Posts Tagged ‘paper’

Paper and digital and books

Posted January 3, 2011 by
in Editorial, Pens, Paper & People | 15 comments »

Image via goXunuReviews

By now, I’ve got a pretty workable time management system that includes both paper and digital devices. I’m not afraid of technology — heck, I minored in computer science in college!

When it comes to reading, however, I’m still behind the digital times. I got a Kindle for Christmas and have yet to buy a book for it, even after reviewing all your thoughtful and intriguing recommendations last week. (Instead, I started my most recent paperback purchase, A Computer Called Leo.) I have a good sense that I’m probably going to go for something like the Mark Twain autobiography, which several of you praised and which is huge and unwieldy in hardback. But I can’t seem to pull the trigger.

If you’re reading this blog, chances are you’re a paper enthusiast. That’s certainly part of what’s causing me to hesitate: I love books as physical objects. I’m also seized by this irrational and probably retrograde worry that if I can’t see something on my bookshelf, it may not actually be mine — which is strange, since I don’t feel that way about the music, photography, or writing that’s stored in ones and zeroes in my laptop.

Do you own a Kindle and/or share any of these concerns? How did you get over them?

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Supporting local retailers

Posted December 14, 2010 by
in Announcements, Pens, Paper & People | 4 comments »

If you haven’t already heard about this over on Rhodia Drive, be sure to check out Exaclair’s new page on supporting local retailers.

In addition to explaining our commitment to working with local, independent outlets, we’ll periodically feature a retailer that’s particularly unique or well-loved. This month, for example, we profile Pieritz Bros in Oak Park, IL.

Is there a retailer in your area you’re particularly passionate about? If so, please feel free to comment on this post or contact us with suggestions about the places we should feature in the future!

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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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Ask a pen maker

Posted April 13, 2010 by
in Pens, Paper & People, Product Reviews, Videos | Add your comment »

Got a burning question about fountain pens, ink, or paper? This afternoon at 2:22 pm EST, Brian Goulet will be logging on to Ustream and doing a live video chat with anyone who’s interested. Last week, about 30 people joined him to discuss Brian’s writing box prototypes, ink flow with cartridges/converters, and his own personal background. He also did a couple of paper tests and comparisons, and discovered that Exaclair packing paper is fountain pen friendly (who knew?!).

This afternoon, Brian will cover some watercolors he’s been doing in the Clairefontaine Graf it sketchbooks, the J. Herbin Creapen, his personal custom pens, and whatever else people are curious about. To listen in or participate, just follow this link.

On another note, unless you’re reading this post on an RSS feed, you’ll notice that things look a little different around here this week as we launch our new design! I’ll call out some of the new features and functionalities in a separate post. In the meantime, if you have any trouble with anything on the site, please let us know.

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DIY with DCP

Posted March 1, 2010 by
in Pens, Paper & People | 3 comments »

Karen sent me a few sheets of Clairefontaine DCP paper in the fall. DCP (which stands for “Digital Color Printing”) is a thick, white, glossy, A4 printer paper, and it’s apparently designed for printing photographs and other color graphics. It comes in ivory, too, and can also be used, Karen told me, for bookmaking.

I don’t have a color printer, and I haven’t tried to make a book since the 3rd or 4th grade. Frankly, I found the A4 size a little awkward at first, since it’s thinner and longer than standard American paper and didn’t really fit into any of my binders. So I stuck it in a folder and forgot about it until this weekend, when I needed to customize an old tea box for a present and didn’t have time to go out and get the proper supplies.

DCP, it turned out, was just the thing for the job. I wanted something I could write on (so decoupage was out), but I also needed paper that was thick enough to hide the images on the box I was reusing:

Continue reading »

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More torture! Habana v. Webbie v. Moleskine

Posted February 22, 2010 by
in Cabinet of Curiosities, Pens, Paper & People, Videos | 4 comments »

Let me preface this by saying that nearly everyone keeps a variety of different notebooks, made by different brands, in regular rotation. We know that. We endorse that. And we all have different needs/preferences in terms of writing instruments; fountain pen users love our heaviest, 90g paper, while others need nothing more than a few pages of lightweight 64g to receive their gel pens and rollerballs and pencils.

