R by Rhodia No. 12 Notepad

Many thanks to Karen Doherty, VP of Marketing at Exaclair, for sending me one of the new R by Rhodia No. 12 notepads. It has the new soft touch cover with an orange front and black reverse for a great contrast. And I love the "depuis 1934" on the cover as well, really highlights the French origins of this notepad as well as the company's long history.



This is one of the cutest sizes, 3 3/8 x 4 3/4, which is perfect for purse or knitting bag. The paper is an amazing ivory color, really beautiful with a deep gray or violet line (can't quite tell). I'm thinking that I am going to love the larger sizes of this, and I am definitely looking forward to getting a few of them to try out.

Rhodia Bloc No. 120 Rainbow Notepad

I saw this Rhodia notepad in a post and was really taken with the rainbow colors of the paper, so naturally when I placed an order at Writer's Bloc I included a No. 120. I had seen the rainbow assortment in some wire bound Clairefontaine notebooks, but not in a Rhodia.


The No. 120 is larger than the No. 18, but is the same size as the No. 19 (8.25 by 12.5) that you can find in yellow lined paper or dotPad . There are 80 sheets of 80 gsm, 5x5m gridded paper in blue, bright yellow, pink, and mint green for you to choose from.


This is one cool design, and the larger paper makes it ideal for writing, doodling, notetaking, or whatever you usually do with A4 sized paper. You could keep notes segmented by color, and as the paper is three-hole punched you can add it to a binder.

I've noticed that when I don't quite know what use I'll make of something before I buy it I tend to find half a dozen uses after I've made the purchase. Inspiration is still coming to me, but I've started coming up with some plans for this that make it a necessary part of my daily arsenal. This may be the case for you, so definitely check out the Rhodia Bloc No. 120 rainbow notepad.

Rhodia Drive's Dot Webbie Giveaway (Hurry!)

You still have time to enter Rhodia Drive's Dot Webbie giveaway, but you have to enter by Midnight (EST) tonight. Hurry over and submit your entry.

Review of the Dot Webbie

Julie (Okami) reviews the new Rhodia Dot Webbie over at Whatever, take a look. This looks really nice, it will be next up in my lineup to buy (when I finish up all my other journals, which could be awhile).

Levenger's Junior Rhodia Circa Notebook

I've been looking at the Levenger Rhodia Circa Notebook for some time, and finally went with a Junior, as it seemed to be a handbag-friendly size. The entire assembly is fun, with larger, clear front and back covers that keep the orange Rhodia cover from becoming worn out while also making the notebook a bit more sturdy. It's not a hard cover journal by any means, but it's a great-looking notebook that stands out.


The Junior Circa has lots of different numbers: the outer, clear cover measures 8.75 inches long by 6.5 inches wide (measuring from the outside of the disc so as to have a truer measure of width). The paper 8.5 by 5.5, basically a nice sized journal. The left-hand blank annotation column measures 1.25 inches wide, so you have a lot of room for additional notes or doodles or whatever you want to add to your original musings.

The paper is fantastic, the Rhodia 90gsm satiny-smooth paper that's fountain pen friendly but not overly bright white. I like the pale violet lines, especially the shadow effect at the top where you can write in headers and dates (or whatever you want). The side column is a fantastic addition, utilizing the "Cornell" notetaking method for annotation. I like to doodle in the column, but also find it helpful when I've left out something or haven't made my thought clear and need to work on it a bit more.

I love the way these discs work, keeping the notepaper in place firmly but not rigidly. The paper doesn't come out easily, but actually pulls out in a smooth, gliding motion without any ripping or shredding of edges. So there are no unsightly tears on the pages, which can be moved around or tossed out.


Finally, the back cover carries the Levenger logo with a green tree. While it's not a pine tree, it's a great design detail that reminds you of the company without any blaring commercialism. This combines Rhodia's great quality and well-known orange color with Levenger's ingenuity, and I've been thrilled by the way both come together to make this a fantastic notebook.

Rhodia Pad Holder No 16 with Pen Hook

My favorite Rhodia pad is the N°16, which at 6 x 8.25 (A5) is just the right size for most of my note taking needs. I was very pleased when Rhodia introduced Pad Holders for the larger sizes, and especially so when I saw that the N°16 is the only Holder with a convenient side pen loop.



The Holder is imitation black leather with the Rhodia logo embossed on the front cover. Flip the top over and you have enough backing support for writing, which is great if you're taking notes somewhere other than your desk. The inside front cover also has a pocket for papers, receipts, cards, and whatever loose stuff you need to carry at that time.


