the zeitgeist of zoe

Recently I was fortunate enough to receive a lovely custom Van der Spek planner in “Senior” size. Senior is very similar in size to A6, and since I have recently made a MAJOR zeitgeist shift to A6 size and purchased a Mulberry Agenda organizer (also A6…blog post on that forthcoming) I wanted something that could share the inserts I was using in it (since I spent several nights copying over the first half of the year onto them!).

In case you have not heard of them, Van der Spek is a small family business located in the Netherlands that creates their own high quality leather goods by hand.

By hand people!

Take a moment and check out this video on YouTube that highlights the care and craftsmanship that goes into everything this family makes.

For those of you in the ever-growing Mulberry Agenda fan club, but who are perhaps craving a bit of color or customization, here is the Van der Spek custom Senior as compared to a Mulberry in Agenda. Very close…you can see that the Mulberry is just a wee bit wider, as it is a true A6 size.

Van der Speck Senior Left, Mulberry Oak Agenda right

It is worth noting that, going forward, it will be possible to request a Senior that has the same dimensions as a Mulberry Agenda. This was sort of an experiment and Petra and I have exchanged emails and photos to get the size closer next time around. Just another example of how customer-centric and involved Van der Spek is as a company.

Anyway, as I was going for a classic, timeless look, I chose Italian nappa leather #6208 (Cuoio) inside and out, with contrast stitching done in #08. To further the customization, I also requested that the binder be widened to get it closer to A6 in size, and that the pen loop be larger so that it would fit my favorite multi pen or fountain pen with ease.

Both of those customizations did carry an extra cost, however it was nominal when compared to the value of having a planner EXACTLY the way you want it.

(Hint: this tricked out custom planner cost less than half of what a MB Agenda would run you. And that includes International shipping. Just sayin’.)

As is always the case with Van der Spek products, when it arrived, I was not disappointed. In fact, I may have actually gasped.

That leather smell is fantastic! To. Die. For. They should bottle it!

The Italian nappa leather is unbelievably soft and supple. It has a slightly “cushy” feel to it and since I elected to forego stiffener, the binder is luxuriously flexible, while still offering adequate support for writing in hand or on my lap.

The “Cuoio” color has a lush British Tan look to it that I just love.

Here is a close up of the contrast stitching.

The interior has a wonderful complement of pockets. Inside the front cover are five vertical credit card slots, with a larger and quite roomy vertical pocket at the bottom. Behind this are two full-length horizontal slip pockets.

The back features another full length slip pocket, a nice deep vertical pocket and a partially elasticized pen loop. As I mentioned earlier, I had mine made slightly larger than normal to accommodate my penchant for fat pens.

Wonderfully soft and pliable, this binder lays completely flat the moment you take it out of the box. And also worth noting is that the closure strap does as well. This is a nice feature, as it is always neatly out of the way when writing on the right-hand pages.

Just to demonstrate just HOW soft and pliable this little custom beauty is, I took these photos! No stiffener indeed ; )

Um….WOW right?!

This planner is a joy to use in my day-to-day life. The ample pockets make this a wonderful planner/wallet combo and the durable nappa leather needs no babying…any scuffs or scratches can be rubbed right out with your thumb.

“Oh noes…I scratched my planner!”

“Fret not…scuffs and scratches are no match for this planner!”

I opted to use my own inserts in my new custom Van der Spek, although there is an option to purchase VDS inserts right along with your planner.

Next time I will do this, as I have never tried their inserts and I really should. You know, for the sake of research 😉

I am using Franklin Covey “Her Point of View” monthly and weekly pages in Pocket size. As you can see, FC Pocket size is a bit narrower than the typical A6 size inserts this binder was made to fit, but the holes do line up perfectly and I am a person who needs monthly tabs, so I am quite happy with how they are working out.

Lots of room between tabs and pen loop

This planner has become my every day companion

Really, I can’t say enough positive things about Van der Spek as a company, their stellar customer service, and the quality of the product they produce.

By hand.

Exactly how you want it.

Did I mention this planner was custom made for me and that I chose the type of leather, the leather color, stitching, whether I wanted gold hardware or silver (both will get you tight, snappy Krause rings by the way) and how large I needed my pen loop to be?

Everything about this planner makes me happy…because I selected everything about this planner. What a wonderful and unique experience it is to be able to start from scratch and design a productivity tool that is catered specifically to your needs.

And hey, I’m not going to lie…it is SO FUN to mix and match leather types, patterns and colors using the Van der Spek customization tool!

If you are a lover of planners and a fan of fine, hand crafted leather goods (not to mention customer care that is out of this world), then I urge you to go spend some time on the Van der Spek website. You’ll be glad you did.

Thank you to Petra Van der Spek and her family for creating the planner I have always dreamed of…and for being there to create whichever planner I can dream of next 😉