All posts by Guest Author

Guest post: French design meets New York hotels

Posted October 14, 2010 by
in Pens, Paper & People, Where to Go? | Add your comment »

This morning, my French counterpart, Murielle, took on a topic that’s close to home here in New York City… French-designed hotels. I worked with our product manager, Cecilia, to do a quick translation; you can find the original post here.

The French journalist Sylvie Adigard, who specializes in trends and design, came back a few weeks ago from a trip to New York, where she scouted out a few hotels… and not just any hotels! She took a closer look at ones that had recently been renovated by famous artists and interior designers — that were “made in France”!!! Among them were The Mark, Ace Hotel, The Standard & Le Royalton. The designers and artists, Jacques Grange and Philippe Stark, brilliantly participated in the renovation of these hip hotels in the Big Apple while preserving an “industrial loft” look.

Each hotel reflects, in its way, the spirit of its neighborhood. Located in the heart of Manhattan, along the Hudson River or the High Line, the Mark, Ace Hotel, The Standard and Le Royalton expose a brand new decor and make a proud and strong statement of the trends set by NYC hotels. They represent a return to the essentials, with the precious help and talents of our French interior designers!! Whereas Jacque Grange contributed to the renovation of The Mark Hotel, opened in 1927, Philippe Stark created a sophisticated and complex renovation for Le Royalton, which reopened in 2007… And the Ace Hotel affirmed its willingness to be a common place where New Yorkers and also tourists meet… For all these reasons, why not go to New York to report and check out these new trends for ourselves? New York, New York…

| More

Guest post: Leah reviews the Space 24

Posted September 9, 2010 by
in Product Reviews | 4 comments »

It’s not every day I get to introduce a guest blogger with the same name, but this morning’s post comes by way of artist Leah Markov-Lindsey, who’s written a very nice review of the Space 24. Thanks, Leah!

I’ve used several planners over the years (Filofax: thin paper, too bulky to carry around; Franklin Covey: love the format for busy jobs, nice paper, pricey, bulky; Moleskine: dreadful paper, sticky cover) but none of them have been able to hold my attention for more than a year or two.

I actually haven’t used a paper planner for a couple of years. My last office job required Outlook, and when I started working as a visual artist full-time, I segued over to iCal, thinking it would be enough. A year and a half later, I realized that it didn’t matter how much information I entered into iCal because I never opened the program to check what was going on! I had stopped writing anything down, and I was forgetting ideas, budgets, deadlines, and appointments.

I finally had a realization shortly after I was diagnosed with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (at age 29). I need a system that works! My planner had to be functional, sure, but I also need to enjoy using it to ensure that I would write important things down and actually look for them later.

Enter Exacompta’s Space 24. From previous planner experiments, the format that works best for me is weekly, with a page for notes each week. My planner also needs to be good-sized but portable. And have great paper! The Space 24 meets all my requirements.

Here’s a look at how I use my planner.

Continue reading »

| More

Where to go: Ocean City

Posted August 23, 2010 by
in Where to Go? | Add your comment »

Ah, the last, precious days of summer… Guest blogger Kate Marshall is back with a recommendation on where to enjoy them: Ocean City, Maryland.

I have to admit that I prefer Ocean City, Maryland to the Jersey beaches (aka, “the Shore”). In my defense though, it’s primarily because my family started going there when I was child, so it’s partly nostalgic—after almost 20 years of going to the other Ocean City, I consider it my second home. In fact, whenever my friends and I play the “when I win the lottery game,” my answer usually involves some variation of “buy a condo in Ocean City, Maryland and live there full-time.”

Sporting ten miles of beach and three miles of boardwalk, Ocean City is a thriving resort town in Maryland’s Worcester County (mmm, Worcester County sauce).

So I recently spent two weeks at “my” Shore and once again, it was awesome: two weeks of sitting on the beach, reading on the beach, swimming in the ocean, walking along the beach… (there is a pattern here, yes). The boardwalk is full of shops (including more Candy Kitchens than is humanely possible, so if you’re into candy, Ocean City has you covered). A variety of hotels, condos, cottages, and bed-and-breakfast homes provide plenty of options for lodgings, although my personal favorite is the Our Place at the Beach condos on Old Landing Road, with gorgeous views of the Assawoman Bay (…yes, that is it’s real name. Yes, it is). The beachfront Atlantis also gets points for resembling a tower of Jenga pieces and being on the beach.