If there's any drawback to the Pad Holder it's that you cannot write on the other side of the Rhodia sheet, which is one way to handle the ink bleed-through problem. If you are at all bothered by "wasted" space (one-sided writing only) then this is not for you. Otherwise, consider investing in a Pad Holder for your favorite Rhodia, either black or orange--it's a classy way to write.

What's New at Rhodia

The Exaclair space at the National Stationery Show is always one of the largest, featuring the Quo Vadis, Rhodia, J. Hebin, G. Lalo, and other product lines all part of the French parent Exacompta.


Karen Doherty, Vice President and generous supplier to many of us, was on hand to show off the new Rhodia products. I really wanted to see the new dotWebbie, and it is fabulous.


This is the pocket size dotWebbie, and it is fabulous. Ivory paper and pale gray dots make for a less obtrusive writing experience. The darker violet dots in regular dotPad paper are a darker (albeit still lovely) shade and catch the eye. This combination is probably as close to writing with blank paper as you can get but still having the lines marked out for you.


Next is the soft cover bloc notepads, which is more of a tactile experience than a visual one. The cover is some sort of velvety-suede type of stock that feels amazing. It's a subtle difference but one that will make you take notice.


Finally, there is the Rhodia Unlimited pocket notebooks. Like the smaller Rhodia stapled notebooks, but with some major differences: first, there's an elastic band closure with a racing stripe in the opposite color (black with orange stripe) so it's stylish and fun; second, the paper isn't merely lined but blocked out. The picture doesn't show it, but the pages have defined rectangular outlines for notes as well as an upper rectangle for date and memo (reminds me of several Japanese notebooks, such as Mnemosyne and Kokoyu). This looks like it will be a great addition to the line up.

Many thanks to Karen for showing my friend C and me the new products (that's C's hands in the photos), and for the invitation to stop by for a tour. Definitely planning that soon!

The Rhodia dotPad Reverse Book

Rhodia's new dotWebbie can't get here fast enough for me, but I thought about my other favorite, the Reverse Book, and how a dotReverse would be a great addition to the line up. How would it look, would it work as well as the grid, would I love it as much? The only way I could find out would be to make one.


A few weeks earlier I had cannibalized some Rhodia large notepads to use with a three-ring binder, and hadn't thrown out one of the backs of an orange notepad. I cut down the paper, then got my buddy C. to run the Fellowes binder. We found the plastic rings, then started aligning paper and punching rectangles. (I now have quite a bit of dotPad paper for a 3.25 by 8.5 notepad, but that's another project entirely.)



The dotPad paper works well with the Reverse Book style, and doesn't overwhelm the way the grid paper does. The only part I would do over would be the size of the plastic ring binder, there was a smaller one available but according to the specs it wouldn't hold as much paper as this larger one. Now I realize I should have used it anyway, as this massive plastic binder takes up too much space. Maybe if it was in orange or black plastic, or bronze metal, I would be more accepting. But you can only work with what's on hand.

This is the top inside cover, where you can see that I'm really using the back of a Rhodia notepad.


And finally, the plain chipboard used to back the Rhodia notepads. All in all, this worked out very well. I used the same 8.25 by 8.25 dimensions as the Reverse Book, and added the dotPad and Rhodia motifs on the front cover.

Last, a pic of the Rhodia Reverse Book next to my "Rhodia dotReverse". I'm not a crafts-y person, although when I put my mind to it I can manage not to glue myself to the table when working on something. This came out much better than I expected, and now I have my own dotReverse while I wait and hope for Rhodia to make an official version.

Rhodia No. 210 Le Carre Large Notepad

One Rhodia notepad I've gotten to like a lot, in the same way that my Reverse Book grew on me, is this stubby large square of graphed paper called Le Carre, which measures 8.25 x 8.25 (but a bit smaller when page is torn out of the pad).

Roughly the same size as the Reverse Book, Le Carre folds over like a regular notepad but can be used in both portrait and landscape styles. With the landscape, there's the feel of a journal or notebook rather than a pad, which I like when taking notes.


Same great quality Rhodia paper, with the 5x5 grid pattern making for some slight inability to read the writing (dark inks are useful with grid paper; the Edelstein Jade above seems to just fade into the violet lines). What's probably really great about this notepad is how...edgy it looks. Coolness cannot be ruled out when assessing notepads, and Rhodia has a winner in this.

