In Planners & Organizers

I joined the PLOTTER posse

Author AnaPosted on 3 Comments
I joined the PLOTTER posse

After humming and hawing for months about getting a Plotter, one magically appeared in my mailbox. (The Plotter fairy knows who they are and I am eternally grateful!)

The binder came in a bright orange, paperboard box with glossy black foil logo and branding. The box is sturdy and worth holding onto to store your inserts.

I chose the Bible size (aka Personal size, if you speak Filofax) Horse Hair II 6-Ring Leather Binder PLT5016 ($149) in green (I know, shocker!). The Bible size binder is approximately 7.25″ x 4.5″ (180mm x 115mm) and the insert papers are about 6.75″ x 3.75″ ((170mm X 93mm).

I’ve always been a fan of the personal/bible size planners. They are small enough to carry around and, when open, don’t take over your whole workspace.

Plotter binders do not come with any inserts so that $150 only gets you the leather cover binder and some paper informational sheets.

I purchased more inserts from Plotter then I thought I would (and then realized I didn’t need all of them). I would say that one of the best things about Plotter is the paper that they use for their inserts. The To Do List Refill Memo Pad (006) ($6.80) and Plain Refill Memo Pad (003) ($6.80) use the same paper just with different printed details (or no printing).

The Blue Paper Refill Memo Paper ($6.80) is just fun. It is as smooth as the standard papers but a little bit thicker and features a 2mm grid with a wider center line both horizontal and vertical to create four little quadrants on the paper.

I love how the color seems streaky like it was painted on with a watercolor brush. Not to mention it coordinates beautifully with my planner cover.

Seeing the Plotter next to my planner, which is a B6 size, it’s clear to see how slim and compact the Plotter is.

My Set-Up:

My plan for the Plotter is to use it to organize my new life as a freelancer and small business owner.

So, the first thing I did was set up dividers for:

  • Personal/Home
  • The Desk (Blog/Patreon/Etc)
  • Product Development
  • Freelance Work

Instead of using the Lifter pages from Plotter, I dug out a “dashboard” page that I had in an old Filofax. Its a piece of heavyweight, translucent paper with gold foil dots. This is a place to stick post-it notes and to protect my actual papers from rubbing on the cover. Under the dashboard is a divider I made using some scrapbook paper and my Cricut cutting machine*.

The rest of my tabs were made from all the green paper that I had in my stash, because… green! I haven’t added any text to the tabs yet, maybe I’ll type labels on one of my old typewriters. That seems like a good way to label my tabs. Until then, I just know that the big dots is my personal section and so forth.

This week, as my first non-job week, I made myself a little calendar to organize my time. I have scheduled a lot of meetings and appointments so I needed to be able to see my week and when I would actually have time to work. Thanks, blank paper for making it easy to turn the binder lengthwise and make a quick week-at-a-glance page.

In the back of the planner, I pulled a plastic sleeve from my old Filofax (find a sleeve on Etsy) to hold loose items like postage stamps and a few stickers as well as the Band with Lifter that creates a vertical elastic closure as well as protecting the back of the binder.

My One (Kind-Of Big) Quibble

The only issue I’ve had, thus far, with the Plotter binder is that the inside edge on the leather is sharp and pokey. The outside edge is smooth and feels soft to the touch but the interior edge rough and even startled a friend of mine who was looking at my binder and it poked him in the hand.

For the price of these covers, I would have hoped the edges would have been trimmed, smoothed or sanded so that the experience from all sides would feel premium. My plan is to try sanding the edges myself. If anyone has experience with leather working, any recommendations for smoothing this edges would be greatly appreciated.

The Inserts I Didn’t Use

After adding in some of the accessories and refills that I already had or made myself, there were a few refills I didn’t end up using.

