Review: Ecosystem Journal

Yay! Another notebook review! 

I'm actually still using this notebook as a catch all but I have realized that it's been so long I think this company is out of business....ALTHOUGH you can find some on Amazon at the moment but some are sold out. I thought it was worth it to still do a mini review for those of you who like to be more eco-friendly with their supplies.

First off, I won this notebook as a giveaway from Diane at the PocketBlonde blog and had been wanting to try this type of notebook since I first heard of it.

Ecosystem claims their notebooks are:

• Made from 100% post-consumer recycled paper
• 100% made in the USA
• 100% Acid Free
• 100% Chlorine Free
• 100% Soy Inks
• 100% Water-based dyes and adhesives

Seems good! I can't really say that I can tell there are differences in the paper quality but it did hold up to my fountain pen inks fairly well as long as it wasn't a super wet ink. I loved the spacing of the lines, perfect for the size I write but those with larger handwriting may find it cramped.

There were 3 types of printed pages: Lined, Grid (I think, their website is no longer up to compare), and Blank.

The notebook was shrink wrapped but I got excited and opened it before snapping a photo. This is the way the notebook is packaged with the small wrap around band over the notebook.

There is a rough cotton bookmark included but I think it's a bit thick and rough for those who may be sensitive to texture. Overall it was ok with me but I did not like running it through my fingers when moving it through the pages. Definitely prefer a smoother option like satin but cotton would be more eco-friendly.

The elastic outside is similar to the bookmark. Rough texture but thicker than the bookmark. Now I didn't really end up using this feature much. I do have a problem that within a few days of using the closure elastic it just popped out the back of the notebook! I tried to feed it back in the hole and used some Elmer's glue and it did work for awhile but then it came right back out! I had to use duct tape to keep it from popping out again but then I decided to not use the elastic as I ended up putting it in my traveler's notebook instead. I haven't had any issues with pages falling out with the adhesives which is good.

I suspect that it may have had to do with the water based adhesive and maybe it was the humidity that made it not stick but I am not certain. Just something to be aware of with this notebook.

There is a back pocket which I haven't really used other than to store the notebook band information and maybe a note or two.

There is this feature I like but it's no longer available. You can register your notebook online and find out the origins of the notebook, I think it's neat to know where it came from. Plus, if it gets lost, a person can look up the owner of the notebook with that bar code at the bottom. I never actually used this feature either but I liked the idea behind it.

Overall, I like the notebook and how the paper handles my fountain pen ink. The build was questionable with their water based adhesives but otherwise I was pleased using this notebook. I am a bit sad to see the company has gone out of business. Although the prices of the notebooks were a tad pricey for me, a medium sized notebook (approx 5x8 inches) cost $14.95, I was able to buy a few more notebooks before the company completely disappeared. There are still a few up if you're interested.

If you're looking to be more eco-friendly, this notebook is something you might want to look for while they have supplies. I haven't really seen any other notebooks like this in the market so it'd be good to pick up if this is the type of thing you're interested in!

Review: Shoplet Featuring Schneider Pens

I've never heard of Schneider Pens but apparently they are a pen company in Germany! Stride, Inc. is the manufacturer of 15% of their writing products but I got these pens courtesy of Shoplet. I had the option to try these pens and I thought I'd give it a try!

The products:

• Schneider Xpress .8mm Porous Point Pen
• Slider Edge 1.0mm Ballpoint Pen
• Slider XB ViscoGlide Ballpoint Pen
• Slider Ballpoint Pen
• Slider Memo XB ViscoGlide Ballpoint Pen
• Slider Memo XB

Review: Shoplet Featuring Fellowes Laminator

I hit the jackpot with this review. I've always wanted to try using a small laminator and I got the chance to do that with Shoplet today!

The product:

• Fellowes Saturn 3i 125 Laminator

We'll start with the appearance. The cover material is made of some sort of plastic and I think it's fairly durable as long as you don't drop it. I really like the slim line appearance. It makes it easier to store while you're not using it. It's boxy but sleek and you can't go wrong with a neutral silver and black color scheme. It's also not too heavy, I'd guess about 5 pounds.

Review: Shoplet Featuring BIC Pens

BIC Pen reviews! I had an invitation to review these items and when I saw them, I was sold. Read more to learn why!