But Karen and I were nonetheless intrigued to see pen maker Brian Goulet’s recent vlogs over at Ink Nouveau. As you may remember, Brian likes to subject the notebooks and stationery that his company sells to various acts of ink-related torture. A couple weeks ago, he put a Habana, a Webbie, and a Moleskine to a head-to-head bleedthrough test with a couple drops of J. Herbin. That video’s embedded above, so you can see the results for yourself.

Brian’s since done more detailed comparisons of Moleskine vs. Habana and the Moleskine vs. Webbie to discuss size, thickness, price, and all the other factors that help determine which notebooks best fit your needs. In a world where you can’t always try before you buy, they’re great tools to aid your decisions.

To learn more about Brian and his pens, check out this profile at Rhodia Drive!

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Sophie’s sketches

Posted February 17, 2010 by
in Beautiful Creations, Pens, Paper & People | 1 comment »

Some great new stuff at our Flickr group! For example, this sketch by Sophie, who’s also posted some beautiful Handalas, modge-podge photo transfers, and a fun, off-kilter watercolor:

See more of Sophie’s work on her blog and at her Flickr page. Also not to be missed: Stephanie’s vibrant mandalas, and this lovely whisper of a drawing by Gentian.

Thanks so much for sharing your work with us!

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The purpose-driven notebook

Posted January 8, 2010 by
in Editorial, Pens, Paper & People | 4 comments »

Habana ivory

Stephanie forwarded a link to this terrific post at A Penchant for Paper about deciding what to do with a new Habana notebook.

Should I just keep it for the future? … Perhaps it would be better suited to a pocket-sized, portable sketchbook? Or perhaps I could use it to write poetry in. Or perhaps to keep notes on the books that I am reading, and lists of books I want to read in the future. Or perhaps…

I often purchase notebooks for specific purposes — a Bloc No. 8 to use as a reporter’s notebook (fits handily into back pockets), a Steno pad to keep on my desk for work-related to-do lists (the red line down the center helps divide essential from inessential tasks). But there’s something really lovely about getting a notebook without a specific task in mind. There’s the sky’s-the-limit joy of speculating about potential uses, and the joy of experimentation, then the joy of discovery when you find the use that fits…

Mind you, I’m not trying to endorse mindless consumerism here (buy now! think later!). I just think it’s nice to be open to possibilities.

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The carnival of writing supplies

Posted August 4, 2009 by
in Cabinet of Curiosities, Pens, Paper & People | Add your comment »

carnival

Today marks the first edition of the Nifty-organized Carnival of Pen, Pencil and Paper, a traveling monthly collection of the best blog posts about notebooks, pens, pencils, and paper products!

Check it out for an offbeat selection of topics and posts, and to find out about writing-related blogs that aren’t in your personal orbit.

For more information about the Carnival and how it works, click here.

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Guest post: Paper and knives

Posted May 21, 2009 by
in Cabinet of Curiosities, Pens, Paper & People | 2 comments »

Here’s something I bet you didn’t know you could do with your notebook—sharpen knives. Guest blogger Kenneth Schwartz elaborates…

ksk-08

I met Karen through two reviews I did of a Journal 21 and a Habana notebook (which I use as an ink log book) on the Fountain Pen Network.

I mentioned my interest in knife sharpening, particularly Japanese kitchen knives and how I use fine paper for knife sharpening. She said she had an old Japanese knife given to her by her Father many years ago and I suggested that I would find out more about it. I offered to sharpen it for her, using, among other things, paper for sharpening her knife. I actually felt quite thrilled to restore an old Japanese knife and honored to be entrusted with an old knife which had sentimental meaning associated with it. It is an ajikiri, used as a filet knife for small fish like trout but particularly mackerel or Aji, which gives the knife its name. It can also be used as a sturdy paring knife or for cutting up chicken.

At this point, you might be wondering what knife sharpening and pens have in common, particularly regarding the use of paper.

Continue reading »

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