#RhodiaPaperProject: Yet Again, 90g is the Winner

Now that the #RhodiaPaperProject happens ever other week, I think I anticipate the arrival of paper samples twice as much.  I was glad to receive Week 14 samples in the mail a few days ago and to try out various inks on them this evening.

The #RhodiaPaperProject is Creating a Pen Snob

I think the #RhodiaPaperProject is transforming me into a pen snob.

Either that or it's providing weekly confirmation that my preference runs toward thicker points and wetter inks, which leads me to believe it's time to invest in other than a disposable fountain pen.

Clairefontaine Classic Notebook Paper: Pros and Cons

As they have for the last six weeks, a number of different paper samples once again arrived in my inbox from Karen Doherty, vice president of marketing at Exaclair, USA, as part of the Rhodia Paper Project.  Included were three different pages of Clairefontaine Classic 90g bright white paper from spiral bound notebooks.

Most appealing was the silky smooth feel of the paper, which had a solid weightiness to it, without being too heavy.  It stood up well to thick, liquidy inks (fountain pen, liquid Flair and Bic Atlantis), which were the most pleasant to use.  Requiring more "push" -- and least appealing of the writing instruments -- were a Paper Mate mechanical pencil and a Bic four-color retractable medium point ballpoint.  Squarely in the middle on the ease-of-use scale were a Marvy LePen and a Uniball Jetstream ballpoint pen.

Although the paper itself was the same in all three samples, my favorite was the lined version because of its perforation to remove the scraggly left-hand edge when pages are torn from the notebook.  Neither the lined paper with the margin nor the French ruled sample includes this perforation.  Least appealing was the French ruled sample.  I found its many vertical and horizontal lines to be a distraction -- both when writing on it and, later, when reading what had been written.

Looking forward to receiving the next batch of paper samples, which should be on their way to me shortly.

Stay tuned...

(Paper) Size Does Matter

This week's Rhodia Paper Project brought me one sheet each of 80g white Rhodia line ruled paper in these sizes:

• No. 8, (3 x 8 ¼”)
• No. 10 (2 x 3″) 
• No.16 (6 x 8 ¼ “)
• No. 19 (8 ¼ x 12 ½ “)

The paper itself is a crisp white with horizontal violet lines.  The No. 16 and 19 samples also include a red vertical line indented from the left margin, making it reminiscent of the filler paper I used in elementary school -- minus the holes.

Smooth to the touch -- without being glossy -- the sample paper took a variety of inks extremely well, from no-name ballpoints to medium point felt-tip and liquid Flair pens, and from Marvy's LePen to Bic's four-color, medium point retractable ballpoint pen.  None -- not even the Pilot Varsity fountain pen -- showed through on the reverse side.

My personal preference with regard to size is the No. 8, which would be extremely useful for all kinds of lists:  wish lists, to-do lists, grocery lists...and more.  I'm sure I could find countless uses for the No. 16 -- in the office for recording meeting notes, phone conversations and like, or as a catch-all paper source in my tote bag for notes, lists and observations on the go. The dimensions of the No. 19, I think, are too large for anything but a stay-on-the desk pad. Originally, I thought the dimensions of the No. 10 made it too small to be useful, but in reconsidering the sample, I'd love to see this size as a sticky note -- in both lined and unlined versions -- which would make it endlessly useful.

Once again, the Rhodia Paper Project has provided interesting and unique paper samples to test, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to offer thoughts and feedback.

More Papers, More Pens, More Testing

In yesterday's mail, I received paper samples for The Paper Project Week #4, which included an Exacompta index card (Pastle/Violet/Grid 205g) and a sheet from the Clairefontaine multiple subject notebook (Pastle/Violet/Grid 90g).

Although I appreciated the way various inks took to both paper types, and I was happy enough with the medium smooth texture of the notebook paper, I especially enjoyed experimenting with the index card.  And, as I have throughout these weeks of experimentation, I tested a variety of pens -- from lowbrow "no names" to drugstore "cheapies," before moving up to a Sharpie, a few PaperMates and a Bic or two, and finally my Pilot Varsity fountain pen.  No Shaeffer, Mont Blanc, or Lamy here....yet!

In this round of testing, I enjoyed the pastel shades of the samples -- pale blue on the one from the notebook, and pale green and baby pink on the index cards, all with violet grid lines -- which were a welcome change of pace from the ubiquitous white and ivory that are the norm from day-to-day.

Having now participated in The Paper Project for nearly a month, I increasingly find that regardless of the paper, I much prefer pen points (and inks) that are thicker and smoother -- Pilot Varsity, Liquid Flair, and the "regular" Flair, for example -- and thus seem to require less pressure when writing.  Similarly, I generally appreciate grid lines and do not find them to be a distraction in my work.

I look forward to ongoing opportunities to sample -- and write about -- Exclair papers in the weeks ahead.

Goldilocks and the Exaclair Paper Samples

nce upon a time there was a writer named Goldilocks.  She was fascinated by quality writing paper, and lucky to receive three different Exaclair papers to sample as part of The Paper Project Week 2.

