Archive for the ‘QV is Beautiful’ Category
July 2nd
The Quo Vadis North American meeting was held in Montreal, Quebec on June 4-5, 2009. Before I left I asked readers of this blog to let me know any issues important to them to bring up for discussion at the meeting. I did — and here are the results of your requests: 
1. The Bahai’i holy days will be included in the 2012 planners.
2. We recommended to the designers in France that they investigate adding monthly calendars to the editions, and more space for Sundays. We also voiced the request to consider eliminating the activity designations in some editions so people can customize their planners to their own needs.
Since the agenda format is global, the activity dashboard will stay as it is for now. However, future editions will include more space for Sundays, smaller holiday designations, thinner grid lines and more discreet fonts–giving people more room to write and a clean, harmonious layout.
Note: some editions already offer monthly planning, including Space 24 and Space 17.
3. The U.S. plans to incorporate a combination bookmark/elastic closure with most of its planners beginning in 2011. A ribbon bookmark will also be added to the bound Habana planners.
4. We expressed the fact that fountain pen users are one of our most important customer groups. We all agreed attention to papers selected for planners will continue to be rigorous.
In the interest of brand consistency, the U.S. expressed a willingness to change the paper on Habana notebooks from white to 85 g ivory paper in 2010. We will also investigate having blank as well as ruled pages, and developing a “corporate color” coverunique to the Habana.
Thank you all for your feedback. We take very seriously the positive comments, suggestions and constructive criticism we receive on our planners and notebooks. Since so much of your life is in your datebooks and notebooks, we constantly strive to make them responsive to your needs, as good tools and good companions.
Your comments and concerns are important to us and always welcome.
June 29th
Thanks to Pentamento for the first review of our new Equology eco-friendly notebooks and planners… Reading it reminded me that I’ve been meaning to post my own photographs and impressions, so here goes.
I, too, love the heavy duty rubber-like cover, to which pictures don’t really do justice—it’s soft and bumpy and dry, sort of like a cat’s tongue:
Read the rest of this entry »
June 9th
Last year, Karen sent me a great new product from Exaclair called the Exafolio, a sort of combination binder/accordion folder/notebook-and-pen holder that’s like an adult Trapper Keeper.
A couple of months ago, she sent me another product from the same line, the Exaboard. It’s like a clipboard, but so much better: it’s large and sturdy, with a front and a back plastic cover and a clip inside that holds a large Rhodia pad (or a President planner) and a pen. There’s also a slim pocket on the inside cover that could hold a couple of loose papers. Oh, and a little elastic closure to hold it all together.
Whereas my Exafolio is great for business meetings, the Exaboard is pure pleasure. I use it when I’m reading in my armchair and want a sturdy surface for taking notes. I use it when I want a break from my desk to do some offline outlining or brainstorming. I don’t draw, but I imagine it might also make a nifty surface for smaller on-the-road sketches, too.
At the moment, none of our retailers seems to show the Exaboard online, but Karen suggested people call Vickery in Colorado at 800-963-1050, or Racine’s Office & Art Supplies in California at 866-374-6972, if they want to try it out.
May 28th
I’m so glad Margana described her fountain pen cleaning routine at Inkophile last week, cause it’s something I’ve been wondering about ever since I ditched the plain blue cartridge that came with my Phileas and filled it up with Bleu nuit.
Now, I’m a creature of habit, and Bleu nuit suits most of my writing needs just fine—it’s pretty and unobtrusive, and it takes great to my Clairefontaine work notebooks and my personal Habana journal. But I find myself staring wistfully at the other bottles of ink that would serve those purposes, too: the exquisitely named Pousierre de lune and Cacao du Bresil, which both seem like they’d be right at home in the taupe Habana Karen sent me recently, or Terre de feu… All attractive, subtle shades that could lend a bit more flavor to my everyday activities.
Of course, at the moment, I only have a single fountain pen, and since I haven’t yet been foresightful enough to clean it at night (and thus give it enough time to dry before refilling) or patient enough to commit to going without it for a day (and accomplish the same thing), inertia runs high. I’m in awe of our ink reviewers, who take so much time and care as they test different shades with different pens and paper!
