the zeitgeist of zoe

Moterm is not a new brand, but it is relatively new to my planner radar. Founded in 2016, Moterm is a self-produced brand company offering leather planners and accessories. The founders of the company ran a leather goods factory for over a decade before starting the Moterm brand, and so are no strangers to leather and leather good production. Their Mission Statement is to “relentlessly build amazing products with honest prices and superior quality to let everyone enjoy a better life”.

How can you not get behind a brand like that?

Moterm have offered an array of ring planners, notebook covers and pen cases in either their “Lichi” pebbled leather or a “Croco” print leather and, as their Mission Statement says, they do so at very reasonable prices. There is a lot of bang for your buck with this brand, and who doesn’t love a great value? You can check out their website at Moterm.com and at their shop on Ali Express.

Very recently, Moterm have started to release some of their planner sizes in a new, higher end, full grain Vegetable Tanned Leather and it looked so nice in their adverts that I had to place an order to check this new leather out in person. To date they have released their Weeks Cover, Pocket Luxe 2.0 and this Personal Luxe 2.0 in the new veg tanned leather. Look for reviews on the other styles soon. Because I bought them too. You knew I would.

These planners were all purchased using my own funds and this post is an honest review containing nothing more than my own opinion and experience.

I love neutrals, so I went for the ‘tan rainbow’ and chose the colors Apricot, Honey and Caramel out of the seven colors released. Full disclosure, I also wanted to get a fourth color, Chestnut, but I dilly dallied enough after placing my initial order that Chestnut had sold out by the time I got around to deciding to go back for it. Lesson learned for next time.  

These planners (and all Moterms) come nicely packaged in a sturdy, branded box. Each planner came in its own dust bag as well and the entire unboxing experience was very pleasing. Here is what you get:

My initial reaction when taking them out of the box was to literally squeal with delight because these things are SUPER NICE. The leather is a big step up from their previous offerings IMO and all of three colors that I chose are really rich and beautiful.

There is no option at this time to make special requests when ordering as far as texture goes, and Moterm makes a point in their description of this leather to make us aware before buying that textures and dye lots will vary quite a bit, even among planners of the same color. This is because it is high quality leather and because of the tanning process used.

“Full-grain” leather simply means that the hair is removed and then the hide goes immediately into the tanning process. All of the oil-absorbing properties and original characteristics of the leather remain intact. Full-grain leather is the top of the food chain (or, hide chain, as it were) and is stronger and more durable than other grades of leather

“Vegetable tanning” is one of the oldest methods of tanning. It has literally been around for centuries. What makes vegetable tanning so unique is that it can be used to make thicker leather and results in more body and character. Vegetable tanned leather also tends to age better than other leather processing methods, and combined with the use of full grain leather, will develop a rich patina over time. And it also retains that awesome leather smell.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk on leather processing…now back to the review 😉

The photos below of the individual colors with the color names are promotional pics from the Moterm Shop on Ali Express. Take a scroll down the product page to see more examples of each of the seven colors available.

Apricot is the lightest shade and although Apricot calls to mind an orangey color, this planner is not orangey in the least. I would call it more of a pale honey tone, very similar to undyed leather, or maybe undyed leather with a slight patina. This veg tanned leather is NOT un-dyed…it is just a light color and resembles un-dyed leather. I was hoping it would and I was not dissapointed.

Honey is more of an amber shade and has a subtle orange undertone. It is the next step up the rainbow of tans and perhaps my favorite shade of the three. Today. Ask me again tomorrow because they are all stunning. The Honey I received is a blend of smooth with a bit of texture thrown in to make it interesting. The strap closure, however, is pebbly and delicious! I almost peed my pants when I opened the dust bag and I’m not even kidding.

They were right, the colors do vary a lot and there are several different textures of leather used in the making of each planner. I personally love this, as it makes everyone’s planner a work of art and unique.

