Our UK friends at the Pens and Paper blog tested a number of notebook papers with four different fountain pens – each filled with a different ink. If you ever wanted to know how water based inks react on a certain paper, this is a great series of photos and commentary to help you choose the best product for your needs. The papers that were tested:

1. Whitelines (grid);
2. Rhodia Webnotebook (lined and dot grid);
3. Quo Vadis Habana (lined);
4. Monseiur (plain);
5. Moleskine (lined);
6. Leuchtturm 1917 (lined);
7. Rhodia ePure (plain);
8. Jottrr (lined/plain);
9. Rhodia Exabook (lined);
10. Clairefontaine (lined and Séyès ruled);
11. Smythson Featherweight (lined); and,
12. Archie Grand (plain).

Read the full post here.

Karen recently received some questions about Herbin’s Perle Noire ink. Since this is one I have reviewed and regularly use, I’d be happy to respond.

Is this ink a really dark black? While I haven’t tried every black ink on the market, I have used quite a few across brands such as Noodler’s, Sailor, Pelikan, Aurora and Diamine. It was important to me to find a very black ink and I was happy enough with the Perle Noire that I stopped looking. I’ve heard of Noodler’s having a number of different black inks that I have not tried. (I’ve only ever used their Bulletproof Black)

I also tend to place a certain amount of importance on the smell of an ink- Herbin inks have a slight sweet odor that I find completely acceptable. Some inks have more of a chemical scent which I try and stay away from.

Second, is this ink pH-neutral? From JHerbin.com: “Herbin uses all natural dyes in their fountain pen inks. This natural composition is reflected in the very neutral pH of the inks.”

Third, is this pen a ‘wet’ or ‘dry’ ink? In my own personal experience, I would call this a “wet” (quite free flowing) ink – and is probably the “wettest” of all the Herbin inks. (I’ve tried them all)

Fourth, which pens would be best suited to the J. Herbin ‘Perle Noire’, or will it work well in ALL fountain pens? It’s going to be a matter of personal opinion of which pens would be best for this ink. It’s suited for all pens, but one must consider the  pen/ink/paper combination as a whole. Since it’s a fairly “wet” ink, I’ve found that I like it best in a thinner nib on quality writing paper.

Lastly, what is the drying time of the Perle Noire ink? This will depend on the paper you are using as well as the relative humidity of where you are doing your writing. Fountain pen friendly papers tend to slightly resist inks which mean a slightly longer drying time. I’ve never noticed that this ink took longer to dry than any other. (As much as I can remember anyway… I’ve tested a lot of inks and I’m getting old.)

Click here to read my original review of Perle Noire
Click here to see a comparison of 4 black inks including Perle Noire

Okay yes. I’ll admit it. I am slightly addicted to Pinterest. What is Pinterest? It’s a virtual pinboard that allows you to organize and share all the beautiful things we find on the web. You can browse pinboards created by other people to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests.

I love browsing to find new ideas for patterns color combinations to use in my art. I find so much inspiration there…

Are you using Pinterest? How do you like it? Pin any Rhodia lately?

National Handwriting Day was established by the Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association  in 1977 to promote the consumption of pens, pencils, and writing paper. January 23rd was chosen because it is the birthday of John Hancock- the first person to sign the Declaration of Independence.

In this modern age of computers, I love how so many people continue to joyously express themselves through paper and their choice of a manual writing device. Oh happy day to paper & pens & pencils!

Can’t remember your dreams? I’ve often heard that the best way to remember them is to write down anything you can remember immediately upon waking. Much insight and inspiration can come from examining our subconscious.

To learn more about keeping a dream journal:

Remembering Dreams

How to Keep a Dream Journal

Benefits of Keeping a Dream Journal

Dream Journals: Dream Telling

Keep a Dream Journal – Why Bother?

Dream Journaling 101: How to Keep a Dream Journal

It’s here! Time to roll our our first ever Rhodia Journal Swap: “Favorite Things.” Interested in participating? Read on, then please fill out the form below by Jan 18th. We’d love if you would share this opportunity with your friends! Questions? Please submit via comments. 

