If you ever want to change your ring mechanism, for example from Silver to Gold or vice versa, here is a video by our planner guru and friend Steve Morton.
Please keep in mind that you can only change rings made for the same type and size of organizer.

For our Senior Custom Made you could switch between 20mm and 25mm and for our Standard Custom Made planner you could switch between 25mm and 30mm, but we don’t advise to do it since the backplate and spine are always a bit different for each size of rings.
In case you do decide to change, it is always easier to move from a bigger to a smaller size. If you move from smaller to bigger you have to keep in mind that the planner’s backplate and spine have more pressure on them with the bigger rings. Here you can see the difference in sizes of the backplates for our Custom Made organizers:

For our Touch Me organizers you can change your rings from silver to gold and vice versa, but ONLY in the same ring size.
PS. For Touch Me organizers the popper is always silver, also if you pick gold rings for it.

The post How to change your Ring Mechanism appeared first on Blog Vdsshop.

In this post we will explain the different types of leathers we offer.
All the leathers we use are full grain leather, top quality! We do not treat our leathers.
If you aren’t sure yet which leathers to choose for your VDS Planner, you can always order our leather samples first.

Leather skins come from cattle that live in the open air and under various conditions. So the leather is subject to all kinds of natural defects like neck pleats, traces of veins etc. These cannot be avoided in the tanning process. Of course we try to avoid natural marks in the selection process so we get the best result for your finished product. But keep in mind that it is a natural product which actually gives it charm!

Italian leather:
All the leathers you can find on our webshop that start with number #18 are Italian leathers. They are finished leathers and are easy to keep clean. These leathers are hand dyed, which gives the leather different colour shades. The leather is made from the neck and front legs of the cow (also called avancorpi) which gives the hide a beautiful natural grain.

NAPPA leather:
All the leathers you can find on our webshop that start with number #62 + Barbie + velato are NAPPA leather that are also known as naked leathers. There is no finish on this leather. They have a two tone effect on the hide. It is more natural looking, but please note that they are more sensitive to water and dirt.

The other NAPPA leathers are the leathers in the webshop that have names (except Barbie and Velato). They do have a finish and the skins are always in one plain colour. The finish means it is easier to clean and makes them more durable.

Janet leather:
These leathers cost 10% more than all the others due to the special tanning process that is applied to them. The original Janet leather is the brown one with number #104. This leather is sensitive to water and dirt since it does not have any finish, just an open structure. Therefore you have to love leather that will change and get a patina look as well.
We also have 4 other colours in look-a-like Janet leather. These leathers can be found in the webshop under the numbers #105 to #109. They are less sensitive to water and dirt, and they are more durable.

Touch Me leather:
Touch Me leathers all start with ‘TM’ in their name. This leather is made with beautiful and durable buffalo leather from France. Next to our Custom Made Collection, we also offer these leathers in our ‘Touch Me‘ ready-made collection.

Print leather:
Print leathers are leathers like Croco, Ostrich and LV. They are cow leathers with a print. They’re all very durable and easy to clean.
(We offer real Ostrich and Croco on special request. For more information you can email us at website@vdslederwaren.nl.)

Undyed leather:
Very sensitive to everything you can think of – water, dirt, even sunlight! This leather will change really fast! So you have to love this if you pick this leather.

102 Undyed

Inside leather:
These leathers are thinner and have wrinkles in the leather, which is why we only use them for the inside. It is a finished leather, so it is also easy to keep clean. You can find them on the webshop under the ‘inside leather’ choices in the number sequence from #05 to #29.

The post Different types of VDS leathers appeared first on Blog Vdsshop.