  • Lifter 2pcs (010) ($6) – I recommend just cutting a piece of pretty cardstock to the same size as the refill paper and then use a hole punch. The plain black plastic Lifters are boring. Make you own with photos, old calendar pages, a postcard or other fun paper that speaks to your soul. Black plastic is not soulful, IMHO.
  • Fastener Case (024) ($12): I thought this was going to be a single zipper case for loose paper ephemera that would fit on the rings like paper. Oh no. It is a two-pouch design that must be slipped OVER the rings. In order to even try it, I had to remove all my pages, close the rings and then slide this OVER the rings. It’s weirdly bulky for a brand who seems to pride itself on clean, simple designs. I removed it immediately and put it back in its little cello bag. Buh-bye, you dopey little thing. Zipper pouches are widely available on Etsy to fit personal/bible size binders and cost about $5-$8.
  • Project Manager 6-Color Assortment Refill Holder (008) ($6.40) These flip open sleeves are just odd. I’m not sure I understnad the best way to use these so I just haven’t put one to use yet. Maybe if I have one specific project with multiple steps or a specific client, the Project Manager might make sense to use but for now, they are going to stay in the box.

Overall, I can’t believe how much I like the Plotter so far. I’ve used it for a little over a week and I like that I can add or remove pages easily. The Plotter lays flat easily and the small binder rings make it a lot less annoying than the large rings in older Filofax and similar 6-ring binders. The small size does force me to be more selective about how many pages, sections and accessories I include in the binder.

I love that ring binders are coming back into favor and that companies are experimenting with how we use these. I’ve always been a fan and I’m delighted to find a new way to use them.

* If you are interested in cutting your own tabs for your Plotter, Filofax or other 6-ring planner, search Etsy for Filofax SVG or cutting files. I don’t remember which SVG file I purchased or if I made them myself. If you have vector based software, you can make your own as well. Let me know if you want a post about making tabs.

 

In feature

Follow-Up: Endless & Ajoto Notebooks

Author AnaPosted on 4 Comments
Follow-Up: Endless & Ajoto Notebooks

Last week, I wrote reviews about the new Ajoto Pocket Paper Notebooks and the newly updated Endless Recorder Regalia notebooks. Having written these while I was ill I was not as thorough in my reviews as I normally try to be. Luckily, kind readers requested some additional details about the paper performance so I thought I’d do a little follow-up specifically about how these two products handle fountain pen inks.

Ajoto Pocket Paper Notebooks:

Let’s start with the Ajoto Pocket Paper Notebooks. The full review included regular daily writing samples but I forgot to do big swatchy ink tests. How doe sthe paper handle shading, sheening or dual-chromatic inks?

Above are samples in the Ajoto No. 1, the all-arounder paper. Inks sheened as expected, shading showed clearly and multi-chromatic inks behaved as I hoped.

The above two images are the Ajoto No. 2 which is the paper recommended as fountain pen-friendly. The Colorverse 2024 Blue Dragon appeared a bit darker than on the Ajoto No. 1 but overall, the inks all showed their special qualities as well.

Finally, the Ajoto No. 3 which is the thickest, art paper also showed all the necessary characteristics of the inks. Sheen? Check. Shading? Check. Multi-chromatic? Check.

When viewed from the back, in order from left to right, the No. 2 had the most issue with show through/bleed through. The No. 3 had the least show through but the No. 1 also worked well from the back.

So, from an ink usage perspective, all three Ajoto papers worked well with fountain pen inks.

Endless Recorder Follow-Up:

I used the same inks to test the Endless Recorder with new coating. The inks sheened, shaded and dual-chromed as anticipated but even in the short time I was testing the page the ink resistance problem reared its ugly head. I even attempted to apply a second coat and the ink still resisted.

When reviewed from the back, there was a little show through and a few dots of bleed through.

Overall, I continue to be a little disappointed in the overall performance of the Regalia paper.