• 12 people will be chosen to participate and will each receive a large orange dotWebbie in which to create. You do not have to be an artist/writer to participate. This 1st swap will be open to US residents only. (Future swaps may be expanded outside the US)

• Each participant will create on a specified amount of pages within the book and then is responsible to package and mail each book to the next person on the list at monthly intervals. (USPS 1st class mail or Priority shipping is recommended at a cost of roughly $5-7 per book) The participant address list will be structured in a way that should allow the shortest shipping time (and cost) between each person. In the end, you will get back the book you started which will be packed with interesting things…
  

• The theme of the swap is “Favorite Things” and can be widely open to interpretation via: thoughts, ramblings, short stories, poems, lists, art, doodles, clippings, printed photos. We ask that content be safe for public consumption.

• There are 96 sheets (192 pages) in a large Webbie. Your minimum contribution in each book will be as follows: Fill 6 pages on one side. (Leaving the other side blank) Start something on 1 page to be completed by the next person, finish something on 1 page that the previous person started = 8 pages per person (6+1+1) x 12 = 96. You MAY fill 12 sheets (6 pages both sides) if you desire.

• Participants agree to scan/snap/snag/upload/tag images to a group Tumblr blog documenting their process which could include: content, you & your Rhodia, your creative process.

• You own all the rights to your original content in the books and on the web. By submitting images to the group blog, you grant us permission to share them (with attribution) to the Rhodia Drive Blog and also our Facebook page. We encourage you to share your content via your own blogs, Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, etc.

If you are reading this via e-mail or in certain feed readers, you may need to visit http://rhodiadrive.com/ to see the form.

I saw this article the other day about a 76 year old woman who just had removed from her intestines a pen that she had swallowed TWENTY FIVE years ago. Once removed, it still worked! But who really cares about the pen, if she knew it was in there, I’m curious why it wasn’t a priority to get it back out again! I don’t even know how she managed to sleep at night knowing that there was a long pointed object lodged somewhere in her abdomen that could potentially poke a hole in something fairly important in the organ department.

When I searched for other pen swallowing incidents, I happened upon this rather amusing video…

I found this sign at a local antique co-op and couldn’t stop giggling because what on EARTH does disco dancing have to do with fountain pens? What an interesting marketing idea! I would love to know how many people sent away for this book and whether or not the book helped them to improve their dance moves. (Or writing ability!)

After a little digging, it appears as though the book dates from 1965 and includes dances such as “The Watusi” and “The Hitch-Hiker.” What, no “Hustle?” Additional images of the pen packaging can be found here.

My grandmother used to drink Folgers instant coffee. (The best part of wakin’ up, is Folgers in your cup!) She’s been gone since 2000 and I wonder what she’d think of all of the gourmet coffee available today. She had been a cook in a nursing home for 18 years somewhat of a food snob long before the Food Network started converting us. She’d go on group tours to other countries – to Italy to see the Sistine Chapel, ask her about the trip and she’d describe it by the food she ate.

I remember once sitting on her couch and watching a cooking show where they were making something with portabello mushrooms. I told her I wished I could make that dish but how portabellos (at the time) were pretty expensive. I couldn’t even get that out of my mouth before she is pulling a $10 bill from her change purse and pressing it into my hand. “Buy them” she says…

I really appreciate that she encouraged me to experiment in the kitchen. I only wish that I would have written down some of her recipes. She made a meatloaf that I still dream about – nothing has ever come close.

Is there anything that one of your relatives used to cook that you long for? Something that you have tried to replicate but cannot?

Photo courtesy of Mike Rodriquez.

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?