Here are the VDS paper sizes and ring distance (the distance between each set of rings) for all our Custom Made Sizes:

Mini
Paper size: 68 x 108 mm (+/- 2.68 x 4.25 inches)
Ring distance: 19 – 25,5 – 25,5 – 19 mm

Junior
Paper size: 77 x 127 mm (+/- 3.03 x 5 inches)
Ring distance: 19 – 19 – 19 – 19 – 19 mm

Senior
Paper size: 95 x 152 mm (+/- 3.74 x 5.98 inches)
Ring distance: 19 – 19 – 38 – 19 – 19 mm

Standard
Paper size: 95 x 170 mm (+/- 3.74 x 6.69 inches)
Ring distance: 19 – 19 – 51 – 19 – 19 mm

Manager A5
Paper size: 140 x 215 mm (+/- 5.51 x 8.46 inches)
Ring distance: 19 – 19 – 70 – 19 – 19 mm

The post VDS Refill Sizes appeared first on Blog Vdsshop.

B6 is now available as a size for our Custom Made planners. It is compatible with any B6 inserts. You can see this new product here.

Planner Size: 188 x 174 x 50 mm (+/- 7.4 x 6.85 x 1.97 inches)
Lay-out:
Left hand side: 6 horizontal creditcard pockets | 1 small pocket on the bottom | 2 full height slip pockets. Right hand side: 1full height slip pocket | 1 bottom pocket | elasticated leather pen loop.

Since this planner is quite wide, we have added the option to add 2 extra slip pockets to it. You can select this in the ‘additional options’ section underneath the planner. The cost for this option is €35,00.

The post New Planner Size – Custom Made B6 appeared first on Blog Vdsshop.

The post Real Ostrich – VDS Custom Planners on Request appeared first on Blog Vdsshop.

Here you can see some real Croco hides:

The post Real Croco – VDS Custom Planners on Request appeared first on Blog Vdsshop.

In this post we will explain all the additional options that you can find on our webshop to add to your Custom Made VDS Planner. If you have questions about them, or if you want a different additional option that is not mentioned on our webshop you can always email us about it via website@vdslederwaren.nl

Big Back Pocket:
A full length open wallet-type pocket lengthwise across the back of the planner. People use it to store papers, cash, receipts, to keep notes, and so on. This large area adds multi-functionality to the use of your planner.

Flyleaf:
The flyleaf is inserted into the rings of the planner. As well as adding an element of luxury to the planner, the flyleaf provides a smoother writing surface to write against.
The color of the flyleaf will be the same color as your planner: outside color on the front side and inside color on the back side.

Flyleaf

Secretarial Flap:
A secretarial flap is a slip pocket that is open at the top and side and can be added on both the left and right inside lay-out of the planner. Since it is not stitched at the top it gives you easy access to insert and reach for any items placed there.

Please note that our basic lay-out comes with closed slip pockets on both the left and right hand inside areas, so if you add a secretarial flap to it, the slip pocket that is closest to the rings will be turned into a secretarial flap.

Zipper Compartment:
The zipper compartment is a wallet style compartment inserted into the rings of the planner.
The zipper compartment will be the same color as the inside color of your planner.

Extra Pen Loop:
All our Custom Made Planners come with a pen loop on the right-hand inside of the planner.
You can choose to add an extra pen loop on the left-hand inside of the planner.
The maximum pen thickness that fits the pen loop is 10mm in diameter ⌀.
Our pen loops are always elasticated, which means that they are partly made of leather and partly elastic, so you can fit pens of different sizes in it.
The pen loop will be the same color as the inside color of the planner.
PS. Our Custom Made Manager A5 planner already comes with 2 pen loops (one on the inside left and one on the inside right).

Pen Loop

Ring Protectors: 
Ring Protectors are two strips of leather sewn into either side of the ring mechanism that cushion the rings and also prevent the interior of the leather from being dented by the rings over time.

Embossing:
Add a personal touch to your planner by including a word or phrase of your choice.
All letters are picked up individually with tweezers and placed on the leather to be embossed.
You can choose between silver, gold, and blind (this means that the letters will be pressed into the planner).

The positions of the embossing that you can choose from are:
On the bottom right of the Front outside area.
On the bottom left of the Left inside area.

Longer Clasp:
This option is for the planner stuffers (you know who you are ;). Our normal clasps will hold a full planner, but for those who tend to stuff it a lot this might be a good option. You can choose to make the clasp 1-25mm (1 inch = +/- 25mm) longer.

