Archive for November, 2010

Live near NYC? Check out our sample sale!

Posted November 30, 2010 by
in Announcements, Where to Go? | Add your comment »

Stephanie already blogged about this yesterday, but I figure it’s worth cross-posting: from December 1 – 3, we’ll be holding a tabletop sale in our New York office.

From 10am to 4pm, we’ll be offering samples from France along with slightly damaged and/or discontinued products. All Exaclair brands will be represented, including G. Lalo, J. Herbin, Rhodia, Exacompta, Clairefontaine, etc. We’ll also have high-end leather from Mignon.

All sales are final and all payments are cash only, and there’s no shipping.

If you live or work in the city, please stop by!

The details, again:

HOLIDAY SALE DECEMBER 1ST, 2ND & 3RD
(Wednesday – Friday) 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

At

Exaclair, Inc.
143 W. 29th Street
10th Floor
New York, NY 10001
646-473-1754

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Cross it off?

Posted November 29, 2010 by
in Cabinet of Curiosities, Editorial, Planning Tips | 18 comments »

This is a bit arcane, but it crossed my mind the other day on the subject of to-dos: do you cross off the items in your list, or check them off?

On the one hand, there’s something viscerally satisfying about a good, thick line through an already accomplished task (and I often get more exuberant and do a sort of multi-line, back-and-forth scrawl). On the other hand, too many lines and you risk obscuring the remaining tasks on your list. With checkmarks, you can see where you’re going as well as where you’ve been. But there’s some part of my mind that can’t consider a job truly done until it’s out of my vision, too.

What do you think?

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A laptop inside a notebook inside a laptop…

Posted November 23, 2010 by
in Beautiful Creations, Videos | Add your comment »

Have you guys seen this super clever Dutch notebook video? If not: watch it now, you won’t be disappointed. After that, you can check out some of the other notebook videos that Evelien’s made.

Awesome, eh?

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Try before you buy?

Posted November 22, 2010 by
in Editorial, Pens, Paper & People, Product Reviews | 11 comments »

Image via Mikey Angels

As much as we love local retailers, we realize that many cities don’t have a kick-ass stationer.

Online buying helps make up for that fact, but paper is a sensual product, and it’s nice to be able to run it between your fingers, maybe write a line or two, before you pull out your wallet. Some online retailers (Goulet Pens is one) offer cheaper sample packs that contain a few sheets of a particular kind of stationery to help people determine whether or not it’s right for them. That adds another step to the process, but at least you’re not gambling blind.

There are also, of course, plenty of forums where paper geeks meet to review stuff — see this section of the Fountain Pen Network and just about every one of the blogs on our own blogroll. Over time, you’ll learn which reviewers share your tastes and sensibilities, and whose opinions you trust.

Online stationery buyers, I’m curious! What are the circumstances under which you’ll try a product you’ve never seen in person? Do you request a sample? Do you need to know the brand, or have read a particular number of rave reviews?

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Holiday Habana giveaway

Posted November 18, 2010 by
in Announcements | 152 comments »

We’ve long thought our Habanas make great gifts, and in the spirit of the holidays, we’re going to give a few away to our lucky, loyal readers.

We’ve got 10 Habana notebooks (in desk and pocket sizes) and 10 Habana planners (in the Minister, Business, and Notor formats).

To enter… you know the drill. Leave a comment on this post before Thursday, November 25 at midnight EST. We’ll select the winners at random, and follow up via email to sort out mailing addresses. (We’ll also do our best to accommodate each winner’s preferences in terms of cover colors, formats, and sizes.)

Happy start-of-the-holiday-season, and good luck to all who enter!

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Haute and healthy

Posted November 16, 2010 by
in Pens, Paper & People, Where to Go? | Add your comment »

So here’s something different and fun — our stylist friend Lani Rosenstock (who now goes by her married name, Lani Rosenstock Inlander) is hosting a free webinar this evening at 6:30 EST. Lani often says that style is about looking good AND feeling good, and tonight she’ll be joined by nutritionist and health coach Marissa Vicario to go over some simple strategies for staying both healthy and stylish.

