Guest post: Paul B's Brush Dance winnings!

Many thanks to Paul B for this guest post showing us the planners he won from Brush Dance in the recent giveaway here on Plannerisms.


Today, my parcel arrived from Brush Dance, with the prize from the Plannerisms competition. Thank you very much to Laurie and to Brush Dance for hosting it!  The Concierge said it had been there for a couple of days, but as I was out of the country, I didn’t know. So, expecting a fairly small envelope with a pocket-sized Mindfulness Diary, I was surprised to see a much bigger box.

When I opened it, I saw why.




When I sent my email address to Brush Dance, we ended up chatting about the fact that i was reading a book by Thich Nhat Hanh, a Buddhist Monk from Vietnam who has written a great deal of very accessible books on Buddhism. Brush Dance very thoughtfully included a 2013 Date Book in the parcel as well. It was a really pleasant surprise and I haven’t stopped smiling all days. Sometimes, it just takes the simplest thing to lift our spirits. But let’s look at the pocket book first. This is the front cover. The whole diary is printed on really nice paper.




Each month comes with an inspirational quote to help you to continue living mindfully. Whichever religion you follow, or if you follow none at all, you have to admit, its a noble thing to aspire to. It can’t stay blank forever, so I decided to add my first entry.




And it comes with an introduction from Brush Dance too, to inspire you, and to tell you about their company and, more importantly, about their ethics.





Which brings us to the beautiful Date Book, using quotes from Thich Nhat Hanh. The book has very high quality hard covers front and back. This would survive any amount of damage form being thrown in a bag or being carted around.



Personally, this will stay at home, to be used for recording all those important dates, birthdays, anniversaries, and more importantly.........life plans. On opening the front cover, you find the first of many beautiful images.



It also has an almost imperceptible, paper wallet, a la Moleskine. It was impossible to show on a photo, so I added sheet of vintage 1989 green Filofax notepaper, to show it. Great if you do take this book with you.



I know we all like tabs, and I now some of you will be dying to know if it has them. It does, and they are very aesthetically pleasing, in elongated half-moon shapes. No sharp corners, easy on the eye, almost impossible to bend. In short, a great piece of design.




Each month has a Month To View planner, on the inside cover of the binder.



This is the detail of the book opened for use, showing a week per page. The paper is wonderful quality and I’m sure it will be fountain pen friendly.


And for those who use them, several pages of Contact information at the back of the book. A good place to put most-used numbers for house-related things.





I hope this has been useful, in showing you the inside of their products. The quality really is first-class and I was immediately impressed. Beautiful and high-quality products with inspiring messages that manage to look and feel professional without being overly sentimental. Thanks to Brush Dance for the extra gift, and thanks to Laurie for the competition.

Thanks again Paul!  Be sure to check out The Musings of Max ( http://musingsofmax.wordpress.com/ ) and give him some suggestions on Filofax use, and where to live in Italy!