Archive for June, 2010

Foreign Language Editions

Posted June 30, 2010 by
in Editorial | 4 comments »

Earlier this month, I found out that Quo Vadis in France is manufacturing a planner in Chinese for sales in China. That’s a switch!

Around this time each year, Exaclair places an order for planners in languages other than English. These include French, German, Italian and Spanish. Most of these books are destined for Europa Books on State Street in Chicago, a bookstore that sells books in different languages.

The “foreign language” editions do not include U.S., Canadian or Australian holidays, but the holidays of the home country. We do produce a French-Canadian edition for sale (mostly) in Quebec, which includes North American holidays.

Would you be interested–or curious–about using a planner in another language besides English?

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Doodle and eat with Graphkins

Posted June 29, 2010 by
in Beautiful Creations, Cabinet of Curiosities, Pens, Paper & People | Add your comment »

Here’s something I couldn’t resist purchasing at the Glass House gift shop: Graphkins, these cute little graph paper napkins. Made of 2-ply recycled paper, they measure 6.5″ square and come ready to be written on with a light blue printed graph background. As Colin O’Dowd, their inventor, explains on his website:

Some of the world’s greatest designs, famous buildings and innovative ideas have all started out as sketches on paper napkins. Now with graphkin you can doodle n’ dine with real accuracy!

At $6.50 for a pack of 12, they weren’t cheap, and I suppose it goes without saying that they weren’t very fountain pen friendly. Still, for a small dinner party, what a great conversation starter! They’re available through Colin’s online shop for 3.50 GBP; I couldn’t find any other North American vendors, but if you live near New Canaan, CT, you can swing by the gift shop and pick up a pack for yourself.

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The box on Philip Johnson’s desk

Posted June 28, 2010 by
in Cabinet of Curiosities, Pens, Paper & People, Where to Go? | 1 comment »

With all our recent talk of writing boxes and file boxes, I thought I’d share this photograph I took on a recent trip to Philip Johnson’s Glass House… Sitting on his immaculate, leather-topped desk (designed by Mies van der Rohe, we were told) was this pretty wooden box; apparently, it was something he’d owned since his childhood in Ohio:

The Glass House served as Johnson’s weekend retreat — during the week, he lived in an apartment above New York’s Museum of Modern Art — and according to our tour guide, when he arrived, he would empty the contents of his pockets into the box so as not to lose track of anything.

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DIY notebook pockets

Posted June 24, 2010 by
in Cabinet of Curiosities, Pens, Paper & People | 2 comments »

Speaking of composition notebooks, here’s something I’ve been meaning to blog about for months.

As you may recall, I continue to be quite partial to Mead Composition books, even though I generally prefer a smaller notebook for the sake of portability, and the paper doesn’t play well with fountain pens.

Nonetheless, I have one going at all times and I can’t seem to give it up. It functions as my most expansive idea journal, and sometimes (the horror!) my diary, when I’m in the mood, or when I want to write down a particularly memorable dream. There are also a couple of things I like to store in it — photographs and souvenirs — so one evening I sat down to make my very own pocket on the inside of the front cover.

Turns out, it’s not hard at all.

Continue reading »

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Planners and idea notebooks

Posted June 23, 2010 by
in Pens, Paper & People, Planning Tips | 4 comments »

Many writers keep idea notebooks — myself included — to catch the random thoughts that cross their minds all day. One savvy reader has an intriguing method for keeping things a little more organized; in an email exchange, he explains:

i use planners to keep notes and ideas. i find it’s easier to refer back to the notes and ideas by just flipping back through the days or weeks. it’s much more organized than if i just kept an ‘idea’ notebook. that was just chaos.

Afterwards, our correspondent uses a Habana notebook to elaborate on the ideas he wants to develop. Pretty cool system, huh?

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Vintage file boxes

Posted June 22, 2010 by
in Cabinet of Curiosities, Editorial | 2 comments »

They may not be as breathtakingly intricate as antique writing boxes, but vintage file boxes are still pretty cool. My boyfriend brought this one home a few days ago from his office; it was given to him by a former colleague, and there’s a yellowing card that says “FILING” that’s still taped to its side. Kind of makes you want a typewriter, eh?

I photographed it outside since the light is better, but we’re going to keep it in our living room and use it to store mail.

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Writers’ Project interview with Jeff Abbott

Posted June 21, 2010 by
in Announcements, Beautiful Creations, Pens, Paper & People | Add your comment »

Our latest Writers’ Project interview just launched!

This time, we spoke with bestselling suspense author Jeff Abbott, who told us about his life, his writing routines, and his new book, Adrenaline.

You can read the interview at the Writers’ Project website. And if you missed our last interview, with Damon Young, be sure to check it out in the archives.

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Calligraphy & tea: An interview with The Archer

Posted June 17, 2010 by
in Beautiful Creations, Pens, Paper & People | 3 comments »

Photo by EJ Azucena; styling by Kristine Grace L. Natividad and Donna Bae Malayang

Many of you know Clement Dionglay from her blog, Rants of the Archer. I caught up with her recently to ask a few questions about her background, life, and hobbies…

Tell us about yourself… where are you from, where do you live, and so on?

I’m Clement Dionglay, a.k.a The Archer, the person behind Rants of the Archer blog. I was born in the sleepy town of Alaminos, Laguna, a big province south of Manila, the capital city of the Philippines. I am currently based in Los Baños, a small, closely-knit science community in the same province where I grew up; where I am currently engaged as a publications designer and electronic list keeper in an international organization. I am currently working on a degree through distance learning that I am scheduled to finish in a year. I’m a doting aunt to four girls aged 1 to 10, and an avid hoarder of a lot of stuff.

