Archive for September, 2010
Winners of my Anniversary Giveaway Contest!
Much thanks to the 353 of you that entered to win a pack of my favorite Exaclair products! I’d also like to include a personal Thank You! to those of you that wished me Happy Anniversary and also say that I very much appreciate your supporting both me & the Rhodia Drive Blog. Continue Readering »
dotWebbie – We want your feedback
We hear you. You want a dotWebbie. But do you want a dotWebbie with the “standard” white 80g Rhodia paper with the pale purple dots or do you want the 90g off-white “Webbie” paper that would probably end up with light gray dots…. There are of course no guarantees that a dotWebbie will be produced, but just remember, Rhodia has Responded in the past…..
PS – there is still time to enter my 1 Year Anniversary Contest. Win a trio of my favorite Exaclair products. Click here to enter – you have until Midnight tonight EST.
Where you buy your Rhodia: Martell Press in Margate, Kent
Will you show us where you buy your Rhodia?
Playing Shekere
From about the time I was in 3rd grade and watching my older cousin play snare drum in her school marching band, I wanted to be a drummer. This wouldn’t come to fruition until I was 22 and owned a home with my now husband. I started on drum kit, but eventually grew bored with it. In 2002, my husband bought me a hand drum – an African djembe as a wedding present and it really helped me to fill that life-long desire to drum as I still play it to this day. But the instrument that really allowed me to break out was the shekere. A traditional shekere is made from a large hollow gourd- it has a woven net over top which loosely holds beads or shells that can be shaken against its surface. The one I play is a synthetic version made from fiberglass.
The shekere is an extremely loud instrument and even on a stage packed with musicians it can easily heard without being amplified. The network of beads can be shaken or manipulated in ways that add another layer of percussive sound to the mix. In the image above, I am playing in the middle of a group of women performing African dance at the Great Rhythm Revival in Sherman NY. On stage behind us, are various members from Jim Donovan’s band, Drum the Ecstatic. I especially love to play this instrument as you can dance with it as you play.
Do you play any musical instruments?
Photo taken by Jessica MacIntyre
Anniversary Giveaway: Enter Now to Win one of 10 packs of Stephanie’s Favorite Exaclair Products
September marks my 1 year anniversary writing for Rhodia Drive, and when Karen had asked me if I would like to do a special giveaway to celebrate, I answered with a resounding “YES!” I asked her if I could give away some of my most favorite Exaclair products and this is what I chose: Continue Readering »
The Blue Ink Bottle
When I made my trip in May to New York City to visit with Karen at the National Stationery Show, she gifted me with this amazingly beautiful reproduction inkwell. (Karen collects vintage inkwells.) This one was made by Terban and Company out of Reston, VA. From what I can gather, it is handblown into an original 1875 mould. Karen once blogged about this company on Quo Vadis, but the link to Turban’s site no longer seems operational. I started taking pictures of this inkwell and got a bit carried away by its beauty… Please enjoy. Continue Readering »
A notebook “Too Good to Use?”
Karen Doherty recently mentioned to me that while at the DC Supershow a few weeks ago, she heard a few people mention that some of Exaclair’s products (like the Webbie & Habana) looked to be “to good to use.”
Hmmmmmmm. I’ve got to ponder that one because I’ve tested a lot of different journals from a lot of different manufacturers. Were there any that I ever thought were too good to use? Okay, maybe just one. Continue Readering »
Where you buy your Rhodia: Cortina Paper in Amsterdam
Cortina papier offers you a large selection of high-quality paper products from all over the world. Choose your favorite photo album or journal bound in leather, paper or fabric, available in many styles, from formal to tribal. If you are a lover of hand written letters you might want to browse through their collection of fine stationery and greeting cards.
Cortina Papier
Reestraat 22
1016 DN Amsterdam
T 020 623 66 76
F 020 625 86 98
E info@cortinapapier.nl
Image above submitted by Darice de Cuba. Vist Darice on the web at www.darice.org
Guest Blogger: Casey Criswell on The Addition of Color
Today I welcome Casey Criswell as guest blogger on Rhodia Drive. An author of short stories and noted movie blogger, Casey is also co-host of the “Bloody Good Horror” podcast.
I’ve been a writer for a few years now. I’ve spent the majority of those years with a notebook and fountain pen faithfully by my side. My brain just works better that way! The notebooks and pens have often changed throughout the years, but one thing stayed constant; I was always a staunch black ink user. Continue Readering »
My New Pen
I am so delighted with my new pen I wanted to share it with all of you on Rhodia Drive! 
I ordered the pen from Brian Gray of Edison Pen Company at the Washington, DC pen show last month. “The Huron” felt good in my hand. I was intrigued with a new “snake clip” Brian had created, and ordered a black pen with the silver clip. Here’s a photo. You can see more on his flickr album here.
Even though I am a leftie I’m tired of writing with fine nibs all the time so I requested a medium nib.
I name some of my most beloved possessions, and have decided to name this pen after a character in a book I read growing up. The Iroquois Trail is the story of a young orphan boy, Dickon, who goes looking for his adopted brother among the nations of the Iroquois and meets many legendary figures, including Deganawida (The Great Peacemaker), Hiawatha, and Jigonsaee. One of the characters–who I think was also based on a real person–was a medicine man that supposedly had snakes in his hair. The character returned from memory when I saw the snake clip, so I’ve decided to name it after him. But I have to retrieve the book at the house to remember his name!
Friends, what color ink should I use first? I currently have Sailor, Pelikan, J. Herbin, Diamine and Pilot inks so I’m open to all suggestions.
Thank you!
Quotable Quotes
When I was young and my Mom had a subscription to Reader’s Digest magazine, I never understood the “Quotable Quotes” section. I guess maybe I wasn’t yet old enough to recognize profound wisdom in bite-sized pieces. Continue Readering »
Remembering the Memory
I just got back from a 10 day whirlwind vacation. It was supposed to only be for 4 days over the Labor Day Holiday, but opportunities arose & I chose to roll with them rather than against them. During that time, I met so many new and amazing people, saw so many breath taking sights and enjoyed a plethora of new experiences. (Can you believe I had never made Smores or baked bread???) Continue Readering »
Suppport your local retailers!
Exaclair is committed to working with local, independent retailers.These include stationers, office supply, bookstores, art supply, pen stores and others with deep roots in a community.
When buying paper products, like journals, notebooks and planners, people like to feel the paper, and the cover material, and hold the product in their hands. Continue Readering »
Winners of the Rhodia Academic Planner Giveaway!
Wheeeee!!!! Almost 250 people entered to win one of 25 2010/2011 Rhodia Academic Weekly Notebook planners! Thank you all so very much for your support!
The winners names are shown below.
As this month marks my one year anniversary with Rhodia Drive, I will soon be doing a special giveaway of some of my FAVORITE products from Exaclair.
We will also give away a number of Rhodia calendar year planners before the end of this year, as well as kick off the first ever Rhodia Video Rodeo with close to $1000 in prizes to be awarded- including a Rhodia gift for every person that enters. Stay tuned for details!
Happy Anniversary to your Rhodia Driver!
Since I have been penning the Rhodia Drive blog for a full year, I feel as though it is high time I took a moment to formally introduce myself – I am Stephanie Smith…. Continue Readering »