Rhodia Reverse Book

When I first saw the Rhodia Reverse Book, I couldn't figure it out. Obviously you could use it differently than a standard grid notebook, either with the ring binder to the left or at the top and that would effect the way you took notes. But that didn't seem like much to me, so I basically used it as a left-sided-ring notebook.

But I realized I was missing something by not trying it out as both a left= and top-sided-ring notebook, and started playing around. The side nearest the cappuccino (my own personal North Star) is written as with the ring on the left, the bottom side with the ring on the top (I had to blur the writing).

Good, but I wasn't really rushing to use the Reverse Book as anything but a traditional notebook, usually with the ring on the left. I was constantly turning pages back trying to find my notes, and getting frustrated.

Then one day I figured out how to use this to the best of its (and my) ability: when the ring binder is at the top, life up the page you would be writing on and start on the back of that page at the top first, writing down the full page. Then turn the page over and start on that page as your second page, again starting from the top.

What I found is that I could read my notes quickly and more easily by having the pages turn in a specific way, which just seemed to help me find what I needed more quickly. Weird, huh? But with that one little quirk, the Rhodia Reverse Book has now become my favorite notebook for all my current work projects.

I do like the paper, obviously, and the violet-colored grid design is great. I would like to see a blank Reverse Book, as the grid lines sometimes interfere with looking at the words. If you have one but are frustrated like I was, take a moment to go over the Book's layout and figure out the best way to use it. It's really worth the extra effort.

Rhodia Large Blank Webbie and a Giveaway!

Many, many thanks to the fabulous Stephanie for inviting me to review the new Rhodia Blank Webnotebook and offering an extra for a giveaway. As always, the incredible Karen Doherty made this possible.

One of the new orange Rhodia webnotebooks to play with. Hmmm. A new blank orange Rhodia webnotebook to play with. Hmmm, hmmmm. A new blank large orange Rhodia webnotebook to play with. Can life get any better than that? How about one webbie to review and one for a giveaway!

The New Rhodia Blank Webbie seems pretty much the same as the Classic Rhodia Webbie, just blank paper--but don't let that fool you. There is one major difference and a few minor ones that make this a different writing experience.

Among the minor changes (at least to me) is the blank paper--I love my Classic Webbie but the lined paper somehow seems inhibiting. I've been writing away in it for months now, and something seems to be missing. When I doodle, it's as if I'm constricted in my movement. Now, the blank paper lets me write or draw any way I want to, and that's a big plus.

A second minor (to me, that is) change is the removal of the Rhodia logo on the bottom right pages. I never minded that too much, but it does give the webbie a cleaner look and feel. It adds about a half inch or so of writing space, and there's no more distraction (I guess--I actually liked it, but I seem to be in the minority on this).



The really important change is this: the pages now lie absolutely flat, as the above picture demonstrates pretty well. On the left is my Classic Webbie with pages sticking straight up no matter how many times I bend the spine and smooth the paper down.

On the right is the New Webbie: just one bend-and-smooth motion and the pages lay perfectly flat on the table and never moved at all. Congrats Rhodia, you just made an excellent journal even better!



So what about the writing experience? Well, it's the same fantastic Clairefontaine paper, 90gsm silky smooth ivory vellum that's fountain pen friendly. I did notice a heavy shadow on the opposite side, but no bleed through at all. Overall it's a truly delicious writing experience.

Two journal sizes are available as with the lined webbies; the larger blank journal pictured above clocks in at 5.5 x 8.25 (available at Goulet Pens) and the smaller, blank pocket webbie which measures 3.5 x 5.5 (and available at JetPens).

If you want more New Webbie pics and a very thorough review then check out Peaceable Writer's post and (enter her Webbie giveaway as well).

UPDATE:
For another review (but no giveaway, lol), check out The Pen-Guin.

Vicki Holdwick of Faint Heart Art is also reviewing and giving away a Webbie 3.0, you can enter here.

Here's Madame Purl's review and giveaway, do take a look!


THE GIVEAWAY:

One (1) orange Rhodia large blank webbie will be given away to one lucky winner who leaves a comment by Sunday, August 15 by 5:30 pm EST.

A winner will be chosen using a random number generator; the format is as follows: first post is #1, second post is #2, third post is #3, etc.

I will ship internationally, so do leave a comment and don't worry about the postage.

The winner will be announced on Monday, August 16, and you will have one (1) week to send me your mailing information. In the event no one gets in touch with me, a new winner will be announced.

Good luck!