Longer Clasp

The following options are only available for certain planner sizes:

Custom Made Senior size planners have the option to Widen to A6 Size:
The Senior planner will be widened to fit A6 paper.
The normal width of our closed Senior Custom Made is 140mm (+/- 5,51 inches) which is an un-widened A6, for use with ‘Success’ type inserts.
Adding the A6 widening will add 15mm (+/- 0,59 inches) on a closed planner, so it will fit A6 inserts including side tabs.
You also have the option to add 2 extra slip pockets to accommodate the extra width in your planner.

Custom Made Standard planners have the option to Widen to Custom Size:
Make your planner 1-26mm wider (PS. this is calculated on a closed planner, so 1mm wider means 1mm on each side = 2mm in total on an open planner.)
You also have the option to add 2 extra slip pockets to accommodate the extra width in your planner.

Custom Made B6 planners have the option to add 2 extra slip pockets:
To accommodate the extra width in your planner.

Custom Made Manager A5 planners have the option to Widen to Custom Size:
Make your planner 1-26mm wider (PS. this is calculated on a closed planner, so 1mm wider means 1mm on each side = 2mm in total on an open planner.)

The post VDS Additional Options Explained appeared first on Blog Vdsshop.

Hi everyone,

We are all very excited about the 3 new Touch Me Colors Parme, Perle, and Poussiere. The wait until August 19 is still long… and we want to make sure that after this long wait everyone will be able to get the product(s) they have been waiting for.

Therefore we decided to create this Touch Me Pre-Sale Waiting list.
Please fill out the form below to let us know which items you would like to purchase.
This will guarantee that you can purchase the items of your choice (so there is NO possibility of them being sold-out) and on top of that, you get to buy them 3 days before the official launch date.

* You can select as many options as you like.
* If you would like to order more than one of the same item, please include this information in the ‘message’ section.
* There is no payment related to be added to this Pre-Sale list. You will pay for your item(s) once you actually buy them on our webshop.

The VDS Touch Me Products are ready-made, and will be available in these 4 sizes.
Click on the link of each item to see the lay-out, size, and specifications:
Touch Me Junior  (= Pocket Size)
Touch Me Senior
Touch Me Standard (= Personal Size)
Touch Me A5

We will email you August 16 with an exclusive Touch Me Pre-Sale link where you can buy your Touch Me in the color(s) and size(s) of your choice. This link will remain active from August 16 to August 18. After that you would have to go to our normal webshop Touch Me section to purchase these products. Once the products on our normal webshop are sold-out it will take a few months again to restock them.
If you have any questions about this, please email us at website@vdslederwaren.nl.
You can apply for this Pre-Sale list until May 31. We will email everyone that is on the list one month before the products become available as a reminder

The post VDS Touch Me Collection Pre-Sale Sign up for Parme, Perle, and Poussiere appeared first on Blog Vdsshop.

Hey everyone,

In this post you can find all the information about VDS Planner measurements, as well as industry wide known product sizes that they are compatible with. If you have any additional questions, please email us at website@vdslederwaren.nl.

Custom Made Collection
This Collection is hand-made to order. If you would like to change the lay-out or get a Custom Size, or even a hand-sketched dream planner, you can always email us about it.

Touch Me Collection
This Collection is hand-made and ready-made so ready to ship! The only additional options you can add to it are a flyleaf, zippercase, embossing, and the possibility to have gold instead of silver rings.

VDS Codex
This is our ‘Hobonichi’ Style Collection.

VDS Nomad
This is our Traveler’s Notebook Collection. You can also choose to have a clasp instead of an elastic and add more additional options to it like a big back pocket, embossing, etc.

The post VDS Size Guide – Planner Measurements appeared first on Blog Vdsshop.

We are very excited to share with you our first VDS Limited Edition

Through this exclusive collection we are able to have the best of both worlds:
50 Custom Made Products with a 1-time only special leather in a complete and luxurious lay-out and details, combined with the speed of ready-made: shipped to you within 4 workdays.