The first paper was the Clairefontaine Triomphe (white/blank 90g), which was incredibly smooth – almost slick or slippery – to the touch.  It was a clean, bright white color, with no underlying pattern or design to get in the way of Goldilocks’ doodles.  However, Goldilocks didn’t really like the way various inks (a Marvy Le Pen, several PaperMate Flairs, and a Pilot Varsity fountain pen) took to the paper.  They seemed just to sit on top of the glossy surface, without penetrating into the fiber.  After a few strokes, Goldilocks put down her pen and went on to the next paper sample.

The second sheet was the G. Lalo Verge de France (white/blank 100g).  It was a tad bit heavier than the Triomphe and although the color was described as white, in comparison to the Triomphe, it actually was ivory.   This paper had a rougher surface than the Triomphe, and some of the inks bled into it, although none soaked through to the reverse side.  When held to the light, vertical “lines,” approximately an inch apart were visible on the G. Lalo Verge de France paper, as were horizontal lines that were so closely spaced that they looked like corduroy.  When she tried to write on the G. Lalo Verge de France, the points of her pens seemed to get tripped up in the paper’s rough surface and the experience wasn’t a smooth one.  On this paper, too, after a few strokes Goldilocks put down her pen and went on to the next sample.

The last sample Goldilocks tried was the Clairefontaine GraF it (white/blank 90g).  Smoother than the G. Lalo Verge de France, but not as glassy as the Triomphe, she loved the glide of each pen over the surface, and the way the ink took to the paper.  The color, too, wasn’t the I-need-sunglasses-when-I’m-using-this-paper white of the Triomphe, but a muted white – almost a gray-white – that was exceptionally easy on the eyes.  Ink after ink, pen after pen, Goldilocks kept doodling on the GraF it, until she knew that it was the paper that was just right.

The End.

Today Was My Lucky Day

Today was a fairly typical day.  Until lunchtime.

That's when I received an email with this subject line:  Rhodia Drive ME Journal Giveaway Winners.

Included in the email was a link to this post on the Rhodia Drive blog.

How exciting to see my name listed as a winner...today truly was my lucky day!

I have some idea about how the Multimedia Enhanced "ME" Journal works, but I can hardly wait for mine to arrive so I can try it out.

Stay tuned for a full review...

Where's JanetheWriter?

This week, it seems, she's everywhere...

A post I wrote following my recent colonoscopy (if you're a regular visitor to this blog, you've probably already seen it), was posted yesterday on Penn Medicine's Focus on Cancer blog.  No worries, though...I've spared you the gory details

And then, late this afternoon, I received word that a short piece I'd submitted to the blog at Rhodia Drive was live and I was today's guest blogger.

Over the weekend, look for my dad and me in greater Baltimore and Washington, DC for an unveiling.  Hard to believe it's been a year since this post. 

Shabbat shalom, everyone.

Can She Win the Cavallini?

Dear Shaynie,

Although I only recently started following your blog, I've been a lover of paper, journals, notebooks and pens for as long as I can remember.  Sometimes, when I need a pick-me-up, there's nothing better than wandering down the aisles of a well-stocked art supply or office supply store.  Thumbing through the blank notebooks and eyeing the gel pens in every color of the rainbow often is enough to lift my spirits.  A really bad day, though, might require a purchase, which is how I've come to have a small collection of Rhodia pads, as well as notebooks from Moleskine, Ciak, Miquel Rius, Clairefontaine and others, including a few Staples' classic black and white marble notebooks.

One Ecosystem notebook with a purple cover was my constant companion for much of 2011.  It's filled with notes from doctor's appointments, lists of questions for upcoming appointments, blood pressure readings, and output measurements from four Jackson-Pratt drains I had following some complex surgery I had during the summer of 2011. Thankfully, I wasn't sick (the surgery was prophylactic), and flipping through those pages from time to time reminds me of how right that tough decision was for me, how proud I am of myself for making it, and how far I've come in my recovery.  Other of my journals and notebooks are filled with lists, ideas, doodles, thoughts, sketches, favorite quotes, and more. A few others--their bindings unbroken and their pages sleek and crisp in their pure white emptiness--are awaiting the thoughts, ideas, lists and doodles that will fill them up and bring them to life. Oh, the potential...

Having said all that, I'm writing now so that I might have a chance to win the beautiful Cavallini Roma Lussa journal with its wonderfully marbled pages that you received from the company to give away.  Following the instructions in your most recent post, I'm pleased to tell you that:

1. I have been following Journaling Journeys for several months and very much enjoy reading your posts.
2. I recently visited Cavallini's website and my favorite thing, beside the leather journals, of course, is the decorative paper tape, especially the vintage office themed set!
3. Journaling Journeys is now listed (with its link) on my blog roll...along with several other similarly-themed websites I've recently discovered.
4. In addition to writing this letter to you via my blog, I will, as is my custom, spread the word via other social media channels, including Facebook and Twitter.  I also will leave comments on your post itself.

Many thanks to you and to Cavallini for the possibility of adding a true treasure to my small, but growing collection of journals and notebooks.  I hope to have an opportunity to write my own review of the exquisite red leather Cavallini soon!

All the best,
~ JanetheWriter.