included ambient, heavy metal, disco, big band, rock and I’m not sure what Jack Johnson is… Folk? Singer Songwriter?
In no specific order:
- Staple it Together – Jack Johnson
- Pain Lies on the Riverside – Live
- Pulse 2 – Jim Donovan
- Mirrors – Glen Velez
- Amber – 311
- For Whom the Bell Tolls – Metallica
- Tears Dry on Their Own – Amy Winehouse
- On the Beat – BB&Q Band
- Get Down On It – Kool and the Gang
- Sleepwalk – The Brian Setzer Orchestra
- Swearin’ to God – Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons
- Ain’t no Stoppin’ us Now
- Wicked Garden – Stone Temple Pilots
- It’s a Shame – The Spinners
- Mean Street – Van Halen
Want to give it a try? You’ve got ten minutes…… now GO!
Post your results below.
In use: Bloc Rhodia No° 13, EF Lamy Studio, Diamine Damson ink.
Inspired by my friend Sophie on her blog For Love and Idleness.
User Reviews: J. Herbin ink art with a Squirrel
I really think I just might pack up all my inks and send them to Gentian from the blog “Drawing with a Squirrel” just to see what she will do with them. Not only is her art amazing, but so is her calligraphy, as you can see below.
Close up of design drawn with Herbin’s Rose Cyclamen in a hardbound Clairefontaine journal.
Bleu Nuit with Calligraphy examples.
All images courtesy of Gentian Osman – Thank YOU for sharing your gorgeous art!
Show us your Rhodia!
To add even more functionally to Rhodia Drive, I’d like to take a moment to introduce you to our Rhodia Drive Flickr group. Flickr is a photo sharing website and while you do not have to be a Flickr member to view the group photos, a free or paid membership is required to submit photos to the group, comment on other people’s images, or to join in on any of the group discussions.
We want to see you submit pictures of your favorite Rhodia products- of you and your Rhodia, your cat sitting on your Rhodia while you try and work, doodles in your Rhodia… basically all things Rhodia. Feel free to look through the group for ideas on what to shoot.
You can trust me when I say that I WILL be cruising the pool for images to be used here on the Rhodia Drive blog. Nothing will ever be used without your permission and we will be happy to provide you with credit for the image. Now dig out that camera and show us your Rhodia!
What’s keeping you from writing?
Image courtesy of Flickr user NG71 ©All Rights Reserved
I’ll admit that I’m easily distracted and that there are days that go by without me writing in my journal… and it always makes me feel guilty when I see it sitting there untouched and unloved. As if there are stories inside me that are bursting to break out and if I would just pick up that pen and open to a blank page that I could set them free.
But some days there really isn’t a story to tell and it feels too self indulgent to write about my feelings, or what I cooked for breakfast, or about that dream last night… Continue Readering »
Retailer Spotlight: Art Brown International Pen Shop Find them online and in NYC
For me, Art Brown’s retail store located at 2 West 45th Street in New York City is a paper, pen, and ink lover’s dream come true. “One of America’s leading Fine Writing Instrument Dealers. In business more than 83 years.”
The most Rhodia I have ever seen in one place – and there was yet another free standing rack filled with the new planners and smaller tablets.
Clairefontaine journals in every size, shape and color.
Miquelrius and Moleskine journals as well as several brands that I wasn’t familiar with. (I spy a Quo Vadis red Habana in the upper left of this picture…)
Every color of J. Herbin ink right at your fingertips!
Diamine inks…. and there were loads of other ink brands as well- some not as familiar to me as these three. I purchased a bottle of the hard to find Sailor Nano Black ink.
And my oh my, does Art Brown sell pens! We were in the store the day the new Sailor Realo was introduced in America- and were also quite fortunate to have our Sailor pen nibs tweaked by Mr. Nagahara from the Sailor Pen Company.
I regret not having spent more time in the store, but I was actually afraid to look at the pens because I would have been there for days and I needed to get back to Port Authority to catch my bus. I can’t WAIT to go back. Next time, I’m buying a pen for sure!
Retail store located at 2 West 45th Street, New York NY 10036.
Hours: Mon-Fri 9:00am-6:15pm Sat 10:am-6:00pm
You can also visit Art Brown on the web at http://www.artbrown.com
User Review: Bearcat loves his pocket sized Rhodia
Bearcat from the Fountain Pen Network submitted the above image and following review about a favorite pocket sized Rhodia:
“After spending a small fortune over the years trying almost every brand of notebook out there, I keep coming back to Rhodia. They just seem to be the all-around best for my uses. They are great with all of my fountain pens and every ink that I have tried in them. Not the cheapest out there, but not the most expensive, either. Here is a quick shot of the little 7.5 Cm X 12 Cm graph-ruled one that is currently riding in my shirt pocket. The ink is Waterman’s Florida Blue out of a Parker “51″ Special with a fine to medium steel nib.”
