All posts by Karen Doherty

Paper and Digital Journals

Posted February 7, 2012 by
in Editorial, Pens, Paper & People | 2 comments »

Do you agree with the following description of a paper journal?  Have digital journals caught up?

“A journal is personal.  I can play with margins, draw doodles, and make corrections in my own way.  When I go back and look at my marks on the page, I can even follow the train of thought that led to the changes.  The paper is mine, and I can skip pages or even fold them.  Words pour from the heart to the brain through the hand and pen onto the paper. This is the process of writing. Palm pilots and computers are excellent for logical order, planning and things, but not the free flowing emotion that is the centerpiece of a journal.” (by Robert I., college student, about 8 years ago.)

What do you think?

 

 

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The Problem of Shipping Charges

Posted November 30, 2011 by
in Editorial | 13 comments »

The issue of shipping charges is one we have to address on a weekly basis during datebook season (July-January).  We often receive emails (and now Facebook comments) like this one:  “I love Quo Vadis – but shipping costs of almost 8 bucks on a 16 dollar book???? are you kidding?  Where in CT can I just buy one without paying enormous shipping??”

She has a point, and she’s right…but there is no agreeable solution we can offer her.

Quo Vadis and Exacompta Prestige planners are sold at independents – stationery and small office supply stores that have survived, bookstores, college bookstores, art supply places and others scattered around like small paper oases.

Most people shop for office supplies at Staples, CVS, Wal-Mart and other big box stores.  They buy for convenience and price – two good reasons.  But we can’t compete on these priorities.  We tend to sell to people who like the Quo Vadis formats, and also appreciate and are willing to pay for good paper.

We do not sell at Staples because we cannot give them the profit margins they require with an American made product with French milled paper.  If we made our products in China we could afford to sell at Staples, and the shipping issue would be moot, because there’s a Staples, or Office Depot, or Wal-Mart in every town.Three major buying groups control most university bookstores, so individual store managers have little leeway with with products they can carry.

Most retailers offer free shipping on orders of $50 or more.  So if you can,  bundle all your notebook, stationery and planner purchases into one group. Our retailers tell us they lose money on under $25 online sales.  In other words, they cannot afford to sell and ship for free an $8 refill, or even a $20 refill.  They offer shipping as a service to people.

I can tell you retailers are not making money on shipping.  USPS Priority Mail is about $4.95, and add the cost of the mailer and customer service.  It adds up pretty fast. In fact, shipping may be cheaper than driving to stores with gas at almost $4 a gallon.

Many Quo Vadis customers have been customers for a long time – 5, 10, even 20 years or more.  Once people get hooked on a format, it becomes their life companion.  But the marketplace has changed, especially in the last 10-15 years, and as neighborhood retailers disappear, stiff shipping charges for refills adds to the frustration…and cost.

I’m sorry, and I can sympathize with people’s annoyance since I’m an online shopper, too.  But I don’t have a ready answer or solution to this problem.

Comments? Suggestions?

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The Lewis Chessmen

Posted November 22, 2011 by
in Beautiful Creations, Cabinet of Curiosities, Where to Go? | 3 comments »

I love mysteries, especially ancient and medieval ones. The Lewis Chessmen are one such mystery, and I’m delighted to have the opportunity to go to The Cloisters to see them and give my imagination full rein! The British Museum lent 34 of its 67 chessmen to the Cloisters branch of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. Click here for exhibit information.

The Lewis Chessmen were discovered in 1831 on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland’s chilly Outer Hebrides. There are a bunch of stories about them: they were buried by a shipwrecked sailor, who was murdered by a herdsman, or they were stolen by a boy who jumped ship who buried them and meant to come back but never did.  Carved mostly from walrus tusk, they were found in a sand dune in a small stone carrying case. Some were stained red, indicating the colors of the sides were red and white, not black and white.

How they got to that sand dune is a mystery.  Some think they arrived from Iceland, but conventional wisdom  has it that they somehow came off a merchant ship traveling a regular trade route between Norway and Ireland and that they were produced in Trondheim, a Norwegian town, between 1150 and 1200. The faces are generally stylized, but each is different enough that some scholars have speculated they might portray real people.  Some of the expressions are certainly comic.

The archbishop of Trondheim, who along with the king of Norway had jurisdiction over the Hebrides, may have been the wealthy patron behind the chessmen.  He may have had them made as gifts, based on the cost of the ivory and the quality of the carving.

But two chess aficionados from Iceland, Gudmundur G. Thorarinsson and Einar S. Einarsson, are pushing Iceland as the birthplace of the chessmen. Mr. Thorarinsson createded a website to explain his theory –http://leit.is

Here it is:  Icelandic is the first language to describe “Bishop” as a chess piece. The use of bishops in chess is mentioned as far back as the Icelandic sagas from the 10th and 11th centuries–predating the chessmen. The sagas even include descriptions of checkmates using bishops.

