Artistic Rhinolin Desk Pad

Disclaimer:  This desk pad was generously sent to me by Shoplet for review.  The opinions and review does not reflect any influences and biases from Shoplet in regards to office supplies and are my own opinions.  In addition Shoplet does have promotional products such as pens, hilighters and other stationery items as well as clothing such as jackets and promotional shirts for your pursual. 



I received this desk pad from +Shoplet.com about a week ago and have been using it on my desk since.  Its a nice padded surface where I can put my keyboard down.  In addition it gives me a padded surface to write so that it doesnt feel funny.  I am one of those silly people that love having a stack of paper to write on because it makes the ink darker?  And this does just that -- allows me a padded surface to write on with my office stationary.  In addition because its padded, if i had an expensive desk, rather than my ikea furniture in my office and I wanted to protect the desk from dings and scratches, this would totally do the trick.

It can also double as my mouse pad in cases, since its a matte surface and black it allows my laser mouse to glide seamlessly and smoothly on the surface.  

Since I have it at home on my desk, I'm not as worried about icky germs, but if I were the germaphobic type or if I were sick and the boy wanted to use my really messy desk to use my computer, this has microban that basically helps with microbes.  (aka its antimicrobial).

All in all this is a solid product and I would purchase it.  However, being in the allergy field for so long and hearing so much about the hygiene hypothesis and whether it is so good to be so germaphobic makes me wonder if this is another item that helps eliminate the germs so that our bodies are more hypersensitive to the germs that are around us.  I also wish since this is synthetic material that somehow they incorporated some sort of recycled materials into the making of this product to help the environment somewhat.

Where to Purchase?

• Big Box Stores [Staples, Office Max] (Google brought up some)
• Shoplet
• Artistic Rhinolin Search $19.70 - $47.70 depending on size
• 24x17 Artistic Rhinolin $31.88

Other Reviews

• I havent found any..

Shoplet Flexi-View Presentation Binder & Avery Table of Contents 8 tab dividers

Firstly, these organization cubes were sent to me by shoplet, and the info that you see here are all of my own opinion. They did not pay me (other than to send me these pens) to say what I am about to say..

I received another shoplet parcel in the mail.  This time it was a binder and some Avery Ready index tabs in addition to some labels.  I typically use these types of binders for school work and for stuff for work so very useful here.  In addition, we typically use index tabs regularly at work for my study charts -- so i'm well versed in these tabs.   I love the binder, since I've started school again and have classes that for some reason feel that a 3 ringed binder book works well for students -- not quite sure how since i've had issues with needing reinforcements previously when its a highly used book and IMHO anatomy is a subject where we flip through the book a lot.  But that is a different subject.  What is nice about the binder is that it has a folder in the front for me to put a cover page in so that I can see what I have in the binder.   As you can see below, you can open up the front cover and slip in a cover page in.

What else did I like?  I liked the fact that on the right side of the binder there is a pocket.  In addition to the pocket, while I wont need this for class, but it would be nice for work presentations, is a pocket for business cards.  

What I did not like about the binder is that its a circle ring rather than a D ring mechanism.  I am only biased because the D ring mechanisms hold a lot more paper in comparison, otherwise it wouldn't be that big of a deal for me.  The mechanism opens and closes with a click.  Yes it is not one of those easy open ones where it opens with a small push, but even then it is not a bad mechanism.  Its similar to the run of the mill binders in terms of the mechanisms.

The binder looks to be sturdy -- definitely sturdy enough for a work presentation and school use.

Now onto the table of content page dividers.  As I said, I use these currently at work and found them very easy to use. There are instructions when you open the package up that tell you how to set up your printer so that you can easily print out the different dividers.  The front page (table of contents page) is reinforced so that with repeated page turns you would not be fraying the holes -- this is key in an often used and repeated use table of contents.  I've had no problems with these with any of the binders I've used at work.  In addition, I love how colorful the tabs are and they are very easy to read as well. 

Where to Purchase?