And yes, I’m already planning next year’s vacation. Why I don’t just move to a state with a coastline, I don’t know. I’d probably save money in the long run.

| More

Guest post: Write it down

Posted August 9, 2010 by
in Pens, Paper & People, Planning Tips | 8 comments »

Special treat this Monday morning: guest blogger Art Decker shares some fascinating research into the neurological benefits of writing things down.

Image via qisur

There is no substitute for a pen and paper. But the pen has to be a good pen, one that is a pleasure to write with. For some people a good pen is a plain ball point pen from the local drugstore. For others, it is a $1,000 fountain pen that comes in its own case and gives its user the feeling of painting on paper. The paper, too, must be good. If your pen scratches the paper, writing things down will not be a pleasure — and you won’t do it.

I can hear the naysayers already. Why not just use an electronic gadget? You can find to-do list and productivity software, much of which can be downloaded free, that is geared to any productivity system you like — GTD (David Allen’s Getting Things Done), ZTD (Leo Babauta’s Zen to Done), Sally McGhee’s Take Back Your Life, or Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits. Why use caveman tactics like pen and paper when you can wholeheartedly embrace the 21st century?

Because pen and paper are better for your brain, that’s why. The heart of the GTD system and other productivity systems is to get ideas out of your brain and into containers or buckets, or at least onto to-do lists and calendars. The system takes over so you don’t have to think.

Here’s the problem with that notion, though: personally, I am in favor of thinking. I LIKE keeping information in my brain. I regard information residing in my head as a GOOD thing.

Continue reading »

| More

Guest post: Spring is in the… ink!

Posted May 17, 2010 by
in Pens, Paper & People, Product Reviews | 1 comment »

This morning, we welcome back guest blogger Kate Marshall, who’s here with a seasonal subject: spring inks.

Okay, so for the past week or so, the weather in Philadelphia hasn’t been very spring-like. Just the other day, I had a scarf, hat, gloves, and coat — and I was still cold! But it is still spring around here, consarn it. To that end, I’ve had spring-like inks on the brain: pretty inks in shade of pastel blue, pink, and green to chase away the winter season-affective-disorder. This is just a very small sample of inks out there. But when the temperatures finally climb above 55 degrees Farenheit and the cold, bitter rain finally stops, it’s nice to break out a soft-hued ink for a letter, journal entry, or SuperFresh list.

J. Herbin Bleu Pervenche and Sailor Jentle Ink Yuku Akari (light blue): If you like turquoise-y colors, these inks are a good fit. Both are fun, cheery colors that pop, especially on white paper. Ironically, the Sailor ink is a special edition color that was introduced in winter 2009. We won’t hold that against it, though.

Sailor Jentle Green: a bright, clear green that’s reminiscent of new leaves or blades of grass (minus the hobbling allergies!).

J. Herbin Rose Cyclamen and Rose Tendresse: Rose Cyclamen is a vivid shock of pink while Rose Tendresse is its quieter, more subtle cousin. Both remind me of flowers — carnations, roses, etc.

| More

Guest post: Waterproof inks

Posted March 22, 2010 by
in Cabinet of Curiosities, Pens, Paper & People | 1 comment »

Guest blogger Kate Marshall is back this morning with a good subject for the accident prone: waterproof ink.

So one time, I was transcribing notes and accidentally knocked over my glass of water. Yes, all over my notebook. Luckily, my notes were okay because I’d written them with a waterproof fountain-pen ink: Noodler’s Black.

Yes, such a thing exists. Recently, I did a quick and dirty test of three waterproof Noodler’s inks, a J. Herbin fountain pen ink, and two waterproof J. Herbin inks to see how well they hold up against liquid abuse.