A recent Wall Street Journal article – “The Biking Detective” by Alexandra Alter, described how crime writer George Pelecanos gets his inspiration and details: biking around Washington, DC on his road bike, “lingering in back alleys, cemeteries and abandoned parking lots.” “That’s really the time when I’m writing the book,” said Mr. Pelecanos. “In terms of plot, I don’t outline, I kind of search for it when I’m out here.” Mr. Pelecanos has published 17 books and worked as a writer on HBO shows “The Wire” and “Treme.”

He is working on a new novel called “The Cut.” The main character is Spero Lucas, a 29-year-old Marine who returns from Iraq to find work as an investigator for a Washington lawyer and his shady clients. When a drug dealer wants him to recover a missing package of marijuana, Lucas demands a 40% cut, and enters into a dangerous stand-off with a criminal ex-cop named Ricardo Holley.

The article describes how the plot came together during one of Pelecanos’ daily rides. “One day, he found a squat, dark red brick bungalow near Georgia Avenue that looked like it could house a low-profile criminal like Holley. He rode around back and saw that it was protected only by a cheap, low fence. ‘You could break into it during the day and no one would know,’ he says. The details about the house–the hopable fence and the secluded back alley sparked a break-in scene in the novel that jolts the plot forward.

Reading about George Pelecanos’ creative inspiration reminded me of one of my own.  I was hiking along the banks of the Delaware River, when I spotted a bone sticking out of the riverbank.  I was sure it was either a relic of the historic skirmishes with the Indians, or the remains of some murder victim.  I dug it out and remembering all the crime sitcoms, put it carefully in a plastic bag.  I brought it to the local police station to hear it…was…a…sheep bone.  Oh, well.  But I remember the thrill of discovery, and all the plot lines that began to emerge.

Is your writing or creative inspiration prompted by unexpected discoveries?

Click here to read more about George Pelecanos and “The Cut.”

I think maybe we all have probably doodled something at one time or another that looked something like a map. The image above is one I found that I made several years ago, but it’s nothing compared to what Jerry Gretzinger’s been doing. Watch his amazing video below.

Jerry’s Map from Jerry Gretzinger on Vimeo.

One of the favorite summer activities in my area is going from yard sale to yard sale to see what you can find–one person’s junk is someone else’s treasure.  I have found antique oil lamps, old first edition books, puppets, inkwells, bookcases, fountain pens, tintypes and more at a bargain.  Most of my cookbooks have come from yard sales.  It’s especially fun to find old postcards and letters stashed away in the pages.

One of my “finds” this summer was an old leather case.  I polished it up as best I could and tried to figure out what to use it for.  A No. 10 Rhodia pad fit, so I keep it in my purse to for quick notes and to hold business cards at networking events.

Anyone else enjoy yard sales or flea markets?  What’s your best find so far?

I recently received a number of new pen pictures to add to our Favorite Pen Photo gallery. I’ve always been of the mindset that a good pen makes you want to write more. If you’d like your pen added to the gallery, simply send a nice clear shot to: stephanie@rhodiadrive.com with “My Favorite Pen” in the subject line. It doesn’t have to be fancy, it just needs to be what you most enjoy writing with.

If you’ve ever entered one of our contests, I always include a space for any comments or feedback you’d like us to see. That’s how I found out about this sweet little girl named Rhodia Ruth or “Rhody” from her owner Kelly. Rhody is a 10 week old “Jug” – a Pug/Jack Russell mix.

Notice Rhody chewing on Kelly’s Bloc Rhodia No. 16.  Sadly, she reports that the cover is not impervious to puppy nibbles and is now full of holes. Rhodia pencils are also not puppy proof!

I absolutely love animals and would be happy to share photos of your pet friends here on the blog – I could even start a new photo page! Send your pictures (and be sure to tell me a little about your pet) to stephanie@rhodiadrive.com.

For one of the last treats on my Greenport vacation, I went to Aldo’s for a double expresso and one of his great pecan scones.

Heading outside towards the back patio, I spied a large Rhodia pad with “NOFO” sketched on the cover.

Of course, I went over to say “hi” and asked, “How do you like your Rhodia pad?”