Rhodia No. 16 Notepad

The Rhodia No. 16 Notepad has to be my favorite pad of all time. Size A5, or 5.8 x 8.3, this pad fits neatly into my purse, backpack, padfolio, or hand. It's a great size to have around for note-taking, swabbing ink colors, writing affirmations over and over and over, working out ritual murders of (for purposes of this blog) unnamed a$$holes and inheriting all their money (beats counting sheep when the insomnia kicks in)--whatever takes your fancy.

I have at least 7 Rhodia No. 16 pads, and two "Kindofs"--a Clairefontaine Pupitre pad that is the exact same size as the No. 16, and a Mnemosyne No. 188 pad that is also listed as A5 but just slightly larger (the two black pads at the upper far right of the pic).

I seem to have mostly graph and lined No. 16 notepads, just one blank and only one dotPad--so far. I'm planning on picking up a few more dotPads, as they seem to me to be the best of them all: the dots give you a way to write straight down the sheet, but aren't as intrusive as graph or lines. But the pad isn't blank, which is nice to look at. I think this comes as close to being the perfect pad as I can get. The four pads in the pic are, from top left going clockwise: lined, dotpad, graph, and blank.

Anyone else have a Rhodia favorite size/number?

Rhodia dotPad Giveaway

Head over to Rhodia Drive and enter to win one of the new Rhodia dotPads. These are a fantastic addition to the Rhodia lineup!

Padfolio Hack

One of the more interesting customer giveaways at the National Stationery Show came from Independent Greetings, specializing in on-demand printing. As my friend C's small company does some specialized card printing, she took a number of their samples and I also received one of their padfolios--a medium-sized orange vinyl book with a notepad on one side, a Uni-ball fine point pen in the middle, and sample cards in an accordion on the other side.

Looking it over, I realized that one of my favorite notepads might just fit into this. So I found one, played around with it and found that a Rhodia No. 16 pad will fit quite nicely. That the padfolio is a dark orange with black trim and elastic enclosure is a bonus, matching the Rhodia colors quite nicely. Definitely a keeper, so my thanks to Independent!

Rhodia No. 19 Yellow Lined Notepad

One of my favorite notepads is the Rhodia No. 19 yellow lined pad. It's slightly larger than a regular letter-sized notepad (8.3 x 12.5 vs. 8.5 x 11) which is great for writing and taking lots of notes. But it's really the color of the paper that gives this a unique quality. The No. 19's yellow paper is much brighter than regular "foolscap" and the right margin line is larger as well, giving it a very different look and feel. Above, the pic compares a regular notepad with the Rhodia No. 19. For some reason I couldn't find any legal-sized notepads around, so I grabbed some copy paper for a comparison. Kind of like Goldilocks and the Three Bears, the middle one for me seems "just right."

The pic above left is blurry, but you can still see how much brighter the Rhodia yellow pad is than the Ampad. There's something very crisp and clear about this notepad, and like other Rhodia pads it's made with 80gsm high grade vellum paper. So fountain pen ink doesn't bleed through, though it leaves a shadow. My only thought is that I'd like to see this with a black cover, otherwise it's a perfect notepad.

Rhodia Reverse Book

I've gotten to like the Rhodia Reverse Book, a square-shaped (8.25 x 8.25) notebook with graph paper that can be opened in either portrait or landscape format. I've been using it for some of my knitting notes and some lists and ides. You can write in any direction you want, and the notebook has 160 pages of 80gsm extra-white paper. The graph paper can be a bit overwhelming for writing, and so a blank book might be a good option. It's a nice little notebook with an appealing and unusual design. The notebook comes in Rhodia's signature orange and black colors, as well as a metallic cover. Definitely a fun notebook to add to your collection.

Customized Rhodia Pad

I hadn't given much thought to customizing a Rhodia pad until I saw this great job by Gentian, so I decided to give it a try. I don't draw, and my Sharpies were out for an afternoon stroll, so I made a color copy of a favorite portrait I had commissioned a few years back--a miniature of my two cats, Bast's Gift (left) and Pywacket (right). Taped to my current Rhodia 16 pad so there won't be any scratches or marks, and framed with black marker. I found a few other markers to color in the trees, and I have to say I kind of like how this looks.

Rhodia 4 Colors Book

This was an interesting find at Kinokuniya, a Rhodia 4 color wirebound notebook. I hadn't seen this on my trips before, and as there was only one I brought it home to meet the other Rhodias and compare notes.
It's a big book, and the four colors are blue, green, red, and orange. The notebook has 80 sheets/160 pages of 80 g/m paper, and the sheets are perforated for easy tearing. The top reminds me of planners I've used for projects, with a space on the side for a date or notes.