• Big Box Stores (Google brought up some)
• Shoplet 
• Flexi-View Presentation Binder $4.60/ech
• 8 Tab table of Content Dividers $2.72/set

Other Reviews

• Could not find any at this time

@Shoplet & Deflect-o Desk Cube Organizers

Firstly, these organization cubes were sent to me by shoplet, and the info that you see here are all of my own opinion.  They did not pay me (other than to send me these pens) to say what I am about to say.. 

Organization may not be my forte, but when given the opportunity to have a pen storage cube and to corral all my random loose clips and washi tape I was certainly game.  Anything to make my messy desk a bit less messy.  When I got the package I quickly opened the container.  Inside were 4 organization cubes: a desk cube, a two drawer cube organizer, desk Cube with X-Divider, and a 4 drawer desk cube.  Below you can see my monitor on top of a shelf and below the shelf sits all 4 cubes.  

Here are some close ups of the cubes (2 per picture)  The left picture shows the 4 drawer desk cube, and the X-divider cube.  While the right picture shows the 2 drawer and the plain cube.  

The boxes sit comfortably underneath my Ikea Shelf where I rest my monitor.  They basically fit quite well and there is a small gap but they basically take up the entire space underneath.  I was using this area to store pens and ink samples anyway so moving my inks to the side a bit works for me.  These allow me to see what I have without having to dig through an unorganized box or container -- the pens were all sitting in a take out container (yes I am ashamed to admit this).   

The 4 drawer one is suppose to hold odds and ends like paperclips, bulldog clips, rubber bands etc.  As you can see mine seems a bit sparse -- mostly because I dont quite know where all my clips went.  The "X" divider box is suppose to help you organize pens and hilighters.  As you can see in the above picture, they hold quite a bit of the Sakura Gelly pens -- sadly not all of my pens are in there yet (I've got a bunch at work).  Mine is also holding index cards that I use for studying.  The 2 drawer organization box however, is quite full.  Currently I'm using it to store 3 tins of book darts, 1 box of moo cards for the dragon boat club and some odds and ends in the top drawer.  My budding washi collection is in the bottom drawer and i forget what i put in the back.  The plain box i've just put in my "sets" of pens, there's also an ipod and a random pen bag in there.  While they take up a LOT of space underneath my computer monitor -- i believe it helps with me being able to store everything so that I can now find things and everything is not a jumbled mess.  

There was 1 slight mishap though, I left them on the steps to take upstairs and one of the boxes did tumble down the wooden stairs and so in 1 corner of 1 of the boxes the edge did get crumpled a bit -- not unheard of for plastic boxes like these so i'm not upset that it is slightly damaged more for the fact that i accidentally kicked it off the step (I should have just picked it up and walked it upstairs...).  These are not fragile by any means -- but apparently a tumble down 1 flight of stairs on a wooden surface around the edges will damage the edge slightly -- but no cracks in the organizer.

What could make these better?  Well obviously these are all made of plastic, making these boxes out of post consumer recycled plastic would make the world a better place, right?  So incorporating some recycled materials into these would have been nice.  

Where to Purchase?

• Big Box Stores (Google brought up some)
• Shoplet
• Desk Cube (4 drawer): $13.20
• X-Divider: $11.10
• Two Drawer: $14.85
• Desk Cube:   $7.64

Other Reviews

• Still Stephanie
  
• Aziziah (Gourmet Pens)
• Mommy's Favorite Things
  

Ash City Rain Coat Review

First, this raincoat was sent to me courtesy of Shoplet for a review.  However, the opinions are my own -- what I state does not reflect any influences from Shoplet.

The Ash City Jacket is sold in a multitude of colors (red, blue, black, white, navy) -- I ended up asking for a red or black one because I was planning on wearing the jacket on a dragon boat and my team colors are black and red.  So it was easy for me to just use the jacket for paddling or for this past weekend at the DC dragon boat festival--  as a drummer.  In case people dont know, I paddling on a dragon boat team.  The sport is an ancient chinese tradition that involves 20 paddlers a steerer and a drummer.  This past weekend (May 18/19) there was a dragon boat festival in DC.  Typically during the race, i am a paddler and thus no wind/rain protection is needed since I'll be getting wet anyway paddling, but as a steerer and/or drummer its nice to have some wind/water protection because you are not dipping any part of yourself into the water (well unless your boat capsizes anyway).  Since I do not have any rain coats that are not blue, this was the perfect addition to my gear for a predicted rainy and gloomy day down by the Georgetown waterfront.  