In feature, Paper Review

Notebook Review: Dominant Industry Ink Archiving Book

Author Jessica ColesPosted on 1 Comment
Notebook Review: Dominant Industry Ink Archiving Book

My favorite part of the fountain pen hobby isn’t the pens, it’s the ink. While fountain pens aren’t required in order to enjoy ink, paper is necessary. Typically my ink reviews will use several types of paper – I believe that gives a more in depth understanding of how the ink will behave in any situation – but I stick with the same 3-4 notebooks and rarely branch out.

But I’ve found something new.

Dominant Industry just released an Ink Archiving book. This book started life as a Kickstarter project and recently became available to the general public – however, there is only one retailer in the United States where I could find the notebook – Pen Chalet.

The paper in the Ink Archiving book is 100gsm – heavy enough to hold up to quite a bit of ink along with watercolor paint.

The 252 pages in the book consist of three sections – section 1 uses a double-page spread for each design (every design is repeated once in this section).

Section 2 uses the same design rotation, but each double page spread is one printed page and one blank page facing it. The only aspect of the Archiving notebook that I would  change is in this section – I would prefer the back of each printed page to be blank so I could use heavier applications or wetter media without the risk of bleeding through another design.

Section 3 can be used for swatching or archiving ink, cataloging the inks used in the rest of the book, or tracking currently inked pens. This is the smallest section in the book while sections 1 and 2 contain an equal number of pages.

 

The designs in the Ink Archiving book are reminiscent of a nature study notebook showing an overall scene and calling out individual sections or animals in detail on the opposing page.

I tried to push the paper to get a feel of the amount of ink it could handle so I used several layers of ink and plenty of water.

This finished page showed no signs of feathering or spreading of the ink.

Below is the back of the page above. There was no bleeding at all through the paper. There’s a small dot of ink On the goldfish fin, but that was my own careless flinging of ink and not bleeding.

The full scene page is where I was tougher on the paper – I used lots of layers, bright colors, and sheening inks. I was able to get sheen using Octopus Sheening inks and Wearingeul Anne of Green Gables.

Below is the back side of the page above. The only ink here is ink showing through on the lower right shell. This was a section where I had applied two layers of watery ink then dotted the starfish with a heavy application of red ink.

It’s difficult to show the condition of the paper after the ink and water dried – there was a bit of wrinkling of the page and left the material slightly… crinkly. The paper held up much better than I expected – I was pleasantly surprised at the quality.

I’m looking forward to filling up the entire Ink Archiving book! This is an amazing idea that was well-executed and selling for a more-than-fair price (Pen Chalet is offering it right now for $22.40). The only problem is trying to get one!

In Link Love

Link Love: First Steps

Author AnaPosted on 3 Comments
Link Love: First Steps

With just days left at my jobby-job, I see both adventure and (a little) terror in my future. I have been making lists of projects big and small to tackle in the coming weeks and months. Some would say that I am starting a new chapter, but it feels like I am opening the first pages of a new book of my life. What first steps would you take if you had a chance to start a new chapter (or new book) of your life?

Pens:

Ink:

Pencils:

Notebooks & Paper:

Art & Creativity:

Other Interesting Things:

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In photo

Journaling: A Q2 Check-in

Author Laura CameronPosted on Leave a comment

I feel like Ana and I are sort of running on the same wavelength. Each month she prepares for a new month by pulling out her best supplies, and making small changes based on what worked the previous month.

I decided that since we’re just past April 1 (no fooling!) that I’d check in and share how my journaling project is going. January and February were GREAT! I wrote in my journal most days and developed a look and feel I enjoyed. There was washi tape, there were different colors of ink, and I think I captured some great moments and thoughts.

And then in March the wheels fell off a bit. I still recorded things, but I wrote on fewer than half the days in the month. I’m not sure quite what happened. Work did get really busy so my days were full, but I just didn’t sit down and do it. I’m hoping to get April back on track.

March was fairly tame, but I even experimented with a bit of ink wash/water color for April!