The darkest of the three colors that I ordered is Caramel. Of the planners that I received, the Caramel one is the thickest, yummiest smelling leather and it has a bit of a pull-up effect to it as well. Scratches easily rub out with a little thumb massage and it is my favorite of the three as far as how it feels. I got a smooth one, but the interior is deliciously textured and I actually have a hard time putting it down. This is the one I take to bed and leave on my bedside table so I can smell the leather as I drift off to sleep. To dream about planners. Duh.

As mentioned this is the Personal Luxe size, which is a slightly wider variation on any other brand’s Personal size planner. Because they are the Luxe size, they will not only fit normal personal sized inserts (3.75” x 6.75”) but they will also accommodate my beloved Franklin Covey Compact inserts (4.25” x 6.75”). Since I flop around between these two sizes on an almost daily basis, that was an appealing feature and probably why I went nuts and bought three of them. 

All seven colors of the Veg Tanned Personal Luxe 2.0 planners have silver hardware, and all come with 30mm silver rings installed.

One of the things I have loved from the get-go about all Moterm ring planners is the ease of removing or changing out the rings. You can purchase personal rings in either 30mm or 25mm size, and in silver, gold or rose gold very easily and inexpensively (I get mine from Amazon) and all you need to change them out is a flat head screwdriver. I like gold hardware, so I put gold rings in all three of mine. 

The ability to quickly, easily and inexpensively change out the rings makes these planners even more versatile and is a huge win as far as I’m concerned because not only am I a planner spaz, I am also a klutz. So if I can change the rings on these planners without issue, you can too. Easy peasy bacon cheesy.

Moterm makes planners with the intent for them to be USED. “To let everyone enjoy a better life”, as they said. They are not only beautiful (especially this new full grain veg tanned leather), but extremely functional. The three F’s (features, functionality, flexibility) of the Personal Luxe 2.0 and all Moterm products really, are quite frankly amazing for the price.

I am beyond thrilled to see the addition of this new leather to their lineup, as well as to hear that they plan (Lol! Get it?!) to release the entirety of their line in veg tanned leather. This will of course take time, but I can wait. This leather is worth waiting for.

As I said, this new leather is fantastic – looks great, feels great, smells like a saddle – but also worth noting are quality features such as the straight, even stitching. That the card pockets are stitched and not just cut. The addition of a leather cover for the zipper pull. The fact that they give you two closure snaps so you can choose chonky or sleek for your planner’s waistline. I absolutely adore that.

The list of amazing features on this planner is a long one:

• the big back wallet pocket (which will fit standard sized letter paper folded in half)

• a gusseted zippered pocket (with the aforementioned leather cover for the zipper pull so it won’t dent anything)
  
• secretarial pockets front and back

• plenty of card pockets – 10 total (4 vertical card slots and 1 horizontal, slightly deeper card slot on both front and back)
  
• an outward facing slip pocket in the front

• two slip pockets in addition to the secretarial pocket in the back

• a partially elasticized pen loop that easily fits even the fattest of pens (my go-to pens are Lamy Safari fountain pens and a Dr. Grip multi-pen, and both slide in like buttah)

• an included flyleaf that has a slip pocket as well as an additional partially elasticized pen loop

I mean come ON! All of that…in wicked nice leather…for under $100.

Yeah you heard me right, the Personal Luxe 2.0 in Full Grain Veg Tanned leather goes for $90.99 and they will even ship it to you for free.

Normally I would say run, don’t walk to Ali Express to get yours, but they are all sold out at the moment. I know you’re bummed. But fret not, because you can go join the Moterm Official Fan Facebook group, look at pictures, salivate and await a re-stock with the rest of us. And they will re-stock. Because Moterm listens to its customers and is extremely responsive.

Clearly the new veg tanned leather is going to be a game changer in the plannerverse, and I can’t say enough good things about the quality of it. Suffice to say I am insanely impressed with these planners. I give the Moterm Full Grain Veg Tanned Personal Luxe 2.0 an enthusiastic thumbs up and can’t wait to report back in a few months on how they break in and patina with daily use.