Mr. Thorarinsson says historic writings refer to Bishop Pall Jonsson (1155 – 1211) in Iceland sending carved gifts made from tusks. These were made by Margret the Adroit, his wife, so called because of her prodigious skill at carving walrus tusks.

He added: “One might even entertain the notion that the Lewis Chessmen were made at the request of Bishop Pll of Sklholt and carved by Margrt the Adroit whose carving skills were the stuff of legend.”The pieces were then sent abroad for sale or as a gift, but the ship was then lost”.

Chess fans and mystery buffs – what’s your theory?

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Erasers

Posted November 1, 2011 by
in Beautiful Creations, Editorial, Pens, Paper & People | 4 comments »

I spend a lot of time erasing since I am always adding and subtracting events and memos in my Sapa X Equology.  Always on the lookout for an alternative to my Pink Pearls and arrowheads (remember those from school!) I came upon these fun Japanese erasers at Pencil Things.  Made by IWAKO, my favorites are the whales, squid and fugu blow fish from “Sea Life.” The problem is… I would probably not use them to erase!

Click here to see more at Pencil Things.

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ABP1 – Daily Planner

Posted October 19, 2011 by
in Editorial | 4 comments »

I have been meaning to write about the ABP1, and the message I received this morning from Richard in Oakland, CA was a good prompt:

“I have used the ABP1 for over a decade. I love it because I enter phone messages/numbers on each page as I get them. It keeps a record of each day that helps me track mistakes and liability issues. There is also enough room to keep personal notes, etc.  Last year I had to have it shipped from Britain. Now I see you want to kill it. I understand the economics if no one is buying…but major disappointment if it is gone.”

Richard, here’s some good news for you!  The ABP1 is back on the Quo Vadis website with some retailers that have it available for purchase here in the U.S. – click here.

The ABP1 was discontinued in the U.S. in 2010 – meaning we took it out of our catalog and off our website.  And, yes, the sales didn’t make it feasible to continue a print run for us – we opted to go with the more popular daily, the Journal 21.

However, people who use the ABP1 are fierce and loyal fans, and stand by this edition.  In response to their requests, we have put the ABP1 back on the website - click here. U.S. retailers can also order it for their customers if requested.We do maintain stock at our warehouse in Hamburg, NY.  Quo Vadis Canada also has the ABP1.

In my mind, I fought for the ABP1 because it has two features particularly unique:  1) it goes from pre-7 AM to 10 PM.  It also lends itself to list-making. An ABP1 user- a park ranger in one of the western national parks – told me she used the appointments column as her daily list area.  And, as Richard mentioned, there is lots of room for notes and memos.

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Keeping a Diary

Posted October 11, 2011 by
in Editorial, Pens, Paper & People | 8 comments »

A few years ago, I went to an exhibition called “The Augustus Griffin Diaries, 1790-1855.” It was organized by the Oysterponds Historical Society, out on the East End of Long Island. The exhibition included his diaries and artifacts from his lifetime–clothing, fishing gear, quill pens, inkwells, Bibles, a desk, farming implements, photographs. It was a wonderful exhibit, and filled me with appreciation on how one person’s story gives us such an intimate look into history.

Born in Orient, NY in 1767, Augustus Griffin lived to be 99 years old. He documented day-to-day life in his diaries. He reminisced about his boyhood memory of his father jumping out of the window into the snow to avoid capture by British soldiers and Tories. Griffin shared his doubts about his ability to hold a steady job and make a living; his moral turmoil as a tavern owner about selling alcohol. He also chronicled events large and small in the town–marriages, births, deaths, accidents–the results of which can be found in the graveyards and mailboxes 145 years after his death. “If it weren’t for him, many people wouldn’t know their lineage and history,” said Ellen Cone Busch, director of the Oysterponds Historical Society. “He had a keen sense of how fast life goes by, how temporary life is – and if we don’t write it down, it will be gone forever.”

I would like to start a daily diary to note each day in the year I turn sixty – 2012. My question to diary and journal keepers out there – how do you stick to it? The other area where I need some guidance is – what do you write about every day? I was thinking of just writing the first thing that pops into my mind to keep it spontaneous, and take the pressure off from trying to sound elegant or profound. As I think about it, I am almost afraid of how I will sound to myself.

Advice appreciated! Thank you!

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End of An Era

Posted October 4, 2011 by
in Beautiful Creations, Cabinet of Curiosities, Editorial, Where to Go? | Add your comment »

Growing up in Princeton, NJ, about an hour outside of Philadelphia, cheese-steaks were always on the school menu. On my “bucket list” is a visit to the Holy Grail of cheese-steakdom, the big three of Philadelphia – Geno’s Steaks, Pat’s King of Steaks, and Jim’s Steaks.