The man looked up and said he liked them, loved the feel of the paper, and wrote all his music in them.  He bought them in bulk at Dunkerley’s in Southampton.

He looked familiar, and then I realized I was talking to Josh Horton, the former Supervisor of Southold Town. While he was in office he helped to save more than 1,000 acres of open space and farmland, which makes him a hero in my book. He is also a staunch advocate for the preservation of the area’s maritime heritage.

Josh Horton also plays in a band, Corky Laing & The Memory Thieves, and for the last two years has organized the NOFO Rock and Folk Fest, held at the Peconic Bay Winery in Peconic, NY.  This year it will be held July 30-31. The lineup includes Foghat, Elvin Bishop, Corky Laing & The Memory Thieves, John Sebastian, Commander Cody, and several more national and local talents.

We chatted for a bit, including how much we both missed having a Dunkerley’s store in Greenport. A Staples and Office Depot were built in nearby Riverhead, and their business dried up. Happily for us, Dunkerley’s continues to boom along in their Southampton location.

Josh said he would send me a photo of his NOFO Rhodia pad, but I forgot to give him my card. Anyway, if any of you will be out on the North Fork at the time of the weekend festival, please be sure to go hear Josh and his band, and say hi to a fellow Rhodia aficionado.

NOFO Rock and Folk Festival 2011

Corky Laing & The Memory Thieves

Aldo’s -

Dunkerley’s

Taken on a sunny day with slight editing for contrast. From left to right these are, Clairefontaine 90g, Clairefontaine Triomphe 90g, Webbie 90g, and “R” 90g.

A closer look at the Webbie paper and the paper in the new “R” premium pads. (Note – Webbie 2.0 paper is the same color as the 3.0. 3.0 version removed the Rhodia logo at the bottom of the page.)

Do you prefer white or off white paper for writing?

Edison Nouveau Premiere LE

We have received a few new additions to our “Favorite Pens” fan photo page including this Edison Nouveau Premiere Limited Edition.

Want to show off yours? Send us a photo of your favorite pen: stephanie at rhodiadrive  dot com

My r-Pad at Consider the Lilies

Beyond the Pen: Fountain Pen Ink as Watercolor Wash at Ink Nouveau

Sketchbooks at Drawing with a Squirrel

Simple Woman’s Daybook at Harvest Moon by Hand

A Magic Dinosaur at Feed Your Soul Art

Rhodia Dot Grid Webnotebook at Blinkidoo

Rock Paper Scissors at La Vie Graphite

Writing is…Escapism at Icy’s Blunt Pencil

Rhodia Pad Holder No 16 with Pen Hook at Pocket Blonde

Jardin Flambeau on Flickr Blog

All Azure: The Monochromatic City of Chefchaoen, Morocco on Web Urbanist

Chive Blossom Vinegar at Cooking with Anne

Bloc No 11 Graph Paper Pad at Pens ‘n’ Paper

The Chagalls, Joined in a sketchbook at The Jewish Daily Forward

Sketchnotes Channel at Core 77 at Notebook Stories

Product review: Rhodia Dot Webbie at Planet Webbie

Art above by Gentian Osman

This is Joyce Pepos’s writing retreat in Mount Hood, Oregon. (I *LOVE* this!)

From Joyce: “This sweet writing space is located on an old logging deck of 40 years back – which we have turned into a meadow of wild flowers and a large outside fire pit – we also have built a Labyrinth which is dug into the ground five feet deep and 35 feet wide… awesome!

We have a 13 acre retreat on the mountain here in Oregon – besides our main lodge we have 5 separate buildings – Art studio for my husband along with a huge wood shop – a Library/media building for exercise/reading/tv – a Sauna (which is dug into the ground and the building is covered in Montana Rock) and a jacuzzi sits outside in a dug out rock garden.

We are both just retired and my husband has created this spectacular woodland garden with hiking trails through the 13 acres. I am happy to share our love of nature, art and where my Rhodias live.

Please visit Joyce’s blog and read this post about her love of Rhodia.