The journal I’m using is a Notebook Therapy Tsuki ‘Kinoko’ Limited Edition Bullet Journal ($27.98). You can find my review here.

In Planners & Organizers

April Planner Set-Up

Author AnaPosted on 12 Comments
April Planner Set-Up

I have enjoyed sharing my monthly planning set up and tools with you. I hope you find it inspiring or enlightening too.

I have been starting each month with a “color of the month”. March was purples which I enjoyed so much. I got to experiment with new brush pens and some gel pens that I hadn’t used before.

For April, I want all the tender greens. My soul colors. The color of new shoots and spring leaves. It’s time to get fresh with green for me.

By limiting my choices at the start of each month, I take a lot of the decision making out of my day-to-day planning and allows me to make sure I have pens that are all in functional order and coordinates with an overall theme each month.

I spend an hour or so at the beginning of each month putting a monthly calendar into my planner (I glue in pages from a planner I did not end up using but already had monthly calendar pages). Then I add any upcoming events. Finally, I turn the page and stick the first date sticker down with some decorative washi tape so I’m ready to go.

The brush and gel pens that I swapped into my zipper pouch for the month of April are:

I use a brush pen to write the day at the top of each page in my page-a-day planner set-up. If nothing else happens in my day, I have the date, day and a sticker or bit of washi tape. I add any to-dos or plans for the day (“lunch with Tina”). I then add if something happens that I want to record (“watched a squirrel run across the yard with a plastic Easter egg”), if I watch, read or listen to anything interesting (“listening to 60 Songs That Explain the 90s”) and maybe any other life nonsense (“made Thai Basil Curry using the hydroponic basil growing in the kitchen. Smells amazing”).

For decorative stickers and calendar stickers, I am using:

I also dug through my ridiculous stash of washi tape and selected a handful of rolls in all shades of green. I would list links to the tapes but many I’ve had for years and I don’t know where they came from. If you’re looking for yummy green tapes, start here.

I never thought I’d be the kind of person who decorates their planner but I have loved adding little elements of prettiness or silliness. I bought all these stickers, washi and ephemera so why not use it?!?!

I am also planning to fill my daily writer pen with Wearinguel Peter Pan ($22) to keep with my theme.

I tuck all my bits and bobs into my lap desk. I can sit on the couch and lift the lid and grab tapes, stickers and other goodies and embellish my planner in the evenings while watching tv. I don’t mean to tempt you with this ridiculous lap desk but I do love it. It was created while I was working at Victorian Trading Company  and has a padded base to make it comfortable on my lap. It’s slightly angled like a writing desk and features vintage florals with a very “dark academia” vibe. The closest lap desk I could find to this one is available on Amazon and called the Schoolhouse lap desk ($49.99) if you want to embrace your inner cottage core lifestyle. Ebay is also great for actual vintage lap desks.

DISCLAIMER: Some items in this review include affiliate links. The Well-Appointed Desk is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. Please see the About page for more details.

In Paper Review

Paper Review: Ajoto Pocket Paper B6

Author AnaPosted on 5 Comments
Paper Review: Ajoto Pocket Paper B6

Ajoto created a Kickstarter to produce and release three notebooks featuring great paper for writing and drawing as well as notebook covers. I only backed the Pocket Paper notebook portion because I don’t need anymore notebook covers but I can always use more paper.

The notebooks use Italian paper and are made in England. The paper are acid-free with a neutral pH so what you write should stay put.

Each Pocket Paper notebook ($22 each) shipped in a paperboard wrap with information about the paper type, recommended uses and specifications. The paper wrap covers are a good way to visually differentiate between the three paper types but it seems like a lot of packaging. Of course, its all paper so it can be recycled or composted.

The notebooks were created at an unusual size. They measure 105 mm x172 mm which is a little smaller than B6 size. These books fit in my B6 cover but the Ajoto notebooks  are about an inch narrower and half and an inch shorter than a standard B6 notebook. If you’re not attached to a specific notebook size or cover, these Pocket Paper notebooks have a small paperback book feel in the hand. They are not too big, not too small so it might be a sweet spot.

