The Sketchbook Project was created by Steven Peterman and Shane Zucker in 2006 to collect and archive travelogues, photo logs, memoirs, and, of course, sketchbooks — more than 12,500 from 130 countries, according to a piece in Sunday’s New York Times. Participants pay $25 for a 32-page sketchbook, which they then fill and send back to add to the collection. For an extra $30, you can also add your book to the Project’s online digital library.

The physical collection was first housed in Atlanta, and has been in Brooklyn since 2009, though I somehow managed not to hear about it when it was in my neighborhood, Red Hook (it’s since moved to Williamsburg’s Brooklyn Art Library). The coolest part, in my view, is that each sketchbook is available for checkout, where it can inspire new work.

For those of you who don’t live in the area, there’s also a touring component.

Have you participated in the Sketchbook Project?

I thought it might be fun to work with a group of people from Quo Vadis Blog and see if we could develop our own ghost story – either a page or two of writing each, a sketch, a collage–whatever writing or artwork we want to create to tell our part of the story.  We would pass the notebook along and create as we go.  The last person would write the ending.

Please send me an email (karen@exaclair.com) if you might be interested in participating.  The goal is to have fun, work on a collaborative project together, and publish our Ghost Story on Quo Vadis Blog when it is done.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

This is really more of a linkshare than a review roundup, but that’s just the way it’s got to be on this in-New-York lovely spring day.

• Have you seen Brian Goulet’s new Fountain Pen 101 series? The idea, according to Brian, is that “there is a desperate need for education for those who are interested in fountain pens but who need to learn the basics.” In the video I’ve embedded above, Brian discusses how ballpoint pens, rollerballs, and fountain pens work. Worth watching, even for those who aren’t absolute beginners!
• Guest blogger Kate Marshall posted a nice satiric writing exercise to her own blog recently, worth checking out on its own and because of the Rhodia cameo. O muse! O moon! O rich, dark, quick-drying ink!

Happy Friday…

From my perspective in the US, I wouldn’t have guessed that Europeans think they live in a disposable culture… it seems so much worse here! With the exception of certain large cities (I’ve patronized repair specialists for umbrellas, microwaves, and vacuum cleaners in New York), it’s practically impossible to find people who can fix stuff and not just replace it.

There was an interesting piece in yesterday’s New York Times, though, about a Dutch foundation called Repair Cafe, which facilitates events at which volunteers come together to fix lamps, clothes, appliances, and whatever else comes their way.

Inspired by a design exhibit about the creative, cultural and economic benefits of repairing and recycling, [founder Martine Postma] decided that helping people fix things was a practical way to prevent unnecessary waste.

Very cool, no? Here’s a link to the foundation’s website for those of you who live in the Netherlands or are simply curious to see inspiring pictures of things being fixed.

Speaking of retailers… one of the questions that comes up again and again is where to buy our products and what to do if you’re not lucky enough to live near one of the independent local stores that stock them.

On our website, we try to make the connection as seamless as possible not just by listing online retailers but by noting the places that carry specific products and even specific planner/cover combinations. But there is still a jump between our site and theirs, and we aren’t able to list prices because prices are set by each outlet. There are multiple reference numbers because each combination has a different number even if it’s the same planner insert, or a refill only.

And then there’s the problem of shipping, which Karen has already tackled at length.

All this to say, I guess, that we hear your frustration, and we know it isn’t easy. If you’re having trouble tracking something down, you can always contact us for help. Over time, many fans of our products find particular outlets whose service and selection they appreciate, so if you’d like to solicit advice from your fellow consumers, you can always check the Fountain Pen Network.

A lot of you like to give your old planner covers new life by reusing them on notebooks, and there are a number of different combinations that work.

So what if you want to buy a new cover on its own, either to replace one that’s damaged mid-year or to use alone on a notebook? Generally, this is a question we’re hard put to answer, because we rely on retailers to distribute our products, and those retailers tend to sell covers and planners together since that’s what most people want.

However, we’ve been able to confirm that New Jersey based Classic Office Products is willing to fill special covers-only orders. If that’s something that interests you, I’d suggest you email their service department at customerservice [AT] classicofficeproducts [DOT] com or call 888-285-6330.

Happy (re)covering!

We got a question recently from a fan of the pocket-sized staplebound Clairefontaine notebooks:

Is there any way you can produce that in a blank format? As a pocket notebook, I use it for sketching quick ideas as well and a blank format would be killer.

What do you think?

Wow! Many thanks to the nearly 160 of you who entered our A4 Habana contest. I’ve run the numbers at Random.org, and here are our four lucky winners:

• Chaunacey D.
• Jennifer B.
• Dawn L.
• Delesa W.

If your name is on this list, you should already have received an email from me, so check your inbox and get in touch if it’s not there. Otherwise, and as usual, check back soon for more giveaways…

I heard a business coach speak recently on the subject of productivity, and was struck by something she said about to-do lists: make sure to keep each task manageable. So rather than noting that you have to write your company’s marketing plan, break the job down into multiple steps you can tackle, cross off, and feel good about.

It’s an interesting point, and one I don’t always adhere to. My main work related to-do list is pretty big picture, in fact — as a freelancer, I like to have a good high-level sense of how much, exactly, I’m juggling — though I do sometimes write out a secondary list so that smaller tasks don’t fall through the cracks.

Which doesn’t mean there’s no room for improvement, of course. Rather than reminding myself to prepare some advance posts for this blog, for instance, I suspect I’d be better off committing to a specific number — say, enough for next week. And rather than noting that I need to research an article I’m preparing, it might make sense to define a couple of micro-topics I’d like to explore.

How do you manage your to-do lists?

Courtesy of Brian Goulet, we’ve got our first official review of the new A4 Habana! “What more can I say? It’s a Habana and it’s big.” To get his thoughts, watch the video above or check out the overview/summary on his blog.

(If you like what you see, don’t forget to enter our A4 Habana giveaway!)

Also worth sharing is this review of the new refillable J. Herbin rollerball at the Writer’s Bloc Blog. “With its transparent body and simple design, the J. Herbin refillable rollerball … is a welcome addition to Exaclair’s new products for 2012.”

Don’t forget to contact us if you review an Exaclair product so we can feature it here!