My Quo Vadis Will Tell Me Where I'm Going

A few years ago, I jumped on the Bullet Journal bandwagon, but the system never really worked for me. As much as I loved the idea, and the opportunity to purchase a brand new Leuchtturm notebook full of sleek fountain-pen friendly paper, I quickly learned that I work best with a paper calendar that shows a full week at a time and in which I can mark meetings, one-time appointments, birthdays, holidays, and yahrzeits.

This year, back in October, I entered this giveaway and won a 2018 Quo Vadis Hebdo planner with a Rose Grenadine cover (in honor of breast cancer awareness month):

Thank you for entering the Quo Vadis Rose Grenadine planners giveaway:

Congratulations, you are one of the winners! Your new planner will be sent to you at the address you provided in your entry.

We’d love your feedback on your planner. Just a few sentences about what you like about the planner, and what you would change if you could, would be great. We would also love to know how you use your planner. Please email comments to Laurie (at) Exaclair (dot) com. We appreciate any feedback you can give us.

Thanks again for participating, and I hope you enjoy your new planner!

Have a great weekend,
Laurie

Laurie Huff
laurie@exaclair.com
www.QuoVadisBlog.com
www.RhodiaDrive.com
Instagram @quovadisplanner

A brief exchange with Laurie Huff followed:

Hi, Laurie,

Thanks...you made my day – not only because I was just starting to think about a new planner for 2018, but also because my family has been significantly affected by breast cancer. As a BRCA gene mutation carrier, I'm doing all I can not only to protect my own health, but also to raise awareness about these mutations and what they mean for families in which they are present.

Thanks again...have a great weekend!
~ Jane.

And, finally, this:

You are very welcome, Jane, and thank you for sharing how your family has been affected by breast cancer. I wish you good health and good luck.

I hope you enjoy your new planner and that you get to write lots of good things in it all year!

Laurie
Laurie Huff
laurie@exaclair.com
www.QuoVadisBlog.com
www.RhodiaDrive.com
Instagram @quovadisplanner

Recently I started to fill my new Hebdo and discovered some terrific features I will appreciate throughout the year:

• Fountain pen friendly paper, like all Quo Vadis planners
• Monthly layouts for January to December 2018
• A full week (starting with Monday) in each two-page spread
• Plenty of room to record meetings, appointments, and the like, not only on weekdays, but also on Saturday and Sunday
• Blank lines at the bottom of each page of the spread for miscellaneous information and what-nots
• World maps, time zones, and 2017, 2018, and 2019 grid calendars

Thus far, there are only a few things that seem to be missing, but their addition would bump the Hebdo and its Rose Grenadine cover from really great to perfect:

• An elastic closure to keep cards, notes, and miscellany from falling out 
• A back pocket, which is where I currently keep postage stamps, a few special notes from friends, and the all-important school photo of my nephew. 

In the meantime, I’m hopeful that I can figure out a work-around for each one, and am looking forward to a year in which my Quo Vadis keeps me organized and, indeed, answers the question “Where are you going?”

Persnickety About Paper

Last week, I received two paper samples to review. (Thanks, Exaclair!) The first is an 80 gram sheet of classic grid paper from a Rhodia Reverse Book, the second is 80 gram paper from a new Rhodia dot grid book.

As expected, the paper quality is without question and all the writing implements I tested -- fountain, ballpoint, and gel pens, as well as a mechanical pencil -- wrote smoothly, without bleeding, feathering or skipping.

My preference, however, is for the classic grid, which I find easier to use to ensure writing in straight lines. I do, however, appreciate the near invisibility of the dot grid paper. So, I can't help but ask if Exaclair would consider creating a classic grid that's less prominent in color and "boldness" than its current classic grid paper.

What say ye, Exaclair?

No Surprises Here

Having been participating regularly in the #RhodiaPaperProject, I won't surprise anyone with the news that I loved the most recent samples as much as any that have come before.

Week #17 included three different sheets of 90g blank white paper:

• GraFit Sketch Pads (the smallest)
• Trophee Sketch Pads (the middle size)
• Crok' Book (the largest size)

Week #18 samples included four sheets of ivory, lined paper:

• Rhodia Webnotebook  90g (small)
• Quo Vadis Habana 85 g (small)
• Rhodia Webnotebook 90g (large)
• Quo Vadis Habana 85g (large)

Of course all the samples are smooth, high quality, and accommodated the wet, heavy inks I prefer -- with no bleed through, no feathering, and no smudging.  The Week #17 samples are best suited for sketching or doodling, and I certainly will use them for that purpose.

By contrast, the lines on the Webbie and Quo Vadis samples make them best for writing. Although I like the size of the large Quo Vadis Habana sheet, the line spacing on the page is too tight -- and not nearly wide enough to accommodate my large writing.  The same is true for the small Quo Vadis and Webbie samples.  Only the large Webnotebook sample has a line width that will accommodate my penmanship adequately, although I could adjust my writing to be able to use the narrower ruled sheets.

Looking forward to Week #19 paper samples and to more experimentation with paper and pens!

#RhodiaPaperProject: Sweet 16 for Week 16

Week #16 of the #RhodiaPaperProject turned out to be “Sweet 16” when I received three different sized Exacompta 205 g index cards in colors that remind me of creamy birthday cake frosting:

• One 3x5” card in a pretty muted baby pink
• One 4x6 card in a matching baby blue
• One 5x7 card in a buttery pale yellow

#RhodiaPaperProject: Game Show Winner!

Remember the game show, "The $10,000 Pyramid" in which one contestant (sometimes the celebrity, sometimes not), facing the game board would tick off words that fit into a certain category and the other, sitting with his or her back to the board attempted to guess the category -- with the tick-tick-tick of the game clock audible in the background?

#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.

ICYMI

In case you missed it, I'm the subject of today's inaugural "Featured Reader" column on the Quo Vadis blog.

Just another stop on the way to finding a niche in the wonderful world of pens and paper!

Thanks, Quo Vadis!

Fountain Pens and the #RhodiaPaperProject: A Perfect Match

Two weeks ago, January 23, was the 278th anniversary of John Hancock's birth. In honor of his status as the first signatory -- and his bold signature -- on the Declaration of Independence, the Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association (WIMA) designated the the date as National Handwriting Day, providing "a chance for all of us to re-explore the purity and power of handwriting."

Doodler's Delight

Last week (Week #10 of the Rhodia paper project), I received three ruled paper samples in the mail:

• Clairefontaine Triomphe (white)
• Clairefontaine 90g (white)
• The R by Rhodia (ivory)

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.

Exaclair Papers: Two Weeks' Samples For the Price of One

I've fallen behind in my review of the Exaclair paper products that arrive regularly in my mailbox.

The Week 7 samples are:

• The Classic Rhodia Meeting Book 
• The Rhodia Meeting Book 90 

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...