However, I am less tempted by notebooks that are a weird size. There are so many “standard sizes” in the world that when someone steps in with a “we have the perfect size” notebook spiel. Shaving a half an inch from a notebook is not going to revolutionize my writing or journaling habit. Stop trying to convince me that it will!

Okay, paper size rant is over.

All three notebooks feature a black paper cardstock cover that folds flat and exposes the bound and glued spine. The paper cover and sewn bindings do genuinely lay flat and the simple black cover and exposed spine have a minimal, Japanese vibe.

Under the black paperboard cover is another cardstock cover that creates the front of the notebook.

The paper type is embossed on the cover page of each notebook to make it easier to identify the notebook once its been separated from the packaging sleeve. The overall construction for all three notebooks is the same, its just the paper that is different.

Ajoto No. 1 Pocket Paper:

Of the three notebook paper types, the No. 1 is the most papery texture to me. Its a little bit toothy but not rough. The icons on the cover recommend it for pen, pencil and fountain pen so its probably the most all-around paper of the bunch. The notes from the web site say that this paper is from Italy, is 120gsm and the No. 1 notebook includes 114 pages.

In writing tests, I found the paper to hold up to a wide variety of tools and had only slight show through, even when using broad brush pens. For someone looking to do more artistic or collage-y note taking, journaling or planning, I think the No. 1 is a good option. It reminds me of a good quality sketch paper. It wouldn’t hold up great to watercolor washes but brush pens, pencils, colored pencils, gel pens and fountain pens all perform well on the paper.

Ajoto No. 2 Pocket Paper:

The Ajoto No. 2 Pocket Paper is another Italian paper but this paper is much smoother and silkier. If you love Rhodia or Clairefontaine, this paper has a similar feel. The paper is 100gsm and the notebook includes 126 pages.

While Ajoto claims this paper is bleed proof, I found that there was a lot more show through with the No. 2 than the No. 1 notebook. There were even some signs of bleed through potential.

If you are a fan of super smooth, almost glossy writing paper, then the No. 2 will be your choice from the Ajoto line. Super smooth paper has never been my favorite. I feel like a little tooth or texture in the paper helps me to slow down a little and not rush making my writing neater and my thoughts more composed.

Ajoto No. 3 Pocket Paper:

The Ajoto No. 3 Pocket Paper notebook is another Italian paper but this one is specifically recommended for creative endeavors as the paper is felt textured and weighs in at a hefty 190gsm. With such thick paper, there are only 62 pages though.

I would compare this paper, which they recommend for pen, pencil and brush, to a multimedia art paper. Its not quite as heavy or treated as a watercolor paper but its definitely suitable for light washes or ink or paint and other art making tools.

In close-up, it is clear to see that there is a distinct texture on this paper. For very fine gel pens, there could be potential to pick up paper fibers or catch the tip in the paper but I have no issues when testing my variety of gel pens and fine fountain pens.

My guess though is that not everyone will like how textured the paper is. Of the three notebooks, the No. 3 is the roughest. Proceed accordingly.

Literally, on the flip side though, because this paper is thick and dense, there was no show through or bleed through with any of the pens I tested.

In conclusion:

Of the three Ajoto Pocket Paper notebooks, I’m most likely to recommend the No. 1. It is the most all-around, in my opinion. For those who like smooth paper, the No. 2 is a good option. The No. 3 notebook is one I would only recommend to someone looking to make art, paint, or do other intensive activities with their notebook. If you’re just taking notes or bullet journaling, the No. 3 might be too much paper, not enough pages!

Overall, I have no real complaints with the notebooks other than the slightly odd size.

Have you tried the Ajoto Pocket Paper notebooks yet? What’s your impression of them?

Pens used in the testing of these notebooks, in case you want to see the whole mess!

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