The leather type was picked by us, the color we will use for this collection has been picked by you through our PlannerCon and Instagram Voting: Amaranth: A hybrid soft Magenta hue.
Leather characteristics: Similar to Janet Leather, but with a soft Nubuck finish. Full grain (all our leathers are always full grain), supple, 2mm thick, vegetable tanned, natural feel, awesome smell.

This leather will only be used for the limited edition, after that it will never be available again.
Here are all the specifications and characteristics of our Limited Edition:

• There will be 50 limited edition items made, you can pick from:
  * Custom Made Senior widened to A6, 25mm rings in a full Touch Me lay-out, price: €500,- (excl. VAT)
  See this lay-out HERE.
  * Custom Made Standard, 30mm rings in a full Touch Me lay-out, price: €500,- (excl. VAT)
  See this lay-out HERE.
  * Custom Made Special Nomad (TN Cover) in the lay-out of @inkimperfections, price: €450,- (excl. VAT)
  See this model HERE.
• The 50 limited edition items will be numbered in blind embossing on the inside of the clasp
• They will have the VDS logo blind embossed on the left inside
• It will be shipped to you within 4 workdays. The Limited Edition will be available from July 22 on.

They will become available on July 22. You can reserve a spot for one of the items here. 2 weeks before they go online we will send you the invoice to confirm your spot. Unpaid invoices will open that spot again for someone else.
If you have any questions, please contact us via website@vdslederwaren.nl

The post VDS 1st Limited Edition appeared first on Blog Vdsshop.

Here you can see a review of a Special Custom Made Manager A5. Thank you Steve aka Mr. Philofaxy!

See the original post here.
Blog: Philofaxy

I weakened… again! Yes I ordered another Van der Spek Custom A5 Manager organiser.

I spent several weeks deciding on the design of this one and Petra Van der Spek was very patient answering my questions about what was possible and what leather was available etc.

So here it is. The details of the leather colours etc are as follows:

The Dark Brown JL (Janet Leather) is a reserve list leather. It is a gorgeous vegetable tanned leather. I saw it on another custom order late last year and although I had to wait for Petra to get it back in stock again, it was worth the wait.  I have a similar combination of dark brown and yellow in another leather planner from another brand and I really like the combination.

As you can see from the table above I went for contrast stitching on both the outside and the inside.

On the outside, this Van der Spek looks like any other, there are no alterations or hidden pockets.

The organiser arrived in this very smart black box with their logo in the centre.

And here is the inside of the A5 organiser. I’ve removed the flyleaf to show you the details.

I once again opted for 35mm Krause rings. Despite pruning the contents of my A5 to the bone, it I put all of the sections in one organiser, it is a little more than a 25 mm ring mechanism can cope with.

The first obvious change is the inside front cover, I opted for the Van der Spek ‘454’ layout, I have this same layout in another A5 organiser and I really like it.

The photo below shows the comparison between the layout I chose compared to the regular one. I don’t need that many card slots, I find three slots more than enough.

Looking in detail at the inside front layout, it has as I have just mentioned three vertical card slots. One slip pocket behind those. A slightly deeper horizontal slip pocket above that as well. There are two full height vertical slip pockets as well.

Overall there is an excellent amount of storage in the front cover alone to store maps, brochures, tickets, documents etc. And based on previous experience of this layout I make full use of it.

Additionally there is an elasticated pen loop on the front cover.

The addition of the embossed logo is a nice touch, this was added at my request, but I don’t believe it will appear on all custom orders. It is due to appear on the limited edition planners announced at PlannerCon EU.

Whilst in close up, note that all pocket edges are stitched, rather than just cut.

The A5 flyleaf is in the same leathers. One colour on one side.

And the other colour on the other side.

The rear inside layout includes a gusseted zip pocket with a full height slip pocket behind that. There is also the second elasticated pen loop.

I use both loops, one with a mechanical pencil the other for a pen.