But the end of an era came in August, when I read that Joey Vento, the founder of Geno’s Steaks, died at 71.  The announcement was made by his son, Geno, who was named after the food stand.

Geno’s was founded in 1966.  It’s open 24-7.  Patron’s inch up to the windows usually saying, “Whiz, with,” indicating they want the paper-thin strips of sizzled beef on a hero topped with Cheese Whiz and grilled onions. “Without” means hold the onions.

A New York Times review in 2003 described a Geno’s cheese-steak: “Geno’s steaks are almost self-effacing. The cheese dissolves into a runny sauce; the strips of beef are laid precisely on the roll, rather than in a tangle; and the onions are sparsely applied.”

While Pat’s King of Steaks opened in the 1930s, both Geno’s and Pat’s fought about who was the first to slather cheese atop the beef.

The rivalry between Geno’s and Pat’s never waned. In a 2003 interview with Fortune magazine, Frank Olivieri, the owner of Pat’s, was asked what he would do if Geno’s ever closed. “I’d feel a void–that would be hard,” he said. Then he added, “I’d buy the place and open it up again. And call it Geno’s. And fight with myself.”

Click here for a link to Geno’s Steaks.

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New Electronic Planners vs. Paper Calendars

Posted September 27, 2011 by
in Cabinet of Curiosities, Editorial, Pens, Paper & People | 4 comments »

I recently did a major clean-out of old files, clippings and media mentions. One article dropped on the floor on the way to the trash bin, and I picked it up for a last look. It was dated December 29, 1999 and was titled, “Will New Electronic Planners Overtake the Paper Calendar We all Know and Love?”

“Yes, as the millennium draws to a close,” the article gravely intoned, “the calendar world seems headed for a great divide: On the one side stand the doodlers, the note-takers, the defenders of the paper-based system–wall calendars, desk calendars, pocket calendars/organizers–anything to write on or add sticky notes to. On the other are those who aren’t afraid of a little PDA, a Personal Digital Assistant (PalmPilots and the like), and what’s known as “Internet-based calendaring”–the countless calendars/planners offered in Microsoft Outlook, or on Web sites such as Yahoo, Netscape and Visto. Given the usual fate of old-fashioned industries whose markets are invaded by hipper technology, one might expect pen-and-paper calendars to be swiftly blown away by the products of the information age..”

What is funny is that the “leaders in the world of PDAs” the article mentions–Palm Computing, Handspring, Hewlett Packard and Casio–have disappeared or barely rate a mention today as providing calendar products. Handspring, the originator of PalmPilots, went defunct in 2003. Palm, Inc. was acquired by Hewlett-Packard in 2010, which retired the Palm brand.

12 years later – the two paper calendar companies noted in the article – Filofax and At-A-Glance – are still quite in evidence; as are all the planner/organizer makers from that period: Franklin Covey, Day Runner, Letts of London, Charing Cross, Per Annum, Exacompta, Quo Vadis, Blueline, etc.

Could we have predicted this?

Is it is simple as the statement by one store manager, “people still like to see their own handwriting.” Or is it, as a vice president of The At-A-Glance Group posits, “most people find it easier to retain things if they write it down.”

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Quo Vadis App

Posted August 30, 2011 by
in Announcements, Editorial | 2 comments »

We are researching the possibility of developing a Quo Vadis planner app for 2012.  An app would not replace our paper planners, but would function on a cell phone or tablet for people who prefer that option. 

We are taking a cue from the popularity of Kindle, Nook and other e-readers that people who liked the experience of reading a book in paper are now doing so electronically for convenience and cost. It doesn’t mean paper books will completely disappear,  but a lot less hardcover books will be sold as readers move to digital books.  Can planners and diaries be far behind?

We would like to have the opportunity to talk face-to-face with Quo Vadis customers on this issue and project.  I would like to hold a focus group in September to get your input and hear your ideas and concerns.  The meeting would be held at our office in New York during September–either lunch time or after work.

If you live in the NYC area and would be interested in participating, please send me an email via the “Write to Us” form on Quo Vadis Blog,  or use the “Contact Us” page on quovadisplanners.com. I will get back to you when we set the date.

I look forward to a candid discussion.

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17-Month Planner

Posted August 29, 2011 by
in Where to Go? | Add your comment »

One question we’re getting a lot these days is: “Where can I buy the 17-month Scholar planner?”

Here are three places to shop online:

- Barnes & Noble

- Alko Office Supply

- Classic Office Supply

Quo Vadis makes the 17-month version primarily for sale at Barnes & Noble, but a few other retailers also stock them.

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