Archive for Editorial
What would you do with 50 Rhodia Notebooks?
Let’s go outside the box on this one. If we were to give you 50 of any one Rhodia paper product, which would you choose and what would you do with them? One rule: you can’t keep any of them for yourself.
Wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday weekend!
Image courtesy of Bgigliot on Instagram
Rhodia and the Gentlewoman
I love to discover new and interesting magazines, and I’d never heard of “The Gentlewoman” until I came across this image on Instagram. “The Gentlewoman is a fabulous publication for modern women of style and purpose. It offers a fresh and intelligent perspective on fashion that is focused on personal style – the way women actually look, think and dress. Featuring ambitious journalism and photography of the highest quality, The Gentlewoman celebrates inspirational women through the distinctive combination of glamour, personality and warmth in its collectable biannual magazine.”
There was a time when I probably had a dozen magazines coming to the house each month, but now I only subscribe to one: Elle Decor because I love cutting it apart and using the images in my Inspiration Journal and also for creating Vision Boards. Occasionally I will splurge at the bookstore and grab things like Yoga Journal, Writer’s Digest, Art News…
What are your favorite magazines? Do you read any via an e-reader? I also read MacWorld on my iPad via my local library and the Zinio app.
Image courtesy of Annemarie Arends – follow annemariearends on Instagram
Good Quality Sticky Notes?
Hannah W. recently sent us an e-mail asking if we were aware of any good quality sticky notes – she was hoping that there might have been a Rhodia option that she’d somehow overlooked but unfortunately, we do not currently sell any Rhodia Post-It style stickies.
Do you have anything you can suggest or any comments on her question? I’ve always found most sticky notes to not be very ink friendly – and I’m wondering if it has something to do with the glue…
What would you do with this large Habana notebook?
This is one of the new 8×11″ Large Quo Vadis Habana Notebooks and to tell you the truth, I can’t decide how to use it. For journaling, I typically prefer something in the 5×8″ range or smaller – like the 4×6″ Habana. Are you familiar with the concept of a vision board? I’m thinking about using this as a “Vision Book”
How would you use this book?
Dip Nibs
The first steel nibbed pens are historically noted as having been produced in 1803 but they may have been in use as early as 1725. Unlike a fountain pen, dip pens have no ink reservoir which means that they must be charged by continuously dipping the nibs in ink. Per Wiki: “Some illustrators and cartoonists (who are the main current users of such pens) are more likely to charge the pen with an eyedropper or a syringe, which gives them more control over the amount of ink applied.”
Did you know that Exaclair is the American distributor of Brause nibs? Brause manufactures steel nibs for writing, drawing and decorating. Since 1850, Brause has been crafting a complete set of nibs considered to be one of the best on the market by calligraphers. With over 100 years of manufacturing experience, Brause is one of the rare companies to guarantee an essential quality for its nibs: a subtle balance between relative elasticity for easier writing, and necessary resistance for clear strokes.
Top nib image courtesy of bakanekosan on Instagram.
Who motivates and inspires you?
Augusten Burroughs (Best selling author of Running With Scissors) motivates me to write without fear. Life coach Tony Robbins motivates me to make changes in my life so I can continue to grow and achieve my goals. People like Oprah Winfrey that exhibit an infectious energy in connection with their passion help me to believe that anything is possible. Books that focus on the law of attraction such as “The Secret” have opened me to infinite possibility, and self -help books like “The War of Art” have taught me to recognize and successfully battle resistance.
Who or what motivates and inspires you? Continue Readering »
Keep and Re-Read or Toss?
Writing has been my therapy. A place to say the things I wouldn’t normally say out loud or that I need to say when no one is available to listen. I used to go back and read through older books whenever I’d start a new one, but I don’t really do that any more – which leads me to the question of why I’m still keeping them.
What do you do with your notebooks when you’ve finished one – do you keep them? Read back through them? Toss them?
Image courtesy of Myriam Thibault – follow myriamthibault on Instagram.
Long Skinny
One of the most popular Rhodia pads is the No. 82, affectionately known around the office as the “Long Skinny.” They are 3 x 8 1/2″ and come in grid or lined.
These pads are great for To-Do lists and shopping lists. I always keep one or two in the kitchen utility drawer, or in a holder on the refrigerator. 
I never really thought about other uses for this shaped pad until one day we got an email from a restaurant in Idaho. The owner wanted to order 100 to use as servers notepads. What a great idea, and what a perfect pad to take orders!
Any other great ideas out there for the No. 82?
Scrabble and Rhodia
Do you play Scrabble? According to Wiki, over 150 million Scrabble sets have been sold worldwide and can be found in approximately one third of American homes.
Need a little help with your game?