The inks I tested were:

I. Noodler’s (recently purchased during the 2010 Philadelphia Pen Show)

1. Black
2. Bad Blue Heron (a new turquoise color)
3. Old Manhattan Black (exclusive to Fountain Pen Hospital)

II. J. Herbin (provided by Exaclair)

1. Perle Noire (not specifically labeled waterproof but more on that later)
2. Encre Authentique (“Lawyer’s ink”)
3. Encre Chine (“China ink.” Also can be known as “India ink”)

Continue reading »

| More

Guest post: Planners while traveling

Posted February 1, 2010 by
in Planning Tips, Where to Go? | 1 comment »

Guest blogger Laurie Huff is a planner aficionado and frequent traveler. She currently lives in Tirana, Albania.

When your daily patterns are mostly predictable, your planner needs are straightforward. You know what your home and work life consists of, and your planner needs are usually consistent from week to week.

But all this is turned on its head when traveling. What works fine at home or in the office may break down when you’re out in the world. Unpredictable things happen while traveling (which of course is part of the fun of traveling in the first place), and you need a planner that is flexible enough to handle out of the ordinary needs. This is especially true when traveling internationally. Suddenly you need information at your fingertips such as international dialing codes and time zone information that you might not normally need in your day to day life. Especially for people who travel frequently, whether for work or pleasure, you need a planner that can handle your day to day life as well as your travel needs.

Several years ago while traveling back to the US after living in Nepal, I spent 3 weeks in Paris and 3 weeks traveling around Scotland. That year I used an Exacompta Daily Pocket planner, and that little book was a champ. The book itself is tiny, light, and took up no space at all in my bag. But the page size is still substantial, and having a page for each day was great during my entire trip. I used that little book for everything. Each page had plenty of room to write flight reservation details and phone numbers of hostels I stayed in. While in Paris I took a short course in French language, and the daily pages held my lesson reminders and reading assignments. On one page I drew a map of how to get to a new friend’s apartment off the Champs-Elysees for dinner. I recorded each place I went on my journey around Scotland. In the cover pockets I tucked in slips of paper with people’s email addresses, ferry schedules and postcard stamps. I filled the pages with the location of that excellent crepe place, the quaint restaurant where we ate a delicious dinner, and the cool shops I found on the little side streets. Now it’s an excellent record of my trip, and when I look through that little book the memories come right back.

Last fall on a trip to Budapest I didn’t even bring my planner because the one I was using at the time was too bulky. Besides, I was only going for a week, surely I could live without my planner? No, of course not. I had forgotten to notify my credit card company that I was traveling, and when I used my card to pre-pay my hotel the early warning protection caused it to seize up. I needed to call the US from Hungary to rectify it. But what is the code to dial OUT of Hungary for an international call?? If I’d had my planner with me with its page of international dialing codes, I would have had that information at my fingertips. But instead, with no planner (and no internet) it took me about 30 minutes of searching and asking people before I found out it’s 00, like much of the rest of Europe. By the time I placed my call, the Fraud Protection office was closed. 5 minutes ago. So I had to wait until the next day to call. Lesson learned: don’t leave home without my planner and its list of international dialing codes!

My most recent trip was to Scotland over the holidays, and I brought along my Minister planner (with its list of international dialing codes, time zones and extensive maps, which I love). I didn’t really think I’d be using it much during my vacation. I wound up using it extensively, to my surprise.

Continue reading »

| More

Guest post: Leonardo’s notebook

Posted January 25, 2010 by
in Cabinet of Curiosities, Pens, Paper & People, Where to Go? | Add your comment »

Guest blogger Lito Apostolakou is a freelance author, historian, and feature writer at Suite101; she also has a fascinating blog on the history of writing instruments. Here, she writes about seeing one of Leonardo’s notebooks.

It doesn’t look like much, in fact the humble notebook is no bigger than a pack of playing cards, yet it is one of the most precious objects on display in the new Medieval and Renaissance Galleries in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. The notebook of Leonardo da Vinci which dates from 1490-3 is one of five owned by the museum and it was bequeathed by English collector, John Forster in 1876.

