Daycraft Skinz Notebook at Stationery Traffic

Stationery Traffic has some reviews of the new Daycraft notebooks, including one from the Skinz line featuring a very cool skull. Check out the review and more (that was the one I wanted, lol--but the Daycrafters were very generous in sending me some notebooks for review, which I hope to have soon, so I won't pout...much).

Archie Grand Notebooks for Friend and Foe

Seeing these Scandinavian Archie Grand notebooks at Notemaker made me smile, so I decided to add one to the order and get to work listing all the Secret Agents I've Met and Liked. As there aren't that many I've met, much less liked--none, really--I decided to use the notebook for other purposes.

The small pocket-sized notebook is 6.5 by 4.6 and 120 pages of the thickest paper I've ever used. Cream/ivory is the color, but the paper itself is pebbled which gives the page an almost glossy look. The matte cover has a leather-like feel to it, while the color range is superb. But the fun part is finding your perfect person: capitalist, models, chefs, nobel laureates, Oxfordians, and many other types are available for your note-taking needs.


The Archie Grand website notes that this paper really soaks up the ink, which is true up to a point--gel ink pens, such as my G-2 Knock, love this paper. Ballpoints are a distant second, while fountain pens should go elsewhere. The paper doesn't seem to absorb fountain pen ink very well, so I'm using Staples and Muji gel ink pens only on this. I'm thinking that this paper would actually be great for scrapbooking, as it's a heavy/sturdy type that won't wilt if weight is placed on it such as a magazine cutout or photo.

The smaller notebooks is $11, the larger Jumbo priced at $26 and there's an online US store (Jasper+Black) that handles the line if you're interested in purchasing.

Ecosystem at the NSS

Some of the new Ecosystem notebooks coming out soon, large and small hard and softcover dots.

More new notebooks, with trompe l'oeil covers. These seem to be softcover only, if I'm getting that right.

Finally, some of the specialty notebooks Ecosystem has made for clients. Yahoo! in grape, and the one of the right is for John Mayer (Dreaming With a Broken Heart).

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!

Pictures from the National Stationery Show May 2011

Spent the day wandering around the National Stationery Show with C, checking out all the great products, cards, stationery, and anything else that came to town this weekend.

Probably the most interesting item I saw was paper made from crushed rocks, which I have pictures and samples of to feature in a blog post later on. But what an amazing silky smooth texture this rock paper has! And the notebook I sampled with a fountain pen showed no bleed through, making this a very worthy possibility if you're looking for something to add to your lineup besides an Exaclair product. (The looks on the reps faces when I pulled out my vintage Sheaffer balance was priceless, and I was pleased when one of them mentioned that she loved blogs--thank you!).

More pictures to follow, as well as photos of the new Exaclair products (got to meet Karen Doherty, who showed us the dotWebbie, Softcover tablet, and the Rhodia Unlimited notebook with black and orange elastic closure) and the new Ecosystem notebooks (multicolors!).


RevolveR notebooks has some new colors in its lineups, love the orange!



Got to meet up with the guys from Contact Keepers (finally), and see their really great binder close up.


Paper flowers were popular, and lovely.



Wrist bracelets in different colors that are erasers as well as fashion statements.


Some nice recycled pens, made out of plastic bottles.


The Mead area, featuring some wonderful Beatles notebooks, a Justin Bieber notebook (bottom right), and a softcover featuring symbols of 3 of the Hallows from Harry Potter (upper left--the wand, the ring, and the cape for fans of the movie).


Zombie unicorn figurines from Tokidoki.

National Stationery Show

The National Stationery Show begins this weekend at the Javits Center. I've a guest once again of my friend's mother, who has her own small business. C and I will be hitting the aisles looking at cards, paper, gifts, figurines, and whatever else is on hand. Should be a fun time on Sunday!

Zebra G-301 Gel Retractable Pen

The Zebra G-301 gel ink retractable has one of the better designs among re-usable pens that I've seen, all black rubber and stainless steel with a substantial clip that won't snap off or get tangled up in fabric. It's a spare, modern look that works well in the office (with the grown ups) or on your own just doodling.


The medium gel ink retractable has a 0.7mm tip that seems a bit wider to me than others I've used. On blank paper it would be fine, but with smaller line widths or gridded paper it might seem too large for writing within the space alotted.

Whatever else, the Zebra G-301 is a great addition to the pen line up: reliable, readable, and comfortable.