Archive for Give us Your Feedback
Orange WebPlanners
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.
Put The Logo Back?
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. Continue Readering »
Rhodia WebPlanners – Academic Year
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.?
Cover Decorations
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……)
Fan suggestion: Rhodia Postcards and Notecards?
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?
Question of the Day: Allocating Space
Question from Bruce: “I find myself with a great deal of minutia that I’d like to track or remember. Quotes. Ideas. Thoughts. Details that don’t lend themselves to a folder in the filing cabinet. I haven’t put them in a notebook because I haven’t figured out how many pages to allot to Quotes vs. Things I’d like to do vs. Remembering something. How do other people handle this? Just start on page one and forget about organization? Two notebooks? One for quotes and future dreams and a different notebook for mundane day to day stuff?” Continue Readering »
Rainbow Rhodia – Your Thoughts?
Is this a product that might interest you?
This Rhodia Rainbow notepad contains 80 sheets of Rhodia 5×5 grid paper in four different colors: blue, yellow, pink and green. This high grade vellum paper is 80g, acid free and is microperforated on top for easy and clean removal. Continue Readering »
Blogroll Housekeeping: Your Input?
A short while back, I asked our readers for suggestions for relevant links to add to our blogroll. Before adding the new, I performed a bit of housekeeping on the blogroll because it is important to us that you are provided with quality content. A few links needed to be updated, and some removed as they had become non-existent or no longer publishing new content. I then reviewed each of your submissions and added a number of your suggestions and also two or three that I thought you might find interesting. (Such as: “The Well Appointed Desk.”) Continue Readering »
Rhodia at Work: The Meeting Book
The Rhodia Meeting Book (Recent product of the month at Bureau Direct) is one of our best sellers and one of my own personal favorites. It’s what I use to keep my Rhodia Drive notes organized. (Ideas for blog posts, contest ideas…) Continue Readering »
Flattery?
They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery… Your thoughts?
Sharpening a pencil
I know there are some of you out there cherishing every bit of wood by sharpening your pencil point on a piece of sandpaper before ever thinking of putting it against a blade. Then there’s me. I tend to be fairly relentless with a pencil sharpener even though I know I’m just hacking pointlessly away at a perfectly good chunk of pencil.
Do you do whatever it takes to hang onto a single pencil? Or do you grind them to smithereens like me? Do you have a favorite sharpener that eats less pencil than mine seem to? Please share!
Your Giveaway
What if we hosted a giveaway where you, (our fans) were able to select the items to be given away? What if you could win anything Rhodia: a Meeting Book, dotWebbie, leather pencil case… or maybe a big bottle of J. Herbin Perle Noire ink. If you could pick just 1 item, what would you want to win the most? If there is a decent demand for similar items, I’ll see what I can do to create a giveaway for it.
One thing… it’s got to be from the current Exaclair catalog. We are not able to order items from the French Clairefontaine catalog. Please note your preferred item in the comment box below.
Looking for 8.5 x 11″ Rhodia products?
Are you looking for Rhodia products in the standard American 8.5 x 11″ letter format? In this size pad, Rhodia utilizes the international A4 sizing which is slightly different in both length and width. Is the A4 sizing suitable for your needs? Why does one work better than the other for you? Would you prefer the North American sizing if available?
The one product you are longing to try?
There are a lot of great products in the Rhodia line and within all of the Exaclair brands as well: Clairefontaine, Exacompta, Quo Vadis, J. Herbin…. What’s the one product you’ve been wanting to try, and what are you waiting for? Peruse the entire Exaclair catalog here.
Waiting to try a dotWebbie? Keep an eye on the blog this week when we will be giving away 20 of them!
Fountain Pen Users: Piston, Converter, Cartridge or Other?
I have been a fountain pen user for several years and own a few different kinds. In a pen like my Sailor 1911 shown above, you can either use a *disposible ink cartridge or an ink converter which will allow you to use a bottled ink of your choice. (Such as J. Herbin inks.) Some pens like my Pelikan M200 use a piston to draw ink into the pen.
If you use a fountain pen, which of these filling mechanisms do you prefer? Lately I’ve been drawn to the pistons because they hold a ton of ink. I also like my vintage Parker Vacumatic which utilizes a diaphragm and a plunger to create a vacuum to draw ink into the pen. These also hold a good amount of ink before needing a refill.
Learn more abut fountain pens on Wikipedia, and be sure to check out the forums on The Fountain Pen Network.
*Disposable ink cartridges can be refilled by using a syringe type tool.