How did your passion for pens and paper develop?

My passion for pens and paper developed at a very early age. I was writing (and reading) long before I started schooling. My maternal grandmother was an elementary teacher, and had lots of paper I used to doodle on. I even had hand-me-down notebooks from my aunts and these were my first notebooks. My aunts supplied me with pencils and other stationery (scented erasers, colorful Sanrio stationery) and that I guess became the starting point of my longest love affair – that with pen and paper.

When did you start practicing the gorgeous calligraphy that we see on your blog?

I started doing calligraphy only very recently. I forced myself to learn the art after I received my first 2 bottles of J. Herbin ink out of the Bastille Day offer last year. I was about to write a review of the inks and I wanted to come up with a little extra aside from my regular handwriting, so I took out my Lamy Joy set and downloaded a lot of Chancery calligraphy guides from the internet. And I found out it wasn’t even difficult at all!

What are your favorite pens at the moment? Your favorite notebooks and inks?

I love Sheaffer pens. I got several NoNonsense pens and I love them. They are dependable, durable writers. But my daily stable of pens also include Schneider Base pens and several Lamy Safaris. I love blue and brown inks — Bleu Pervenche reminds of somebody’s dress, Terre de Feu of somebody’s eyes. I keep a large Quo Vadis Habana as my journal, and despite its weight, it’s currently my favorite notebook.

Which pens have surprised you most over the years, either positively or negatively?

My pens are mostly student grade pens. I love them all because they function well, and I am able to use them fully. What surprised me the most is the set of two Manuscript calligraphy pens I got from a store selling used clothes and shoes. I got the set for P50 (a little over $1) and did not like them at first because they have crisp italic nibs. After I learned doing Chancery calligraphy, I found out that these pens do fantastic work! So much value for their price.

I understand from your blog that you’re an avid diarist. Do you have any particular writing routines — a certain place, time of day, etc.?

Yes, I love writing in my diary/journal. I have a strange preference of where to write: on my dining table! LOL! Seriously though, I write, do craft, paint and even sew on my dining table. I don’t remember how this strange practice started, but I love using the dining table, perhaps because it’s bigger than my study/work table. I love to write at night, when I’m done with most of my chores and the neighborhood gets some semblance of calm and quiet. I like to write in silence. I always have. Silence brings me so much: words, emotions, remembrances — even sound. Writing has become ceremonial for me. Almost ritualistic. I like to write after my night bath, with a mug of steaming hot tea next to me. While I’m a coffee drinker, I love sipping tea at night, and I like it steaming hot because I love the aroma of tea filling the room. My journal entries always begin with the day and the date. I also include the pen and ink I am using for the day’s entry. Sometimes I also listen to late night jazz while I write.

To learn more about Clem, please visit her blog.

To learn more about EJ Azucena of EDGE photography, check out his Facebook page.

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Bloomsday

Posted June 16, 2010 by
in Beautiful Creations, Cabinet of Curiosities, Pens, Paper & People, Where to Go? | Add your comment »

Bloomsday is a commemoration observed annually on June 16th in Dublin and elsewhere to celebrate the life of Irish writer James Joyce and relive the events in his novel, Ulysses, all of which took place on the same day in Dublin in 1904. The name “Bloomsday” derives from Leopold Bloom, the protagonist of Ulysses.

The novel recounts the hour-by-hour events of one day in Dublin–June 16, 1904.  Dubliner Leopold Bloom wends his way through the urban landscape, the odyssey of a modern-day Ulysses.

The special significance of June 16, 1904 was on that day Joyce had his first date with his future wife, Nora Barancle, a 20-year-old chambermaid. They walked to the Dublin urban village of Ringsend.

Davy Byrne’s Pub on 21 Duke Street was made famous in the novel. Leopold Bloom stopped there for a gorgonzola cheese sandwich and a glass of burgundy wine.

Within hours of landing in Dublin two years ago, a group of us trooped off to Davy Byrne’s Pub.  Since it was early in the morning the pub was still closed–they were sweeping ,vacuuming and polishing the bar–but the owner invited us inside and gave us a tour of the pub and some good stories about Joyce. We later went back for lunch. Our group was split between Guinness and burgundy wine!

This year illustrator Robert Berry is releasing Ulysses Seen, is a comic book adaptation of the novel.  The first chapter can be seen at http://ulyssesseen.com with an accompanying readers’ guide, and as a free app for the iPad.

The idea, born on a prior Bloomsday, was fueled, Mr. Berry explained, “by a few pints of Guiness and a bet.”

Has anyone followed in the steps of Leopold Bloom? Participating in a Bloomsday event?

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Calligraphy in Montreal: Fibres, poils, cailloux

Posted June 15, 2010 by
in Beautiful Creations, Pens, Paper & People, Where to Go? | Add your comment »

From calligraphy artist Lorna Mulligan comes word of a new exhibit in Montreal’s Ame-Art gallery called Fibres, poils, cailloux. Featuring pieces by Mulligan and other members of the Les Calmars group, it’s on display through June 20.

For those of you who can’t make it to the show, we’re lucky enough to have pictures of two pieces that are on display (both are by Lorna). The first, Beaudelaire, started with small landscape segments done in J. Herbin’s Lie de Thé and Bleu Myosotis. After that, Lorna added the text from Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs du Mal in black ink with a pointed pen and brush.

The second piece includes an image transfer of an old map of Montreal that shows Lorna’s neighborhood beside the park. Beside this she created a moody background with a mix of earthy inks (Ambre de Birmanie, Lie de Thé, and Vert Olive). The words talk about different ways of walking: And so I must be going… sauntering, wandering, meandering, and so on.

See more of Lorna’s artwork on her website.

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