Archive for Random Announcements
Official Call for Entries for the 2012 Rhodia Journal Swap: “Favorite Things”
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. Continue Readering »
Exaclair’s December Sale
Every year at Exaclair we have a sale of of all kinds of stationery products in the office: samples from France we decided not to carry; discontinued products; and some current products that are a little banged up and cannot be sold. There is something for everyone–stationery, cards & envelopes, notebooks, organizational products, calligraphy items and fountain pen inks. 
The sale will be held on December 6th & 7th from 10 AM to 4 PM. We are located at 143 West 29th Street, 10th Floor, New York, NY 10001. We’re not far from Penn Station, on 29th Street between Avenue of the Americas and 7th Avenue.
I will look forward to chatting with you if you are able to stop by!
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.?
The Inside Scoop – Dot Pads
We hear…. 
-Rhodia will be introducing a No. 18 Dot Pad.
-Dot Pads will be available in several spiral sizes, including the popular No. 13 and No. 14.
-There will be a Dot Pad cover in orange.
More soon….
Art Materials World 2011
There will be a whole lotta Rhodia at the Exaclair Booth – #337 – at Art Materials World 2011. This trade show and convention is sponsored by NAMTA – the International Art Materials Trade Association, and takes place at the Phoenix, Arizona Convention Center from April 13-15th. 
Several new Rhodia products will be unveiled at the show, including “R” by Rhodia–a premium 90g ivory paper pad with a “soft touch” cover, and…drumroll…..the new Dot Webbies!
If you are planning to attend please stop by to say hello! I plan to visit artist and Rhodia friend, Bernadette Ward of Pan Pastels. Bernadette recently did some experimenting with Pan Pastel colors in a Rhodia blank Webbie. Here’s her video.
You might also see me at a Diamondbacks game as I continue my quest to collect baseball hats from around the country! Since my beloved New York Mets are off to such a great start this year(!) I should be able to wear my cap without too much razzing..
Long Island Pen Show this Weekend! March 5th and 6th at Hofstra University
2011 Long Island Pen Show
this Saturday & Sunday 5-6 March 2011
Sponsored by the Long Island Pen Club
Hofstra University Student Center Multi-purpose Room 101
Hempstead, Long Island, New York
Saturday 5 March 2011
* 8:00-10:00 am Pre-show admission, open to exhibitors and weekend traders.
* 10:oo am -6:00 pm Open to the public
Sunday 6 March 2011
* 8:00-10:00 am Pre-show admission, open to exhibitors and weekend traders.
* 10:oo am -4:00 pm Open to the public
Daily Admission is $10.00 payable at the door. Click for more details. Continue Readering »
The DC Supershow
I am looking forward to the DC pen show this coming weekend. It is the biggest fountain pen show in the world. If you love pens, pen memorabilia and inks, this is heaven on earth. 
The first two days of the show are for weekend traders and retailers; but August 14-15 – Saturday and Sunday, are open to consumers. The show is held at the Sheraton Tysons Corner in Vienna, Virginia. More information here.
I collect antique inkwells, so I’m hoping to add one or two to my collection, plus a fountain pen or two, and some ink, and whatever I see that grabs my imagination. I will brave the sighs I’m going to get when I get home…but pen people understand.
A bottle of the new 1670 Herbin ink will be at the Pendemonium booth if you would like to stop by and test it. Bob Johnson, who runs the show, asked me to bring some Herbin inks and Clairefontaine paper for the testing table and various other places. I have packed some Rhodia and some Triomphe pads.
I’ll also bring along some pens I feel don’t work properly or I’m afraid to use. I know I can get some friendly, expert advice on what to do.
Hope to see you there or bump into you at one of the tables!
Fahrney’s Vendor Day
Fahrney’s Pens retail store hosts a different vendor the first Wednesday of the month. This month, Rhodia & Clairefontaine will be the featured vendors. I will be on hand with the area sales rep to meet customers and answer questions. I’m bringing some products from Exaclair for people to test with their pens, including a bottle of Herbin’s new 1670 ink. 