The products:

• Atlantis Comfort Ballpoint Pen 
• Atlantis Exact Ballpoint Pen 
• Window Marker 
• BIC Cristal Stylus 2-in-1 Pen 

Review: Shoplet Featuring HP EcoFFICIENT Paper

Woot! It's an office supplies review! This time it's HP EcoFFICIENT Paper! I so love paper and this new product is pretty interesting. This post is sponsored by Shoplet.

Here is the front of the trial pack I got which has 50 pages. 

This is the back of the package.

What this paper boasts:

• 20% lighter weight than standard copy paper 
• Provides increased efficiency and resource utilization for printing, shipping, storage, and disposal 
• Engineered for clean, trouble-free printing, saving time and money with less waste. This product was made from wood that came from a certified managed forest.

I like what the product is trying to do in making everything more efficient. I think they are good considerations since people use paper everyday. It's not an alternative to wood but it's responsibly sourced so that's still something if you can't wean yourself off using paper made from wood.

The image below is the stack of 50 pages when I unwrapped the pack and I think it's pretty thin.

It is very nice paper and it's easy to use in any printer if you want something that's lightweight and sturdy. The paper is bright white and weighs 16 lbs (60 g/m) so it is noticeably lighter than my current paper but the show through is much more as well. You can compare the images below. It's not too distracting but I did notice it when I printed that you can see the words on the other side and some pages past that too.

The paper is still durable, it's not tissue paper thin so I'm not afraid that it'll rip during transit or anything like that. It's a little more floppy to hold than my current paper because it's lighter weight but it's not a huge issue for me. It does sometimes bother me when shuffling quickly through the pages. Otherwise, it feels like regular paper to me so if you use paper everyday and want to be more efficient then this will save you on space and shipping.

Below is the current printer paper I use which is Boise at 20 lbs (75 g/m). You can see less show through than the HP paper. Please ignore the scribbled notes. Working on revising/editing my novel as you already know. Proof that I'm indeed working! 

Oh, for the record, I printed all of this on a laser printer. I didn't do any comparisons with inkjet printing but I assume it would have the same results.

I don't have a photo but I did use a little bit of fountain pen ink (Noodler's Ink) in an EF Lamy Safari and it wrote just fine with no feathering or bleed through. There was a little shadowing on the back but nothing different from what you see in the photo. I didn't do too much experimentation with it but that's something to note for my fountain pen friends. It might not take a broad nib but you'll probably be safe with F or EF nibs.

The paper is ideal if you want to save space in your printer tray or just want something more lightweight or easily disposable. I actually like it a lot and will indeed consider buying more in the future.

Overall, a great new product from HP. My only issue is that it shows through a little more than I'd like which distracts me when I'm reading but I just have to look at one sheet at a time and then it wouldn't be problem. I like how HP is trying to be more efficient using less which is great. It'd be better if it was made from something else or a mixture of wood but perhaps that's coming up next.

Have you guys tried this type of paper before? What do you think of it?


**Disclaimer: These products were provided by Shoplet and in return for this review I was able to keep the product in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was paid. All Promotional Products, Medical Supplies, Office Supplies, and/or Office Stationary are courtesy of Shoplet.

Review: Shoplet Featuring At-a-Glance Collections Calendars

Hey all! It's been awhile since I've done office supplies review, so here I am with a new one for you! Anyways, I was fortunate enough to try out some products from Shoplet. With a new year around the corner it was about time I looked for a new one.

The products:

• Wall Calendar
• Weekly/Monthly Planner

Review: 1st Annual Big Comic Show

Hey everyone! Sorry for the lack of posts the last few weeks. Been recuperating the best I can especially with the holiday weekend and family coming over. Then I ended up focusing on writing for Campnanowrimo. 

Today I wanted to talk about the first Annual Big Comic Show (you can even see a rare photo of me on their page!) that happened in May hosted by a local library.

I arrived later than I would have liked. I live within 20-30 minutes but I still took a wrong turn and kept hitting all the lights so I made it much later than I would have liked. XD It didn't quite help that it rained that day too so it was deterring to most people from coming on a Saturday. When I did arrive there was a sign that told us which was our table or we could ask a librarian. We also got a couple little Hershey's nuggets with a welcome note which I thought was sweet (thank you!).