I also requested the addition of the full width back pocket. This is useful for full size A4 sheets, such as print outs of travel confirmations for hotels or trains etc. This pocket is very nicely lined too.

Thank you to Petra and the team for making this organiser for me.

Further Information.

Web Site: http://www.vdsshop.com
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/VanderSpekLederwaren
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/vanderspekorganiserfans/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vdsshop/

The post Special Custom Made A5 Manager appeared first on Blog Vdsshop.

Here you can see a review of a Special A5 Nomad in Janet Leather Undyed by the one and only Janet Carr!

See the original posts of the work in progress and the final product
Blog: This Bug’s Life

I began discussing a new A5 Nomad cover with Petra just before Christmas. I drew the basic design I was wanting, and chose undyed leather as a first choice, with black Janet Leather as a second choice.

Petra (our beloved Superwoman) told me that she would be ordering undyed Janet leather and she thought it would be perfect for me, if I didn’t mind waiting. So, of course, I waited.

And last week the leather finally arrived! My Nomad is now under construction and I cannot wait to follow the rest of the process.

I am planning to record how this one wears and ages just as I did with my undyed ring organiser.

And here are the photographs and videos Petra has sent me thus far. I will keep you posted!

It arrived today – two days after it was posted. So I had to do an immediate blog post!

If you have any questions about the product and specifications in this post, please email me (Petra) at website@vdslederwaren.nl

The post Special Custom Made A5 Nomad (TN Cover) in JL Undyed Leather appeared first on Blog Vdsshop.

Recap of PlannerCon Europe 2019 that took place on the 11th and 12th of May at The Square in Brussels.

It was very nice to finally meet many of you in person!
We also had several exciting reveals:

The introduction of a new leather to our Collection – 110 Janet Leather Undyed. A very special soft, thick, luxurious leather without any finish, that changes color over time.

The introduction of the very first VDS Limited Edition! The color was chosen by our fans – Amaranth. A beautiful hybrid soft Magenta color with a gentle nubuck finish, supple, 2mm thick, natural feel, vegetable tanned, delicious smell. Click here for more information about this Limited Edition and how to reserve one of the 50 items.

During both PlannerCon days a VDS planner was circulating for people to win. On Saturday people could win a Special Nomad in Amandine and on Sunday a Standard 30mm in 110 Janet Leather Undyed.

Goodies! Free VDS cable/earphone holders.

PlannerCon moments:

We hope to see you again next time!

All the best,
The VDS Team

The post PlannerCon Europe 2019 appeared first on Blog Vdsshop.

Hi everyone,

Due to an increasing amount of questions and orders including the widening and lengthening of the planner clasp I decided to create this blog post with all the information about it.

Sizes of all our Custom Made Planner clasps:

Junior: 26 mm (width) x 100 mm (length) (+/- 1,02 x 3,94 inches)
Senior: 33 x 125 mm (+/- 1,3 x 4,92 inches)
Standard: 33 x 125 mm (+/- 1,3 x 4,92 inches)
A5: 38 x 145 mm (+/- 1,5 x 5,71 inches)

Nomad Junior: 26 x 100 mm (+/- 1,02 x 3,94 inches)
Codex A6 & Nomad 21×11: 33 x 115 mm (+/- 1,3 x 4,53 inches)
Codex A5: 38 x 145 mm (+/- 1,5 x 5,71 inches)

Now, for those of you that are real planner stuffers
Here are the options of lengthening the clasp:
This option is available on our webshop.
1-5mm is €7.50
6-25mm is €15.00 (PS. 1 inch = +/- 25mm)

Please note: there is no extra popper included in this option. If you would like to add an extra popper as well that would cost an additional €15.00, but you can only choose this option if your clasp is 12mm longer or more.

Here are the options to widen the clasp
This option is not available online and should be done directly through email: website@vdslederwaren.nl

chunky clasp: €25,00, this means that we increase the height of the clasp by 1 clasp size
Junior clasp will become Standard clasp, Senior & Standard clasp will become A5 clasp.