It is packed with tiny handwriting, notes about geometry, hydraulics and weights and (curiously) with drawings of hats. At the time Leonardo compiled his notebook he was working for Duke Ludovico Sforza in Milan and he was probably required to create costumes for court festivities – hence the hat drawings. The notebook seems to be suffering from ink corrosion (due to the iron gall ink Leonardo used) and is very light sensitive. It was a privilege to have seen it.

| More

Guest post: Pruning my pen collection

Posted January 21, 2010 by
in Editorial, Pens, Paper & People | 6 comments »

This morning’s post, from guest blogger Kate Marshall, reminds me of a quote that’s usually attributed to May West: “Too much of a good thing is wonderful.” Still, sometimes you’ve gotta pare things down…

I first started using fountain pens when I was a child but I didn’t start collecting or using them on a regular basis until about four years ago. Next thing I knew, I had about 20 fountain pens: Lamys, Bexleys, Sailors, Pelikans, etc. Eek. I had too many pens and I didn’t use them often enough to justify keeping them. It’s time to sell some pens. As I do this, I’ve been rethinking the focus of my pen collection. When all is said and done, I expect to have:

• four Pelikan M400s
• three Pelikan M620s
• one Pelikan M205
• two Aurora Optimas
• one Bexley Submariner SE
• one Namiki-Pilot Vanishing Point (also known as the Pilot Capless)
• one Sailor Professional Gear
• two Sailor Sapporos (Professional Gear Slim)
• one Levenger TrueWriter

In four years of pen collecting, I’ve learned that:

I really like Pelikans, especially when they or their nibs come from Richard Binder.

I favor piston-fillers and other filling methods over cartridge-converter filling systems.

Why didn’t I buy a Vanishing Point sooner? Despite the converter’s painfully tiny ink capacity, this is the best pen ever! And it comes in pink!

I’m really hoping that once my pen collection is slimmed down, I won’t snap up every new pen I see. By focusing on pens I really love, I hope to better appreciate their value and quality. I know there are others whose pen collections (or watch collections or misprinted calendar collections or what-have-you) number in the hundreds or even thousands. And that’s cool—Kate’s not here to judge. But I’ve decided that I just have too much darn stuff in my life and it’s time to pare it down.

Granted, the day that Pelikan announces a pink M400, all bets are off.

| More

Guest post: Shlomi Harif on letters and artifacts

Posted January 12, 2010 by
in Editorial, Pens, Paper & People | 4 comments »

Guest blogger Shlomi Harif is a transplanted Austinite, poet, writer, cook, and co-chair of the Austin International Poetry Festival. He also contributes to the the Drashpit.com ‘zine, a weekly odd look at portions of the Bible.

Over the winter break I visited the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin with my eleven year old daughter. It’s a very small museum – a person can browse the entire space in the space of an hour.

What caught her eye, and mine, was the exhibit of Edgar Allan Poe’s writings. There’s a thrill seeing his roll-top writing desk, easily deciphering his script when he wrote out a stanza of “The Raven” for a fan. He used a stick pen; India ink stained parts here and there. Little splotches of ink on the pages pulled his ghostly hand into my field of vision: I could see where he stopped, dipped, blotted. Where he paused, then resumed writing. There were numerous letters to and from friends, memos to publishers, cryptic messages to lovers.

In today’s digital world we’ve lost these physical scraps of our footprint on this world: they’re relegated to inboxes and folders, or printed out in some grim, relentlessly linear typeface like zombie handwriting. I’ve postcards and letters from when I was a summer camper, paper-thin aerogramme envelopes written after I’d moved overseas. Letters my parents received, stamped by military censors. Love letters from my marriage that spanned not quite a generation. Letters from girlfriends whose children are parents. Letters from relatives who’ll never write again.

We’ve lost an amazing connection with our past. Unlike the buggy whip or the clay tablet, written letters are more than just words whose medium has passed. They’re pricelessly annotated: flourishes of the script, cramped little words clearly written in the dark, in haste, stained with tears, grease, or blood. Reducing them to electronic bits, trite acronyms and fractured English sucks the marrow from the bones of their message, leaving a harrowed skeleton without the beauty of a full bodied letter.

Those of us who write in journals, who consecrate our thoughts, ideas and feelings to the printed page are carrying on a sacred tradition, one that blogs, twitter feeds and facebook “walls” can never replace. Nor should they, as the power of our words is diluted, somehow, when they’re cast to the ether’s wind instead of being nestled into an envelope, or blotted into place on a single side of a single page of a singular book.

| More
« Older Posts