I was the last to set up in the room but there were some kind offerings of help that I had to turn down because I wasn't sure how I was setting everything up. The thing is, I haven't had a whole table to myself in awhile. I usually share with someone so it was strange having all this room. lol

Anyways, since it was the first year I didn't expect much sale-wise and while the people were kind and interested, I didn't make any sales. Not completely surprising since it is their first year and I can't complain too much since the tables were free but it would have been nice to recuperate some of the gas and time it took to get there. I think most people were interested in purchasing comics which as you all know I don't have any yet. Well I have some mini-comics completed but I am not satisfied with them and I didn't get any printed in time which was my fault. Still it was awesome to meet people and to talk to everyone.

The nice thing is that it was cool to meet all the other artists/comic creators in the local area. I haven't met some of them before so it was awesome to be able to network with a few of them. Overall, I had a good time and would like to attend next year if possible! :D

Now for all the photos!

Review: Shoplet Featuring Regency Guest Chair

I was granted the privilege of reviewing Shoplet's latest product, the Regency Guest Chair.

I received the product super quick and was pleased to receive it well packaged. I didn't have to worry at all about scratches or if anything would be torn so if you're having it delivered you have little worries here. All the frames and legs were carefully protected.

First thing I want to mention. Don't be deceived like I was, this chair is larger than it looks! I didn't really understand how big it was when I saw the dimensions of 22"W x 23"D x 34"H. I'm a below average size/height person so it's huge for me. I could sit cross legged in it comfortably. The arms do get in the way a little but I can sit at an angle and it's no problem then. So beware, if you're interested, make sure you know its dimensions!

Review: Shoplet Featuring Sanford Sharpie

Hey all! Here's another great review from Shoplet! Feel like I'm in Sharpie heaven with this post! One can never have enough Sharpie products in my opinion.

This round came with:

• Premium Pen
• Neon Permanent Markers
• Metallic Permanent Marker

Review: Mead Green Leatherette Journal

I purchased this Mead Green Leatherette Journal from my local 5 and Below store or either $3 or $5. I kind of forget. At the time I picked it up because it was my favorite color and was going to use it eventually. I think it has about 200 pages, it didn't come with any specs. I think I read that the cover was leather somewhere when I looked it up.

I started using it to record items I purchased but stopped because I couldn't keep up with the things I was buying. Namely art supplies and such. While I was using it I was impressed and I do actually like it. Now it is my next "catch all" journal just because I finished my current one.

Nice supple leather cover in my favorite color, Green. Has the matching elastic band and green ribbon bookmark. Not sure if it is authentic leather but it feels great to the touch.

Review: Shoplet Featuring House of Doolittle Calendars

Here's another review the awesome people of Shoplet Office Supplies allowed me to review. Yay! New calendars for the new year! Good timing!

This round came with:

• 2014 Desk Pad Calendar
• 2014 Weekly Business Planner

I've done a review of this type of desk pad before but not this specific type of calendar. Click to see my 2013 Doolittle Calendar review.

For the most part, I found the 2014 Desk Pad Calendar pretty much the same as the one in 2013. Why mess with a perfectly good product? I enjoyed using mine in 2013 and didn't have any problems with it.

Review: Shoplet Featuring Medline Products

I know I don't usually review personal hygiene products but I had to give this stuff a try since Winter is coming and I get notoriously dry skin during that time. Usually I get office products from Shoplet to review but this time around I got an option to try Medline items instead which is an interesting but pleasant change.

• Cleansing Foam 
• Nourishing Moisturizer
• Hydrating Moisturizer
• Flushable Wipes

Upcoming Reviews: Nattosoup Giveaway Items

This is a quick review of the great supplies I won from Nattosoup's great giveaway! I'm so sorry! I totally meant to do a review on the items a loooooonggg time ago but I wanted to test the items thoroughly and they each probably deserve their own review which I will do later except for the erasers. XD

It came in this cute translucent pencil case. It's a durable plastic case (I'm not sure what brand it is, looks like French on the back lol). Winning it was like the lottery to me! XD

Front

Review: Shoplet Featuring Ash City Ladies' Core365 Jacket

Hey all! I know I normally try to do art or office products review but I thought I'd give this jacket review a try since one can never have enough jackets when going to cons, right? ^_~ This promotional product jacket was provided courtesy of  Shoplet and Ash City to review.

