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?

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?

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

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?

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?

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.

One of the things I plan to manifest this year is a better way to stay organized. I tend to procrastinate with some things and go bullet train fast with others. I’m sure there is a better balance – but then my right brain kicks in and says, “NO! You must write now!” and there I am at 3am blurry eyes drooping and drool leaking out the corner of my mouth pushing forward because it’s an “Inspired” moment.

Tell me, how do you manage to stay on top of everything and manage a healthy creative balance?

What were your favorite Rhodia products in 2011?
Did you try something new and simply fall in love?
What products are you looking forward to trying in 2012?

In the last however many years that I have been using fountain pens, I have yet to have a personal encounter with another FP user. I’ve spoken to thousands of them on the Fountain Pen Network just never anyone in person, until this month when I met 2! One is a photographer sharing studio space – Olaf gifted me with a bottle of Yama Budo as a studio warming present and has been seeing using a sweet Pilot pen with a cursive italic nib. The other was a man who visited my studio yesterday, he pulled out a TWSBI demonstrator which he said was a copy of a Pelikan M800.

Do you think this is simple coincidence? Or do you think fountain pen use is on the rise? The man with the TWSBI had come to see my mandalas with his teenage son who also liked to draw them. I asked his son if he also used a fountain pen to which his dad laughed and said that he wasn’t interested. I then explained to his son how I first started using them because of their effortless flow (my hands had been known to cramp after long writing sessions) and how many of my early mandalas had been drawn using a fountain pen.

I bet he gives it a shot…

A new Rhodia chart has been compiled on the http://rhodiapads.com/ website. It shows product sizes in both inches and centimeters, ruling and cover options, reference numbers and also paper colors. Is there anything we are missing that you would like to see? I suggested perhaps adding the weight of the paper. Most are 80g but the R series and Webbies use 90g.

I am currently participating in two different sketchbook exchange projects and it got me to thinking about starting a similar “journal swap” project. 12 people, each provided a large dotWebbie, would fill a specified amount of pages in the journal then mail it to the next person on the list. A theme would be chosen for the project and the participants could fill their pages however they choose – random thoughts, poems, art, collage… Along the way, the participants will scan/snap/upload project photos to a group Tumblr blog for all to see. After each book has cycled through the hands of all the participants, the book you started is returned to you – now filled with all kind of interesting stuff!

Is this something you might be interested in participating in?

I will post the specifics for participation after the new year.

It turns out that our dotPads and dotWebbies are extremely popular and I got to wondering who may have discovered any special or unique uses for the dotted paper. I know I’ve seen several people use them for practicing calligraphy – and one person told me they used them for mapping computer networks. I can personally envision them being used for designing a garden, drawing up plans for a dream home or creating a map to a stash of buried treasure.

How are you using your dots? Show me and I might just share here on the blog – send pics to stephanie@rhodiadrive.com

I know some people like to shop early, but I am not one for early decorations and blaring holiday music the minute the clock strikes midnight on November 1st. The only shopping I really love is at the art store or book store, though I can’t deny the amount of cool stuff in the stores that only seems to show up around this time of year.

As the variety of online retailers continues to climb, people are able to experience shopping from the convenience of their homes to avoid the rampant holiday commercialism but I think maybe something is lost during that process. I worked in a mall for 10 years and dreaded every holiday season but once I left, it was easier to see how special and magical a time of year it can be to the wee ones. One thing that I did enjoy was that everyone in the world seemed to show up to that tiny mall around the holidays – I got to see everyone.

Most people I hear from are not a fan of the early holiday retail push – what do you think about it? Does it help to get you in the holiday mood? Or do you simply tune it out?

The most popular Rhodia pads are the No. 11 & No. 12 (3 x 4 and 3 3/8 x 4 3/4 respectively).  This has held steady for a number of years–people like the pocket-size ease and convenience.

But another size is rapidly closing the gap…the No. 16…which is sized at 6 x 8 1/4.  So much so, one of the top two may be replaced by the end of this year.

