Archive for Editorial
Superbowl Bet
Superbowl fever has gripped NYC. Everyone I know will be glued to the TV or out at a bar watching the game on Sunday. Except me. My team–Green Bay–got knocked out, and the NY Jets never made it to the playoffs. My spouse is a big Eli Manning fan, so she’s rooting for the Giants. Her family–Massachusetts born and bred, considers her a major traitor! 
But ever since girlhood, when my Packers would go up against my Dad’s NY Giants, I have loved to bet on games. This year is no exception!
Anybody who guesses the final score will get a new Webnotepad (flip top reporter style with dot grid) when they arrive from France!
Good luck!
My guess: NEW YORK GIANTS – 27 NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS – 24
Friday Link Share
From www.officemuseum.com Large Office. Photograph by National Photograph and Advertising Co., Chicago, IL.
Cleaning Fountain Pens at Pentamento
Notebook Necklaces at Notebook Stories
Intuitive Ink Prep at Creative Every Day
What’s in your DIY Toolkit? at Lifehacker
Eight Charachteristics of Good Writing at Writing Forward
Carving stamps the other way at daisy yellow blog
LiveScribe your planners and notebooks at QuoVadis Blog
Pen Storage: How do you store your pens? at A Penchant for Paper
US Postage Rate Increase in January 2012 at Missive Maven
Fountain Pen Nib Comparison Video at The Pen Addict
Abandoned Hollywood Theater Hidden Above NY Shop at WebUrbanist
Favorite Brand of Fountain Pen Ink- The Poll Results at Inkophile
Starting a New Journal – Which Format do you Use, Digital or Analog? at The Gadgeteer
Visit www.officemuseum.com for many more vintage office photos like the one above.
And finally, searching “Office Supplies” on Pinterest cool stuff!
FOX CLASSICS – Forever Classic ID – A Full Minute from The DMCI on Vimeo.
Journal Swap Soon to be Underway!
Thank you to everyone who signed up for our 1st ever Rhodia Journal Swap! We had quite a few entries and it wasn’t easy to chose 12, but we did. Once I confirm their participation, the swap will commence!
You might like to know that since we had so many people sign up for this first swap, we are considering implementing a second one in 6 months – stay tuned!
Fountain Pen Friendly?
Several years ago when I first started writing with a fountain pen, I quickly discovered that many brands of paper did not play well with the water based fountain pen inks that I had grown to love. This lead to my somewhat obsessive testing & publicly reviewing various paper, pen & ink products on my personal blog biffybeans.com. While some brands like our Rhodia & Clairefontaine products are known to be fountain pen ink friendly, (no bleedthrough, seethrough or feathering) this recent post on the Writer’s Bloc blog says it best:
“Each fountain pen nib, each brand of ink, each color of ink and the paper in each notebook or journal will interact differently when used with each other. The equation pen + paper + ink = good/bad results changes each time you change a component of the equation.”
I’ve also found that humidity can sometimes be a factor in how quickly the ink dries (or fails to dry) on the page.
Have you found a specific combination of paper/pen/ink that you are happy with?
Your Preference for Paper Color
I’ve always been more of a fan of writing on off-white paper than white. I think the off-white is easier on the eyes for long writing sessions, but I do like the intensity of a white page for brainstorming, mind-maps, and event planning. Fans of fountain pens love to use the plethora of available ink colors and while I know that white paper will really show them in their glory, I don’t mind the nice warm hue that the off-white paper adds to my favorite ink colors.
Which color paper do you prefer and why?
Webbie Lite?
We recently received this request from a fan and are wondering what you think – would you have a use for a Webbie Lite?
“I love my dot Webbie and would love it even more if a slightly different version were available. I am thinking about one with a thinner cover (like the premium pads) and slightly fewer pages (~72 vs. the current 96) but still with the elastic closure and expandable pocket and still with the gorgeous ivory 90g paper.”
From Mike in AZ
Orange you glad to see more dots?
Are you a fan of our Rhodia Drive Facebook page? Yesterday it was revealed to our Facebook fans that something new will be blooming in the Spring with our new orange covered dotPads. Are you excited? We had many, many requests for these.
What other kinds of Rhodia products are you hoping to see in the new catalog?
Looking for: Wirebound Pad Holder or Folio
We recently received an e-mail from a Rhodia fan looking for some kind of folio/pad holder that would hold an A4 top wirebound pad and allow him to flip the pages without removing the pad from the holder. I don’t use the top wirebound pads and don’t know what to suggest to him other than maybe having Gfeller make something custom for him.