This jacket is the Ladies' Core 365 and I chose the Classic Navy color in Medium. It has a waterproof shell which I love because where I live it could be bright and shiny in the morning then be pouring rain in the afternoon. It's seam-sealed so I don't have to worry about water soaking through. The jacket is extremely light weight so it barely feels like you're wearing it. Unfortunately, because it's so light weight the jacket fabric is pretty thin so it offers little protection from the elements there.

Review: Shoplet Featuring SteelMaster Tablet Stand

(image from Shoplet.com)

This week I got another great office supplies and promotional product from Shoplet! It's the SteelMaster Tablet Stand! I was a bit on the fence on whether I wanted to review this product or not because the primary use seemed to be for tablets and as I do not own a tablet I couldn't quite justify reviewing one. Then I realized I could offer some other ideas and uses for this product and convinced myself to review it!

Yay for talking myself into reviewing this!

This is the SteelMaster Tablet Stand as you can see it is made of a fairly durable materials. It looks like it could ding or dent if you drop it from a high place to a hard surface so I don't recommend doing that. If you accidentally drop it a few times, I don't think it'll render it useless. ^_~

Review: Spicebox Master Collection

Whoo, so I meant to write a review for this Spicebox Master Collection notebook a long time ago but I forgot. Since then I've long since finished this and another notebook before getting this blog post done. Whoops!

Ok, I bought notebook from my local Half Price Bookstore in which I had a coupon for either 40% or 50% off which made this notebook a steal. To be honest I wasn't completely in love with the cover of the notebook at first but I really wanted to try it because of the dip fountain pen design on the cover wrap. The cover actually did grow on me when I started using it. It has that beach-like feel with the cork-like background and the palm tree foreground. :)

Here it is in the plastic bag that it came with. It has a simple cover wrap explaining the details of the notebook on the back.

Review: Shoplet Featuring Officemate Products

Another round of great office supplies from Shoplet Promotional Products to try out! This time it features Officemate products! This review was a little tougher to do for me since I don't use these type of products everyday but I definitely could get used to using them everyday. :)

The items to review include:
Officemate Portable Dry Erase Clipboard Case OIC83382
Officemate Recycled Rotary Organizer OIC26255

First up is the Officemate Portable Dry Erase Clipboard Case. I was super excited to give this a try since I've been looking for a storage clipboard for personal uses. I wanted to be able to take my comic pages or art/sketches with me if I happened to go travel somewhere and needed something that could carry the bare necessities. This turned out to be great for me! It's like a mini briefcase in which has all the things I need for travel.

Review: Shoplet featuring BIC Products

I was graciously granted these products from Shoplet to review. When I got the pack I was super eager to try them out!

The items to review include:

• BIC Atlantis Ballpoint Retractable Pen
• BIC for Her Retractable Ballpoint Pen
• BIC Velocity Roller Ball Retractable Gel Pen
• BIC Mark-it Grip Permanent Marker Set
• BIC Wite-Out EZ Correct Correction Tape

Review: Rhodia Weekly Notebook Calendar

Ok this will be the last calendar review I'll do for awhile. I won this great calendar at http://blog.europeanpaper.com and have decided to keep it for lists and other notes since I already have a calendar I want to use for this year. I love Rhodia's paper so this calendar was not a let down in quality.

This is a nice cover, very much like the Moleskine. I prefer the inconspicuous black versus the bright orange, just my opinion but the orange is nice too. The cover is what I describe as a semi-hard cover. It bends slightly but it's stiff enough to not need a hard surface to write upon if needed.

Review: Quo Vadis Scholar Basic Calendar

I won a free Basic Scholar Planner from Quovadisblog.com! I was really lucky to win a couple of planners but this one I gave to my Mom. :) In the first picture I was comparing it to my Quo Vadis Space 24 Planner and actually it could fit the cover as a refill if I wanted which is extremely nice but could stand on it's own with a fairly thick cover.

As you can see it is fairly eco-friendly with 88% of it made from recycled materials and made in the USA.