If you’re interested, you can check out this website for more information. You can even sign up to receive a recording if you can’t make it to the live webinar.

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Paper AND digital

Posted November 15, 2010 by
in Editorial, Pens, Paper & People | 3 comments »

Image via Dano

I’m in my early thirties, have a Blackberry, a laptop, and an iPod, and am connected to the Internet for a good portion of each workday. I also carry a paper planner with me almost everywhere I go, along with one of any number of notebooks.

Part of that’s cognitive, and part of it’s just habit. But mostly I don’t see a contradiction between using paper AND digital devices to record my appointments, store my to-do lists, and express my creativity. The digital world is awash in bold, impatient proclamations about how we’ll live when newspapers are gone, or YouTube replaces television. I’m excited about innovation, too, but I don’t see why it must, axiomatically, happen at the expense of all that’s come before. It’s a subject I’ve blogged about before, and was reminded of recently when I read this press release about the Moleskine planner collection.

Of course, we paper companies have very selfish reasons for believing that paper diaries and digital planners can coexist. Just like, as a writer, it’s in my interest to believe that people will continue to consume the written word no matter how it’s delivered, and distinguish between good content and mediocre… and still we do, and I do. And maybe we’re not wrong.

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What’s your favorite reading spot?

Posted November 11, 2010 by
in Editorial | 5 comments »

Image via Ken_Mayer

At home, my favorite reading spot is in the armchair in my office, preferably with the computer turned off and the sun streaming in through the window. The living room couch is a close second, though there’s more competition for the space and I often have to share.

Lately, though, I’ve been working on a project that takes me in and out of the city each day, and have been doing the bulk of my reading on the subway. Like many New Yorkers, I’ve gotten pretty good at finding poses to make this work, depending on the train’s crowdedness — leaned against the corner of a car or the back of a door, elbow slung round a pole so I can hold the book in both hands, or one hand on the pole with the book balanced on my arm. Sometimes, though not often, I get a seat. Either way, while it isn’t ideal, there’s nothing like the subway to help you gauge whether or not you’re truly engrossed in your reading. If something holds your attention in an awkward pose in a crowded car… well, I want to hear about it.

What’s your favorite reading spot?

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Joie De Vivre

Posted November 10, 2010 by
in Editorial, Pens, Paper & People, Where to Go? | Add your comment »

Every summer and fall a number of people call or email us looking for French Quo Vadis agendas.  Here’s a good place to go:  Joie de Vivre, a catalog and online store owned by Sylvaine Lang. The store is based in Modesto, California.  Here’s a link – http://frenchselections.com

Joie de Vivre offers two agendas in French with French holidays, maps and other information pages.  They are President (#8220) and Business (#8210). Business is called “Affairs” in French. (Perhaps that’s even the origin of “the little black book.”) Who knows?

Anyway, while I came looking for the planners I stayed for the food! They offer all kinds of wonderful things from France, including Perard soupes marines, Fallot mustards, St. Dalfour and Conserverie de Haute Provence preserves, Gabriel Perronneau honeys and Vergers de Gascogne prepared fruit.

My favorite treat – saucisson – can also be found in the catalog.  These days, with the stronger security precautions, it’s impossible to have anyone bring it back from France.

Happy shopping!

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Habanas in Italy

Posted November 9, 2010 by
in Product Reviews, Videos | Add your comment »

Stephen Lloyd Webber, a New Mexico based poet, teacher, and our current Writers’ Project interviewee, has run writing and wellness retreats in Italy for the past few years. (“A peaceful, richly enlivening environment where people can truly dedicate themselves to their health and their writing.”)

Last summer, Karen donated a stack of Habanas for Stephen to give his participants. In this video, Stephen describes their reactions… Me, I just like watching the waves roll up against the shore.

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