The raincoat is 100% waterproof (which is good since its a rain coat.. :p) , i noticed it has vents in the back and under the armpits which is always nice to prevent me from getting really warm inside a non-breathable type jacket (rain coats are pretty much non-breathable because they are waterproof).  As you can see below interior is lined with mesh, again to prevent you from overheating.  

What is also nice about the jacket is that it has a velcro'ed storm flap (this allows the water to not sit on the zipper area and seep into your inner layer), so that even on heavier downpours -- or constant splashing your inner clothing does not get wet at all.

What my favorite part of this jacket happens to be is the reflector strips.  It has 2 chest reflector strips and again 2 on your backside towards the bottom.  It allows for people to see you even in dimmer (rainy) days.  Its a nice touch and thought to the rain coat.  Not even my LL Bean rain coat, Marmot rain coat has this feature.  Its the small things that count i suppose?  Below is a picture of me holding down the back of the jacket and the reflector strip being shown on the shoulder area.



The cuffs are elasticized, while I like the elasticized cuffs for coats because there is no adjustment needed, i feel that the water tends to bead at places like this, and wish this was slightly different -- i wish this were like the LL Bean coat, Marmot Coat and have the velcro'ed area for this -- velcro tends to not bunch up and thus, less beading would happen at the wrist area.  

Similar to other rain coats that I own, there is a adjustable shock cord at the hood area and the bottom hem area-- so as to keep you dry.   This also allows for you to keep the jacket close to you, and/or able to keep your heat in because there is no draft -- I can attest that this part works really well since it was rather cold and damp on Saturday and this jacket was on me for the entire day because I was freezing (silly me wore a tank top).



This is a rain coat, so one would hope for a hood and this jacket does not disappoint.  While it is not a detachable hood, the hood does roll up behind the collar for easy storage.  The hood is pretty easy to roll out, and once it is rolled out its quite easy stow away under the velcro pocket behind the collar bone.  This hood as i stated previously has a shock cord that allows for the hood to be adjusted to fit your head's width/height.

Where are the pictures of me in the jacket?  Sadly, I was captaining the boat and was running around trying to figure out where the boats were and when we were loading and all that fun stuff so I didn't get a chance to get a picture of myself in the jacket.  There may be a picture somewhere but definitely not on my camera.. and all the videos i have are from the race itself and since i was drumming the video camera was attached to me.  I know there are pictures of me somewhere with the jacket on and sitting on a boat -- i know this because some random guy came up to me as i was sitting in the drummers chair and stuck a camera in my face... but no amount of googling has produced such a picture as of yet.

My feelings about the jacket.  Overall I liked the jacket -- this comes in my dragon boat team colors so it was fairly easy to use this on the boat.  It comes in a bright red color, as  well as some not so bright colors but the reflector strips allows for someone to see you in dim or low light conditions (ie if you are running or biking in the rain or in my case paddling in the water).  It kept me pretty dry for the most part -- I kept taking it off so then i would get wet and then the inside of the coat would get wet because i would put it back on to get on the boat.  

While drumming, the boat was going against the wind and waves from the Potomac River so i was getting all that wind to my back and I never felt cold sitting on the drummers chair because the shock cords allowed for me to cinch the bottom of the jacket.  

Where to Purchase?

• Shoplet its a promo item so min order is 12 jackets

Pentel Energel Review

Firstly, these pens were given to me by shoplet, and the info that you see here are all of my own opinion.  They did not pay me (other than to send me these pens) to say what I am about to say.. 

I am a big proponent of gel pens.  I may even have enough pens to last me a life time, but for some reason every time i go to Staples, Office Depot I am drawn, like a moth to a bright light to more pens, specifically gel pens.  

When Shoplet asked me if I would write a review for the Pentel Energels, I jumped at the chance.   What came?  Well a pack of the 0.7mm assorted color multipacks of 8 pens, 1 black 1.0mm pen, one 0.5mm blue pen, and a 0.7mm black pen.  I had already bought a set of the multi-color pens, so I'm giving away the 8 pack.  I'll ship these pens anywhere the USPS will deliver -- you are responsible for any import tax that may incur if you win.