Fahrney’s Vendor Day & Sale is scheduled for Wednesday, August 4th (tomorrow) from 10 AM to 5 PM. They are offering an extra 10% off Rhodia and Clairefontaine’s everyday prices. Fahrney’s offers a wide selection of Rhodia and Clairefontaine pads and notebooks.
The store is located at 1317 F Street, N.W., Washington, DC 2002. Tel. – 202-628-9525. They are located two blocks from the Metro Center.
Farhney’s is a storied name for fountain pens. In 1929 Earl Fahrney founded Fahrney’s Pens as a fountain pen repair shop. The business thrived. He slowly expanded and decided to sell new writing intruments, including the “revolutionary” ballpoint pen. The tagline “The Write Place” was acquired when Mr. Fahrney moved the business in 1950 to the historic Willard Hotel on F Street.
In 1961 Mr. Fahrney hired Odell Chappell who was the store’s first female employee. “The Pen Lady” as she became known, is now retired but remembered for her tireless dedication to Fahrney’s and her customers.
In 1972 Mr. Fahrney sold Fahrney’s Pens to Jon and Corinne Sullivan. The Sullivans shared his passion for fountain pens, and deep commitment to customers and employees. Their son, Chris, has taken over day-to-day operations. 80 years after its founding Fahrney’s remains a family-owned business.
Visit the website here. I hope to see you tomorrow!
Yellow Pads
Rhodia makes one pad with yellow paper. It is 8 1/4 x 12 1/2″, ruled with margin. It is not the most popular pad we make, but the sales are consistently high enough to keep it in the mix. 
Since I write with fountain pens, white paper enhances the color of inks (Diamine, Sailor, Herbin) I use and makes the experience of writing more vibrant. But for some interior reason, when I need to take “serious notes” I prefer a yellow pad. I have thought about why this might be and have concluded I associate white more with creativity; and yellow with memory.
Which color pad do you like to use?
Coming Soon to Israel: Rhodia?
Rhodia and Clairefontaine notebooks may soon be available in stationery, art supply and university bookstores in Israel. Selected products from each brand will be shown this coming weekend to prospective retailers at a back-to-school show. 
Two weeks ago I spent a day doing site visits in Jerusalem with Yaffa and Nathan Sror of Kolbosrad, Ltd., an importer and distributor of quality stationery, office and art supplies in Israel. They discovered Rhodia at the Frankfurt paper show this past January and felt our notebooks could be a good compliment to their other lines.
Yaffa and Nathan were wonderful hosts and guides. I felt as if I had known them for years–people with generous hearts like they do have that gift.
One of the stores they took me to visit was Jerusalem Pens, located in the old German Colony neighborhood. It carries a wide selection of notebooks, journals and writing instruments, including some pens of their own design. Both the store and the neighbor are special.
A little to my surprise, a photo of Pope Benedict XVI writing with a fountain pen greeted me when I walked into their beautiful showroom. The owner, Mr. David Elispur, told me the pope is a customer, and came by for a visit when he traveled to Israel.
Jerusalem Pens is worth a trip if you visit the city. Hopefully, one of these days you can spot Rhodia there, too.
Buying Rhodia Pads in Bulk
Several months ago we received a rash of email from people asking if they could buy Rhodia in bulk from us (Exaclair). Since Exaclair operates B-2-B, I tried to come up with a solution. I called some of our best Rhodia retailers including Alko Office Supply, Goulet Pens, and Vickerey, and asked if they would sell to consumers in bulk. They all said they would be delighted to do so! In fact, most if not all retailers will offer a discount in product price and/or shipping for bulk sales. Our best Rhodia customers online can be found here.
Some people are not shy about asking for a price break and assume everyone does as well. I haven’t…I’m shy. If I didn’t see this option indicated I assumed it didn’t exist. It would not occur to me to bring it up. Researching this issue I found most retailers are very happy to get bulk orders but don’t generally advertise them. 
So, if you want to buy a certain notepad in bulk, the first thing to do is call ahead on product availability: is it in stock or when can they have it for you. After that, ask what shipping and/or product discount the retailer is willing to provide.
“Bulk sales” means more than 2 or 3 pads. Several retailers already provide sales in multiples, including Jet Pens, Fahrney’s and Goulet Pens. “Bulk” means by case pack, which is how products are shipped from France. Case packs can be packed in five, 10 or even 20.