Can you help point our friend in the right direction?
Gearing up to start the 2012 Rhodia Journal Swap!
It’s happening!!!
I am putting together the final details surrounding the 2012 Rhodia Journal Swap and expect to start searching for our 12 participants sometime next week. If you haven’t heard about the swap, we are going to be providing 12 large dotWebbie journals to a dozen creative people to utilize for a few weeks at a time, who will then mail the book on to the next person, and so on, until it reaches the last person who in turn, mails it back to the person who started that book.
The dozen participants will be sharing their creativity via a group Tumblr Blog for us all to see.
You do not have to be an “artist” or a “writer” to participate, You should however, be creative and willing to share. This swap will be open to US residents age 18 or older. An international swap may happen at a later date.
More details, including the *Theme* of the swap, to be announced soon!
Settling in to the New Year
Though I don’t celebrate the holidays, I observe a magnificent energetic surge from the day following Thanksgiving to Christmas day and then another from Christmas to New Year’s Eve.
I’m assuming that by now, the holiday leftovers have been cleaned out of the fridge. That many of you have put away the presents and taken down your holiday decorations and that maybe the batteries have already died in some of the new toys you bought for your children.
Now that it’s a whole new year, what does that mean for you? What if anything, is different or what do you wish to change?
How many notebooks do you carry around?
I carry around three: a ratty, beat-up No. 12 Rhodia in the inside pocket of my Mills canvas tote. This is for jotting down ideas and contact information. I also carry a 6 x 8 Clairefontaine spiral. This one is the most comfortable for taking notes and making lists while I’m riding the Hampton Jitney. Finally, my pocket planner is used as a “daily notebook” with milestones, priorities, tasks and personal information. All three notebooks are important, and thinking about this post I realized I use all three for different uses. I also have a notebook in the car to do my food shopping list!
How many notebooks do you carry around? 
Plate Spinning – Any Tips?
I write, create art, teach, plan events, work on marketing, and sell my art. I keep a journal, about 3-4 individual project books, write in Scrivener and Google Docs, on index cards and tablets. I title, tag, keyword, place edited photos in sets and collections. I highlight quotes on my e-reader, underline and place flags in my books. I use a software calendar app synced to my phone & laptop. Admittedly, I’d love to hire someone to perform many of these functions but for now, it’s all me and it isn’t really pretty at times. Continue Readering »
Out with the old, in with the new
Having a birthday on the last day of the year gives me a slightly different outlook than most people because when the clock strikes 12:01 on January 1st, I will literally be a year older in a whole new year.
With this comes certain rituals. I am mere pages away from finishing a journal and will begin anew on the 1st. I will continue to work on my “Manifestation” list for 2012 – a bucket list of sorts which isn’t only about what I want to accomplish in the new year, but also who I wish to be. It is also a time when I like to select a single word to set a specific for the new year, words like: Positive, Abundance, Focus, Clarity, Presence, and Joy all come to mind. I will also “look back down the mountain” to remember my experiences from 2011.
A trip to the river, a last mandala, a smile as I turn forward and continue looking ahead.
Happy New Year everyone! See you next year!
Final Link Share of 2011
The Benefits of Journaling at The 14 Day Experiment
Review: Exacompta Plain Journal at Comfortable Shoes
Let One Form of Creativity Drive Another at Daisy Yellow
Improve your Writing by Reading like a Fiend at Writing Forward
New Home at Dave’s Mechanical Pencils
peppermint hot fudge sauce at Smitten Kitchen
For the Love of Maps at Judy Wise
Introducing R by Rhodia at The Writer’s Bloc
My tangle pattern Klok #2-steampunk series at Life Imitates Doodles
And because this is still funny every time I watch it….
Everyone is an Artist
Once I started calling myself as an artist, it’s interesting how many people have shared with me that they have no talent for art.
I beg to differ.
While art to some may be the ability to create 3D renderings of what the eye sees, I believe that art=creativity and that it doesn’t have to come at the end of a paintbrush. It can come in the kitchen when looking in the fridge and cupboards to see what you can “whip up” for dinner. It can come when planting a garden and deciding which plants should go where. Putting together a slide show presentation for the boardroom is most certainly creative as is juggling your schedule to get all of your errands completed this week.
I just wanted to make sure you received the credit you deserved. :o)