Are you surprised?  What is your favorite size Rhodia pad?

Much thanks to Melinda for taking the time to send us these kind words after winning one of the dotWebbies in a recent contest.

I am one of the lucky ones that “won” a dotWebbie on the Rhodia Drive giveaway. That was so fun to see my name as a winner; the only thing better is now I have it on my desk! Had I not won, I intended to purchase one. Now that I have seen it “live”, I know I’ll be buying more in the future. It’s perfect for me!

I started my obsession with paper products many years ago and collect it from all around the world. One of my first international buys was a Clairefontaine notebook in Paris. I continue to buy them there whenever I have the opportunity to visit that wonderful city.

Rhodia products rank up in the top 1% of my favorites, as well. I purchase them at our local art supply store, University Arts in Sacramento. They do not have a great selection so whenever I have the chance, I also purchase them at various stores in San Francisco and Berkeley. Can’t get enough!

Again, thank you so much for the gift!

A paper lover and then some!
Melinda

Howard Parker’s Piel Leather bag is filled with Rhodia- all in current use.

On my desk right now are 4 spiral books, 2 Rhodia, 2 Clairefontaine and also a Quo Vadis Habana. The small Habana is my current journal. A4 Rhodia Meeting Book is for personal projects, A5 Meeting Book is for Rhodia Drive. The Clairefontaine A5 Basics spiral with pockets is for developing material for my mandala workshops., and an A4 Clairefontaine spiral whose cover reads, “Put Pen to Paper, Delay No More” (a gift from Karen) which I’ve used to write my artist bio/statement, workshop descriptions, etc.

What about you? Do you use more than one paper product throughout your day, or is one enough? I can never seem to get enough. Biff loves paper. :o)

We have been getting lots of inquiries on where to buy a WebPlanner with an orange cover.

We received this inquiry from Lorraine in NYC this morning: “I need a 2012 calendar and am only finding black. What happened to orange? I have all your pads and I need the matching calendar for my office.” The answer is – the 2011 WebPlanners with black covers tremendously out-sold those with orange covers, so for the 2012 we only went with black. This doesn’t mean we can’t reconsider for the future, but we have to feel confident the product will sell out.

We were very surprised at the sales of the orange-covered WebPlanner vs. the black, since orange Webbies outsell black by a good margin.  Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case for the WebPlanners – just the opposite.

Last year, a lot of people wrote to use asking for a hard-cover WebPlanner, vs. the soft-cover we had when we introduced the product.  The hard-cover WebPlanners have proved to be very popular, and sales continue to grow.

That being said, your feedback is very important to us.  Please let us know your thoughts on this product.  Thank you.

One of the most requested Webbie upgrades was for the removal of the Rhodia logo from every page- to which we complied. Interestingly enough, we recently received a message from a customer asking that the logo be put back.

Do you want the logo back? It didn’t really bother me until I read that people were distracted by it. I was so happy to even have a hard cover Rhodia product that I somewhat overlooked it.

And in the spirit of the upcoming holiday….

(Image above compares the paper color of a  Moleskine to a Webbie.)

Based on the amount of feedback and emails we have received, we are reintroducing Rhodia WebPlanners for the 2012-2013 academic year. 

Any last-bits of advice on changes, enhancements, etc.?

Jon Gaffney recently sent us this picture of his Kaweco fountain pen for our Favorite Pen photo pages and the cool stickers made me want to ask if you are also decorating your Webbie covers or leaving them plain. I know we have people doodling on the Bloc Rhodia pads, but if you show me some interesting cover decorations, (send to stephanie@rhodiadrive.com) I might just have to start up a new photo page. (I actually added a bit of paint to my last Webbie but keep forgetting to take a picture of it……)

I received a recent question from Rusty asking whether Rhodia had ever considered making  fountain-pen-friendly postcards or notecards. He thinks they would be a big hit with our fans especially if available in both black and orange versions with a dotted back side.

What do you think? Would you buy Rhodia postcards? Are you finding typical post cards bleed or feather with fountain pen inks?