Archive for Give us Your Feedback
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…
Favorite Color Rhodiarama Webbie?
I’ve been finding lots of pictures of your Rhodiarama Webbies on Instagram. People seem to be really enjoying showing off their favorite colors. Have you picked a favorite yet? I’m partial to purple and red myself.
The Rhodiarama Webbies are currently only available in the 3×5″ size, but what if these were available in the larger 5×8″ version? Would you buy matching or complementary colors?
Image on top courtesy of Delectablepens on Instagram
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?
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.
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
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?
Rhodia for Lefties – Any suggestions?
While Kevin McFadden sees the pairing of his Lamy Studio fountain pen and a Rhodia Webbie as a match made in heaven, he is asking if there are any better options for lefties. One of his New Year resolutions was to transform what he refers to as his “historically terrible handwriting” (which I don’t think is bad at all) into something more legible and easier to read.
My thoughts on the subject:
1. Try a Quo Vadis Habana. The Habana is different than the Webbie in that it has a somewhat flexible cover and will open/lie a little bit flatter than a Webbie. On the flip side, the Habana does not come in a dotGrid format and the three available sizes are not the same as what is available in the Webbie. The paper is 85g versus 90g in the Webbie. (You can peruse the entire Exaclair catalog here.)
2. Use a dotWebbie… Whoops. You’re already doing that. Okay then, how about using a separate 6×8″ dotPad to specifically to work on your handwriting?
3. Try working on some simple breathing exercises – something along the lines of “Breathing in…two…three…breathing out…two… three” (in through the nose, out through the mouth) Being mindful of one’s breath can help the mind to be fully relaxed and present while slowly and deliberately writing out the words to a favorite quote. (Try keeping a tablet or notebook solely for this purpose.)
To our lefty readers- or to anyone who has worked to improve their handwriting. Any additional suggestions for Kevin?
Image above courtesy of Kevin.
Question on Line Width
Patrick from Pennsylvania wrote to us on Monday with this comment/request: “I love your notebooks (particularly the wirebound version) and paper, but would love it if you would offer some lined versions that are narrow ruled in either 5mm or 6mm. Right now it looks like the only rule you offer for lined versions are 7mm or 8mm, which is way too wide for my liking. Until then I have to buy the graph versions, which is perfect (other than the fact that sometimes I don’t want those vertical lines.) 
Thank you, Patrick, for this topic. Rhodia fans, please weigh in! Would you like a notepad or Webbie with 5mm or 6mm lines? Do you prefer a narrow or wide ruling?
(My thanks to The Missive Maven for the photo>)
Lines to the edge of the page?
We recently received a comment about the ruling in our Rhodia WebNotebooks. This person loves Rhodia paper but prefers that the lines go to the edge of the page which in the Webbie, do not.
Do you have a preference one way or the other about the lines in your notebook?
Your Input Needed: If We Made a Sketchbook…
We need your input!
Exaclair, (The US distributors of Clairefontaine, Quo Vadis, Rhodia, etc.) is contemplating the creation of an American made sketchbook. A book that would lend itself more towards artistic creation than writing – though I’m certain such a book could be used for either form of expression. The book would contain paper from Clairefontaine’s Schut Mill, (located in the Netherlands) and would be assembled at the Hamburg, NY plant where the Habana notebooks and other Quo Vadis products are currently being made. This sketchbook would be a bound book, (as opposed to a spiral) and we would love your input on how this book should be created.
(See how to submit your feedback at the end of this post.)
In the meantime, Karen sent me a batch of paper samples to test and I chose 4:
If I am going to work in a bound book, it’s got to lay flat. For me, there are no exceptions to that rule. I’d like the book to be about the same size as a large Webbie – 5×8″ish with a firm cover so if I was working with the book propped on my knee, there would still be a good amount of support.
To me, the most important feature of the paper in any sketchbook Continue Readering »
RHODIActive
Rhodia has developed a new collection called RHODIActive. It is geared toward business users. You can see all the RHODIActive products on the corporate site.
We carry many–but not all — of these type of products here in the U.S. One difference is that the RHODIActive product covers are black and made of a stiff polypro or harder material. More durable, I guess, to get bounced around from office to meeting room to home commute and still look great. Also, the paper in this collection’s Meeting Books is 90 g, vs. 80 g in a standard Meeting Book. 
Can you please give us some input for future product selection: Do you use Rhodia at the office? Do you see any product(s) in the RHODIActive collection that are especially appealing to you?
Thank you for any suggestions or requests.
Do you listen to podcasts?
From Wiki: ” A podcast is a type of digital media consisting of an episodic series of audio radio, video, PDF, or ePub files subscribed to and downloaded through web syndication or streamed online to a computer or mobile device.”
I did a little poking around the web the other day and found quite a few podcasts dedicated to pens, fountain pens and stationery products such as:
FPGeeks, AndersonPens and The Pen Addict all seem to be generating regular (weekly?) pen and stationery related podcasts.
Some older but interesting podcasts can be found at PenPassion, Tyler Dahl and My Life All In One Pod
And don’t forget about Brian Goulet’s Write Time at 9 video broadcasts.
Do you subscribe to any podcasts? How, when and where do you usually listen to them? Do you make sure to never miss an episode?
Dot, What?
In the last week we have requested a request for dot Rhodiarama notebooks and dot Reverse books. I checked–and while there are no immediate plans to make these products with dot grids you never know.. 
Are there any other Rhodia products–existing or otherwise–where you would like to have dot grids?
Knowing your preferences helps us with product development. Thank you.
Speaking of Reading Blogs…
How are you reading your blogs? Is it through a bookmarked link in your browser, via a feed reader, direct e-mail or an app on your mobile device? And is there anything we could do to make Rhodia Drive more friendly towards your preferred method of delivery?
I used to use Google Reader as my primary blog reader until I found the FlipBoard app for my iPad – but I’m still always wondering if there is a neater or more efficient way to peruse content from the 150+ blogs I’m subscribed to. My inbox is a little too full for blog subscriptions and so I only receive a handful via e-mail.
Rhodia Pencils Make Great Stocking Stuffers
Years ago, my Gram started up a tradition of giving us Christmas “socks” filled with little gifts like candy and trinkets. There would always be an orange in the toe sitting on top of the other matching sock.
Can you imagine a Christmas “sock” filled with pens, paper, pencils & art supplies? I sure can…
Do you have a similar sock/stocking holiday tradition of your own? What kind of things do you include, or wish would be included in your sock?