Thanks Bearcat!
Flickr Friday: Rhodia in Your Bag
Thanks to twowaymonologue for use of the above image. View the original (with notes) here.
When I first joined Flickr, (a social photo sharing site) I had a great deal of fun perusing the “What’s in Your Bag?” photo group. People would neatly lay out the contents of their bags to show off what they carry with them on a day-to-day basis. And not only would they show, they would also tell – adding numerous tagged notes to the images to describe each and every item in the photo. (Click through the links to see the notes) After a while, I had to stop looking because I started to want to go and buy things that other people had. Like journals…and art supplies…and a new iPod….
Thanks to Jessica C. for use of the above image. View the original (with notes) here.
Thanks to Miki for use of the above image. View the original (with notes) here.
User Review: Rhodia Races to the Top of the 2009 Pike’s Peak International Hill Climb
Image courtesy of Adam Kneipp
We recently received the following reader submission from Adam Kneipp, co-driver for Rally Ready Motorsports. He wanted to share his experience with us on how he used Rhodia to help navigate Pike’s Peak at the recent International Hill Climb. Be sure to check out the video clips below that show Adam in the car with his Rhodia pad as they are snaking their way to the top of Pike’s Peak.
“Just wanted to pass along how I use your amazing notebooks. This year I was a co-driver for an automotive racing team, Rally Ready Motorsports, that competed in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in the Pikes Peak Open class. The hill climb consisted of 3 days of testing, tuning and preparing notes and 1 day, 1 run for the official timed run on the road’s 156 turns over 12.42 miles and 4500′+ of elevation gain. In the Pikes Peak Open class, teams are permitted to consist of two people in car, a driver and a co-driver. As a co-driver, my job is to relay information from a set of stage notes (a book with shorthand descriptions of the road) to the driver via an intercom system. The driver then uses the information a co-driver relays to him/her to set the car up for the upcoming straights, turns and other conditions the we know of the road….and drive it as quickly as possible.
As I said, our preparation begins days before the actual race takes place, allowing us to make our road notes as detailed as possible. I had been using Rhodia note pads off and on for a few months leading up to Pikes Peak in performance rally, but when the opportunity was presented to me, I had no question as to what notebook I was going to use for notes preparation. The Rhodia A5 with the top wire bound spiral was already a favorite of mine. With the 5/5 ruling, I could make sure that my writing was sized so that I could easily see it during the entire race, through fast straights, tight hairpins and the rough transitions from dirt to pavement that exist up the mountain road. Combined with the new Sharpie pens, there was no bleeding through and everything was clearly readable the entire race. The pages were easy to turn (my notes for the entire 12.42 miles took over 20 pages of A5) and having the heavy cardboard backing made any changes I needed to make on the fly during the race easy. I keep a smaller A6 size pad in my gear bag that I use to make any service notes or changes to the car’s setup that the driver requests.
Our result? The car itself suffered ignition trouble and turbo boost leaks just after leaving the start line. We lost well over a minute off of our projected finishing time, but we were able to battle and stay focused the entire run, putting us in first place in our class by over 20 seconds, our next closest competitor have engine issues as well. This was my driver, Dave Carapetyan’s, second consecutive Pikes Peak Open victory and the first in his Mitsubishi Evo 8, a new car for this year for the team.
I’ve attached links to our in-car camera that clearly shows the famous orange cover of the Rhodia pads.”
While You’re Writing…
Glass Petal Smoke, a blog dedicated to the senses, features a wonderful post on “Proust Revisited: Madeleines and Lime Blossom Tea.”
“The only thing that came between the narrator of Remembrance of Things Past and his madeleine was lime blossom tea. It seeped into buttery crevices, engorging the sponge-like texture of the petit scalloped tea cake before exploding into precious pearls of memory on the tongue.” 
“Finding a great madeleine receipe,” said the blog’s author, Michelle Krell Kydd, “can be as challenging as sourcing artisanal lime blossom tea, but the effort is worthwhile. There’s no substitute for indulging in a freshly baked madeleine dipped in a cup of genuine Carpentras tilleul. Glass Petal Smoke shares a personal madeleine recipe and a reliable tea source so Proustian ecstasy can be yours.”
If I didn’t have to go to work the day would have been spent baking madeleines and ordering tea!
Thank you, Michelle, for the receipe, sources and future memory.
Read the post here.