I've used Pentel Energel pretty often, I like how the Pentel blue is bright vibrant blue -- you know how you are drawn specifically to one shade of blue, whether its dark (blue-black) or a bright vibrant blue?  Well the Pentel blue is one of my favorite colors, so I've always had a couple of these pens lying around.  When the Energel pens first came out they only had the metal ones.  In fact, I own a half dozen if not more of the original metal/plastic barrel pens.  

Now as you probably have figured out by now, I am very fond of find tipped pens, in fact, im contemplating buying a new vanishing point nib in EF.  Yep, Brad Dowdy is my hero for actually owning one and using his EF nib.  So I typically go for the finest tipped pens you can get, however, living in the states does have its downfalls in that one can basically find at the finest a 0.5mm tip -- which is often not fine enough for me.  

Using the pen on cardstock proved effortless at all different nib sizes -- no bleeding, feathering, nice crisp lines, etc.  The problem comes when you use the 1.0mm nib on 20 lb paper, it bleeds like no tomorrow -- This by no means is a problem for this pen only, remember the stablio viscos?  they do that too.  Obviously the larger the point, the fatter the line,  while I'm a big proponent of a thin crisp line, sometimes (like when im bubbling something in, or crossing out boxes for forms, I find that the larger the ball the faster i can go through without much effort, so i tend to use those pens when I'm at work completing forms, etc. but otherwise I love my thin lines.

As you can see above, I tested out the 8 pack colors as well as wrote a small little blurb.  In addition, i attempted to smear the ink.  The amount of ink that comes out of the nib is concordant with the amount of time that is needed for the ink to dry enough so that it doesnt smear -- so if you are a lefty, make sure that you have adequate drying time else your arms are going to be rather colorful after you finish taking notes :)

I also now have an extra multicolored 8 pack that I will be giving away in the next week or so.. when I do the pencil review.  so check back in a couple of days.

Where to Purchase?

• Your neighboorhood office supply store:
• $6.99 for the multipack
• $4.99 for individual 3 packs
• Shoplet:
• black 0.7/dzn: $13.95
• blue 0.5/dzn:  $13.80
• black 1.0/dzn: $19.5

Other Reviews

• The Pen Addict (he does the 0.5mm in blue)
• A penchant for Paper (black 0.7mm)
• Aziziah's Gourmet Pens (multipack 0.7mm)
• Mightier than the Sword

House of Dolittle Planner Review

I received 2 planners from Shoplet for review.  
The following were received: Wirebound Weekly Monthly Planner and Monthly Desk Planner

Upon inspecting the package I received--- at first I thought I would get a smaller package.. since I didnt realize i was getting a desk planner.  I dont typically use a desk planner at work nor at home, so we'll see how this goes.  Its currently sitting on top of my really messy desk (i have to file a LOT of stuff).

I quickly tore opened the weekly planner packet.  Since I anticipate this is the planner I will mostly use, we'll go over it first. The planner is a full letter page (8.5 x 11).  Sadly, its not an academic planner so my anticipation of using it now for classes was a bit misguided, but no fear I'll just use it in January once we get there.  I can use it now for ahead planning purposes etc.   The cover is pretty thick paper?  Per the website, its a embossed simulated leather -- water repellent at least so it'll be good for when i spill coffee everywhere on my desk.  



It has both monthly calendars and a weekly vertical with appointments ranging from 8am to 8pm on the hour -- there are 2 line spaces per hour.   Helpful but not quite what I like in a planner i like my hours broken up if i get an hourly breakdown by the quarter hour -- it just makes it easier for me for work.  It also has a memo section beneath each day of the week.  What i do love about this is that Saturday and Sunday get full spaces, not like most planners that give you a puny space for the weekends -- if you saw my circa planner review, I have very full weekends and this makes it usable for work as well as outside of work.  Holidays are written in at the top of the particular day  next to the date.
  
The monthly calendars are tabbed which i like since I love tabs and it makes it easier for me to find a particular month/date.  Each month is displayed as a full spread (2 pages) with plenty of space for you to write appointments, etc.  Holidays are written out at the bottom of the day.  In addition, there is a notes section to the far right as well as 6 months calendar at top -- 1 month prior, current month and then 4 months in the future. 