Anyway, bulk buying is available. It will save you money, and keep a steady supply of notebooks at hand.
Please let us know if you encounter any problems with bulk purchases; or, if there are retailer(s) you would like to single out for exception service.
Clairefontaine
The 2010 Clairefontaine-Rhodia catalog can be viewed online here.
You can also view the catalog on the English version of their website here. 
We would appreciate knowing what Clairefontaine and Rhodia products appeal to you. I can’t promise that we will import them all–we have limited warehouse space and currently import and carry many references–but if enough Clairefontaine and Rhodia fans express interest in a particular product or line, I will see about showing it at the upcoming National Stationery Show in New York in May.
Thank you all very much for your support and good ideas.
Exaclair’s Photo Archive
Several times a week I get requests from retailers, editors and writers looking for specific product photos. I direct them all to check Exaclair’s web archive of images: Exaclairretailers.com. Continue Readering »
December
December is the busiest month of the year at Exaclair, the U.S. distributor of Rhodia. 
As many of you know, we also import J. Herbin inks, Clairefontaine notebooks, G. Lalo social stationery and other brands from our French parent companies. The Quo Vadis planners and notebooks we distribute are designed in France, but made our our plant in upstate New York. All of our notebook and planner products are made with Clairefontaine paper from the Vosges mill in France. Our sketchbook and fine arts papers are made at the Schut Mill in the Netherlands owned by Clairefontaine. You can read more about our mills here.
Every part of Exaclair is going full throttle to process orders, ship products, finalize the 2010 catalogs; get all the review samples and raffle winners on their way via USPS, field hundreds of calls and email messages about products and where to find them in the US or elsewhere.
We are all ready for “a long winter’s nap” by the time Christmas Eve finally arrives and things calm down. The week between Christmas and New Year’s is the sweetest of the year: quiet, peaceful, and a time for unharried reflection.
We have some good things coming in 2010, including two new notebooks from Rhodia. The Rhodia Weekly Notebook line, introduced this year, sold out two printings. Next year we plan to expand the line and production.
Also on tap for 2010 is a blank journal with 90g paper.
2010 will mark the 340th anniversary of the founding of J. Herbin. That is a company rich in history–J. Herbin produced its first sealing wax in 1670 when Louis XIV, the Sun King, was 32 years old. The first pen ink was produced by Herbin in 1700. “Perle Noire”–still the name of our black fountain pen ink–was produced a few years later. When I look at a bottle on the shelf, I try to comprehend that ink of the same name was used 300 years ago. In this age where nothing seems to stay or last for very long, that says something to me.
I would like to introduce Clairefontaine paper to new communities of people who like notebooks as creative tools, or who enjoy the simple pleasure of writing, whether in the quiet of a studio, lab, living room or even out on a trail. When you are ready to leave the virtual world behind for a little while, a notebook is a perfect companion.
This description of our notebooks by Russell Hemsworth, owner and paper buyer for Nota Bene in Montreal is very apt: “Someone suggested I could call it intellectual stationery,” he said, but prefers to categorize it as “stationery for creative minds.”
Buy in Bulk?
In the last week we have received emails from two people asking us if they could buy writing pads in bulk. Here’s a quote from one of them:
“Hello. I am employed as a judicial law clerk in the federal judiciary. As such, I spend my day researching the law while writing and typing notes. I use fountain pens for all of my research notes. The paper provided by my employer is not well suited to this purpose. I have, therefore, decided to contact your firm for suggestions…Presently I am using approximately 50 – 60 pages of 8.5 x 11 paper a week. I am looking for pads similar in size with excellent paper.”
Of course, we would be happy to suggest Rhodia or Clairefontaine!
These emails are not isolated inquiries–we seem to be getting more of them, largely from people who cannot buy Rhodia in an area store and want to stock up.
Here’s my question: would you take the opportunity to buy Rhodia pads in bulk? If so, how many would you order?
I would like to gather information from Rhodia customers before we approach some retailers around the country to see if they would be willing to implement bulk purchases with a break on price and/or shipping charges.
Thank you for any ideas and suggetions you can give us.