The Quick 10: 10 Words That Will Help You Win at Scrabble at Mental Floss
Best Words in Scrabble at Science of Board Games
20 Words You Should Learn if You Play Scrabble at How Stuff Works
Image courtesy of Mrs. H – follow belleahhhhh on Instagram
Do you write with a heavy hand?
Until I started using a fountain pen, I’d always thought that hand cramps were the norm for long writing sessions. Turns out, what I thought was just my heavy handed writing style was probably caused in part by my use of a ballpoint pen. A ballpoint pen relies on gravity to coat the ball with ink. The ball then spins and distributes the ink as the pen is drawn across the paper. Since my preference was always for clear (and dark) writing, I used a great deal of pressure to obtain this result with my stick pen.
My hand cramps disappeared once I started writing with a fountain pen since almost no pressure is necessary for the ink to flow from pen to paper.
Are you heavy handed with your pens?
Image courtesy of kaniska_canace on Instagram
New Rhodia Products in 2014
The National Stationery show is about a month away (May 19-23, 2013 – Jacob Javits Center – NYC). We will be bringing in a number of new products from France, and use the show to gauge buyers’ interest.
But I am also interested in the feedback we receive from Rhodia fans on this blog and our Facebook page. Your opinion counts.
If you would like to recommend products for Exaclair to import later this year or beginning January 2014, please have a look at the interactive catalog on our French parent’s website: bloc-rhodia.com. Please let me know what product(s) appeal to you. 
As always, thank you for your time and support.
Designing a workspace on a dotPad
”Thinking about a workplace transformation” Image courtesy of ac3y on Instagram.
I have a large #38 dotPad that I think I will use to design my new garden beds. Have you used a #38′s or any of our dotPads to lay out a new workspace? Any tips to offer?
How a Gardening Journal Helped to Jumpstart my Writing Career
There was a time when I thought journal writing was pretentious. It seemed silly and self-absorbed and for someone who’d end up with a career as a professional writer, it’s almost comical how much I didn’t “get it.”
In the late spring of 2004, I’d find myself sitting at The Hacienda in Pasadena, California at my dear friend Lisa’s wedding. Lisa’s brother was sitting and talking with my friend Lorraine at our table about the gift of a new journal and my eyes were rolling back in my head at the thought of, “Oh no, not them too.” Back then, it seemed that no matter where I was, I kept hearing about people and their journal writing. It probably didn’t help that I was also seeing a plethora of black notebooks in the “What’s in your bag” photo group on Flickr.
But the thing that finally pushed me over the edge, and into the realm of the inky pen happened while I was watching TV. Flipping through the channels, I stopped on one of the shopping networks and they were selling, get this- a gardening journal. I watched as the host oohd and ahhd over this book like it was the greatest invention since sliced bread and I laughed out loud. A gardening journal? That’s just ridiculous!
But something about that book stuck with me that I can’t explain. I think it was a five year journal and it might have been something about being able to see things from one year to the next within the same book- a comparison of sorts, because not long after, I found myself at Blick (on Sept. 14th 2005 to be exact) standing in front of a display of black notebooks. Sitting in my car and taking the plastic off of the book, what I didn’t know then was that my entire world was forever changed in that moment – the moment I’d become a writer.
Writing has been my creative outlet, my therapy, and a big part of my career.
Back to the gardening journal – I totally get it now, because I wish I was keeping one for my first ever gardening experience this year but I just haven’t had the time. I wanted to document which seeds I bought from each company and why I’d chosen them. The dates I’d planted each seed. Which method I’d used to start them, (peat pellets or garden soil) and how long until each sprouted. Which products I’d used to prepare the garden beds. Why? Because it is exciting to describe an event or process and then look back upon it to see how it’s grown. Both literally and figuratively.
Do you keep a gardening journal?
Derek Lam’s Travel Essentials
Two fun news items for Rhodia fans this morning.
For any of you traveling on American Airlines this month, please have a look at the article on designer Derek Lam on page 14 in American Way magazine. “A Rhodia notepad, for sketching and jotting down idea” is one of his travel essentials. 
Our friends over at The European Paper Company let us know they are offering Rhodia gift sets with the popular No. 16 R by Rhodia pads and pad holders. A good gift for Moms, Dads, Grads and other special people.
Acorn Clips
In my mid 1970′s elementary school, we called these acorn clips. Apparently, this was an extremely isolated phenomenon as no one I’ve ever met has ever heard of these brass paper fasteners being referred to by that name. Googling “Acorn clips” and “brass acorn clips” results in zero images of this product but I swear I’m not making this up. I’m not even sure I can explain why these may have been called acorn clips- save for the fact that they look a little bit like the stem from a pair of acorns.
Do they still even make these? (They do) I got these from one of my friends who found a box at a thrift shop.
According to Wiki, they are also known as “split pins” and are an industry standard in binding screenplays in film industries across the globe.
Here’s a magic trick using a brass paper fastener.