In addition to the calendar section, there is plenty of extras.  There is a page after the last week in December with a couple of years in the future (2013, 2014, 2015) with dates of importance (Holidays -- mostly US/CAN) next to it.  The next page shows a time zone map and a frequent call list.  After that comes memos, and an emergency contact page.





Pros?

•  calendar that encompasses both monthly and weekly calendars
•  a lot of room to write notes/appointments
•  breakdown of hours by 30 mins, (2 lines per hr)
•  the entire calendar is printed on recycled paper with soy ink.  Very earth conscious.
• cover seems water resistant -- havent tested this property
• week is broken down vertically --- most planners are horizontal
• looks to be gel pen safe and maybe fountain pen safe -- with the couple of tests that i did, but didnt do a LOT of testing.

Cons?

• i am liable to tear the cover even though it looks to be tear resistant
• the pages stick on the bottom ( rings arent wide enough?)
• i like my day breakdowns to start earlier in the day (6 or 7am)
• I like my  planner if they are vertical week/page for it to have quarter hour breakdowns not half hour breakdowns.

All in all i like the planner, but since it starts in January I have to patiently hold onto it until then to test it out.

Where to Purchase?

• Shoplet - Weekly Planner $21.28

Other Reviews

• Life Imitates Doodles 

House of Dolittle - Monthly Desk calendar review

Shoplet sent me the desk planner for review.  As i stated earlier, the desk planner is not what i use on a regular basis but hey i always need something on my desk because I dont like to write on hard surfaces -- the pages on the calendar will do just fine.  

The desk calendar is rather large -- it can cover my desk being 18.5" x 13".  The calendar itself has a white background with blue-grey writing.  There is again, plenty of space to write appointments, notes, etc.  What i love most about the desk calendar is that it is pretty minimalistic -- enough space for me to write my appointments, with an added note section to the right.   The top of each of the pages is perforated so that you can remove each month as it passes readily. 

It also has a plan forward calendar at the bottom of the calendar.  It has all 12 months, and its written pretty tiny but if you were planning a vacation or trying to look back quickly you could definitely do so.

As I got a planner starting in January 2013, I've not had very many appointments that are scheduled that far ahead yet to start making notes, but I've started to pencil in a thing here and there.  

Where to Purchase?

• Shoplet - Monthly Desk Planner $7.08

Other Reviews

• Life Imitates Doodles 

** Disclaimer:  This product was sent to me by Shoplet for review.  The review is my opinion and does not reflect any influences from them.

Tom Bihn Swift Bag Review

I was drooling over this bag when i first found it on Ravlery.  So when i finally bit the bullet I decided for some reason that the larger one would suite.  I should have checked to see how the size related on a ruler, because the bag I ended up with was larger than I thought -- oops!  But on the positive side, I was then able to put much more projects into the bag than i originally thought i would be able to hold.   Ordering on Tom Binh's website  is easy.  He has several different options to choose from and you can either get one made of cordura nylon or ballistic nylon. 

The bag came pretty fast, as you can see I ended up with the turquoise swift bag.  It is made of 1000 d cordura nylon.  You cannot customize the bags since the color options are pre-determined (as well as the fabrics) that are available.   The swift bag comes with 1 medium sized yarn bag -- made of ripstop nylon.   The bags are clear on the bottom so that you can see the yarn that you have placed in them.  In addition, there is a small y-hook that allows for the yarn to be guided through the "loop".  On the exterior is a snap hook that allows for me to clip the stuff sack into the swift bag itself.  See below pictures for more details.  If you want more stuff sacks you can order more from the website.. I'm currently lusting for more stuff sacks but havent yet bit the bullet for a 2nd or 3rd one.  I want some in different colors, he has a large variety of sizes of stuff sacks as well as color options.  

Where to Purchase?