Personally, though, I think my low-maintenance (read: lazy) ideal would be to have 3 or 4 “everyday” pens that more or less have specific colors living in them—and I love Margana’s idea of using the change of seasons as an excuse to rotate the shades—and use my glass pen to experiment with crazier hues. I guess that’s why a lot of seasoned FP users refer to this as an addictive habit… I can totally see myself adding new colors to the “everyday” list as time goes on, and thereby justifying a new pen purchase.
What’s your pen routine? How many pens do you own/use regularly, and how many kinds of ink?
May 27th
Last week, we got a question from Beth about next year’s new Habana colors, which I stupidly forgot to photograph at the National Stationery Show.
There’s a group shot of them already on the QV website; fortunately, I was also able to dig up some individual photos that do a better job of highlighting the colors. Admittedly, the way the light falls on the pictures makes the colors look slightly different from the swatches above (and individual monitors may vary), but this should give a decent idea… click each picture to see a larger version.
Read the rest of this entry »
May 26th
I will be heading to St-Laurent, a suburb of Montreal, Quebec on June 3rd for our annual corporate meeting. Representatives of Quo Vadis Canada, the United States, and our parent company in France will gather for a day and a half of presentations and discussions on the past year, the present, and where we want to go in 2010 and beyond. The meeting focuses on product development and manufacuturing, but also includes sales and marketing. 
As part of marketing, I raise a number of product requests and criticisms we have received from U.S. Quo Vadis users throughout the year; i.e., the new Trinote format, more room on Sundays, additional Club cover color choices for ABP1, etc. and see what is possible to change or implement before the next print run for 2012 planners. 2010 planners will start to appear in stores in July, and films for 2011 planners have been completed.Â
Any final requests as I prepare my report for Montreal? Are we missing any features you would like to see in your planner or notebook? Are there any different cover colors or bindings we should consider? Any holidays we should add? How can we improve Quo Vadis for you?
May 19th
If you’re in New York City today or tomorrow, there’s still time to attend the National Stationery Show! In the meantime, here are some pictures I took yesterday of our various products and displays… Lots of new stuff in here that we’ll be blogging about in the upcoming months.
Read the rest of this entry »
May 6th
Tom Hall had a great question recently about what happens to our old planners—extra 2008 editions, or even the 2009 planners that are left over once the start-of-the-year rush wanes (actually, many of those are now on sale at the Daily Planner).
We often get requests around income tax time for older datebooks; if we have any, we’re happy to oblige. If asked, we’ll also gladly give them to nonprofits like Surf Diva.
Sometimes people spill coffee on their planner, or lose it, and we send them a refill gratis.
The rest, alas, are destroyed; we know that some people like to reuse old planners as notebooks, but we usually have very few left, and we don’t typically sell things directly to individual customers.
May 5th
A number of customers have asked us to offer Quo Vadis’ ABP1 in more Club covers. For 2010, the ABP1 will be available in ALL Club colors - black, blue, cherry red, teal, saddle brown, spring green, pink and lilac. Pink and lilac are new for 2010. See all Club colors here.Â
The ABP1 is the same size as our Exacompta Prestige Journal 21. Both date books are 5 1/4 x 8 1/4 or 13 x 21 cm. Journal 21 and ABP1 are daily planners.
So, if you feel like a change but still want to keep a daily diary, you can switch from one to the other and still keep your favorite cover.
The ABP1’s day-per-page is divided into an appointments column and notes. It is printed on white paper.
The Journal 21 has room to write for each hour/half hour, and is printed on lightly tinted paper.
See Journal 21 here. ABP1 here.Â
Anyone prefer one over the other?
April 9th
As many of you know, our name, Quo Vadis, means “Where are you going?” in Latin. Well, we want to find out where you’re going these days—tell us, and you could win a free notebook.
I went to Wolfe Island in March. Karen went to Orient Beach. Biffybeans went drumming, and Kate Marshall went to Cook Forest.
So whether it’s a city or a statue, a mountain or a winery, send us a paragraph or three about your favorite spot (with pictures, if possible!) and let us know what’s so cool about it. Then, we’ll put it up on the blog, and at the end of each month, you’ll be entered in a random drawing to win a free Clairefontaine “Basics” notebook in your choice of color (red, green, tan or black) and binding (clothbound, staplebound or spiral). Eventually, we’ll put together a special section in the blog with everybody’s input—a sort of eclectic travel guide.
More details after the jump…
Read the rest of this entry »