• Tom Bihn $90.00

Levenger Circa Planner Review

Back in July or was it June, I wanted yet another circa cover -- and for some reason Sara's tweets persuaded me to go and get the circa planner -- why not?  the year was half over, the planners were being sold for 5$ and I would then get the cover and circa discs that i wanted.  Win-win situation here!  So upon getting the planner, I sorta putt-putted with it --- kind of using it some days, then again not others.  And then I started seeing study participants again, having multiple places to be, multiple dragon boat practices to attend... and basically a scheduling nightmare happened.  

Out came the circa planner -- I dont recall if it came with a "Today" tab, but it doesnt matter since I replaced it with an ARC ruler that has sticky notes attached.   

My 18 month planner has a textured clear plastic cover sheet with a blue flyleaf.   As the planner gets used, the blue flyleaf color fades.  I've gotten a few scratches on the cover, but as the cover is semi-clear it doesnt hinder it much.  The agenda came with 3/4" circa discs that i've continued to use.  





The nice thing about the circa system is that you can move things around to your delight and in addition, you can always add things to your binder  (ie, I've added a pocket, printed some things from philofaxy (calendar at a year, etc)  and added my weekly meal planners)

There are a couple of sections to the planner, first there's the personal info section.  Now i've cut this off since mine is filled out and I dont want you to know all my details so its just the spot with my name. 



The next section shows a year at a glance for 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014.  So since i got this in 2012, its 1 years past, the current year, and 2 years forward.  Its nice if you want to plan future vacations, etc.  



There are several varieties of how the planner is laid out, but the one i have is week at a glance, so basically its the week broken up over 2 pages.   I dont know if you can see but the space for Saturday and Sunday (the weekend) is the same as all the other days of the week.  The space for the weekend is just as large as the rest of the week which is nice for me because my weekends are just as packed as my weekdays.  

At the bottom of the right hand page is a month back, current month and a month forward -- nice planning feature. Each day there are a couple of lines so that you can write your day's tasks and there's a grey section to the right of the date for you to check off when you've completed the day's task.  I dont use my planner this way since I use it to track my to do's in detail and use a outline method for each part of a task -- so this part isnt so useful for me.  There is also a day counter and a week counter which counts the number of days that have passed and the number of weeks that have gone past (I dont use these features either but i guess it is nice to have)  The ARC system by Staples is an affordable alternative to the more expensive Levenger items, however, some of the expense is made up when stylistically the calendar format works for you.  I do however get my accessories from Staples sometimes.  Like this page divider that i have in here that has all the post it flags -- the Arc system version is way cheaper than the levenger version.

    

The next section of the planner has a section that allows for you to note birthdays and anniversaries (important dates).  I've not used this section, as i typically put those dates into the actual planner section (weekly section) of my planner.  Then the next section is a yearly planner -- this is for projects and vacations etc.  Again i dont use this section but i suppose to some people this would be useful.  After the yearly planner is a section for international dialing codes -- useful, but not used much in my case.  




The paper is 100 gsm (per Levenger's website) and is fountain paper friendly.  I did a couple of tests and there was no bleed through, no feathering, though there was some show through with my pelikan.  Ink dries pretty quickly on the paper and writing on the planner is smooth and the ink just glides.  



Now, what have _I_ done with the planner?  I went ahead and added a pocket (bought this from Levenger -- but i believe the ARC system has them as well but not as colorful).  In addition, see the square piece of metal?  This is actually the backing from a product that I got from threebythree in Seattle.  They sell these "mighty magnets" 12 come per container of magnets, and they are packaged in a small square plastic box.  The 12 magnets are placed into the plastic box and have a small steel plate behind it.  I've actually attached some magnets to the inside of the planner.  This allows me to have a place to store some papers without the pocket.  Originally there was no pocket, so this is a bit superfluous now but was useful a couple of weeks ago when i  didnt have a folder pocket to put things in.

What's nice with the Levenger system?

• I can order my planner to start from any month
• There is a variety of planner styles i can choose from -- behance system, day at a glance, etc.

What features do i wish were in the levenger system?

• What I do miss is the month at a glance where the month would be on 2 pages -- its helpful when im putting in due dates, and other things like that -- if you purchase the levenger system you would have to buy that insert separately.  
• a pocket or somehow to stash papers or things that i want to keep before i hole punch it that comes with the planner rather than having to purchase a separate set