A4 Clasp: €30,00.
Size of A4 Clasp = 51 x 158 mm (+/- 2 x 6,22 inches)
A5 will become A4 clasp

Junior to Standard Clasp

The post VDS Clasp sizes and lengthening & widening options appeared first on Blog Vdsshop.

In this post we will go over the lay-out and options for the VDS Hybrid between the Codex and the Nomad: Nodex.

The base for the model is any size of the Codex (Hobonichi Cover), to which we add 4 elastic strings in the middle to be able to include 4 Traveler’s Notebooks in it as well.

For this example I will take the Nodex Standard Size in the images and price outline:

Codex Standard: € 145,00
Left hand side: 1 full height slip pockets | 6 horizontal credit card pockets | 1 small bottom pocket.
Right hand side: 1 full height slip pocket | 1 bottom pocket

4 elastic strings (for 4 notebooks): € 30,00
Big Back Pocket € 50,00
Clasp: € 20,00
Penloop: € 15,00

Leather in the images: Janet Leather Black outside & inside with matching stitching.

The post VDS Nodex (Nomad+Codex) appeared first on Blog Vdsshop.

The post What is stiffener? appeared first on Blog Vdsshop.

The following leathers are now permanently added to our stock leathers for all Custom Made items on www.vdsshop.com!

TM Parme, TM Perle, TM Poussiere:

2 Velvet Matte Croco Leathers: Stardust Croco and Sakura Croco

Stardust Croco | a mix between Grey, Beige, and Taupe
Sakura Croco | a cherry blossom pink

The post New Colors added to our Custom Made stock leathers appeared first on Blog Vdsshop.

We introduced the Codex B6 to our Custom Made Codex Collection.
The Codex B6 is compatible with the B6 Stalogy insert.

Left hand side: 1 full height slip pockets | 6 horizontal credit card pockets | 1 small bottom pocket.
Right hand side: 1 full height slip pocket | 1 bottom pocket

Van der Spek CODEX B6 size is compatible with 182 x 128 x 14mm (+/- 7.2 x 5.0 x 0.6 inches) B6 Stalogy 

Codex B6 Cover size: 196 x 144 x 25mm (+/- 7.72 x 5.67 x 0.87 inches) and flat size 196 x 293mm (+/- 7.72 x 11.54 inches)

The post New Codex Size! Meet the Codex B6 appeared first on Blog Vdsshop.

Thank you Anita and Philofaxy for writing this blog post about the process of deciding on and ordering your VDS Custom Made Planner.

Here is the original post about the samples and about the planner.

Whilst I may admire other people’s Gillios and Van der Speks, I have never purchased one as I feel that I can’t really justify spending that much. Back in 2016, I did order some leather samples from Van der Spek, but never went ahead with an order. I am absolutely not judging anyone else or saying that I don’t think that they’re worth the money, but in the past I know that I wouldn’t have been comfortable with spending that much when a Filofax will do the same job. However, after deciding that I would never buy one, a very kind and generous friend got involved and I then had the funds to buy a custom Van der Spek! I am so grateful for their thoughtfulness and generosity.

Once I had a proper look at the Van der Spek website, I realised that I would need to narrow down my favourites and order some more leather samples. The ones that I ordered back in 2016 were: turchese (6219), turchese (19), black ostrich (235) and Janet Leather burgundy (109). Whilst I still quite like the idea of black ostrich on the outside and a turchese interior, I know that I always come back to a red binder in the end.

Here are the samples I ordered:

Top left: Janet Leather burgundy (109) Top right: Janet Leather red (108) Bottom left: Janet Leather mustard yellow (106) Bottom right: Papavero croco

However, I then realised that I had a problem as I liked them all! How to make a decision?
I carried the samples around with me in my bag, scratched them on purpose and started pairing them up with each other to help give me some ideas. For example, I’ve always loved the Ascots, so one choice would’ve been Papavero croco on the outside with Janet Leather red on the inside. Whilst the Papvero croc is lovely, I realised over time that Janet Leather is definitely my favourite, so it was then time to make a decision about what colour to go with.

We have a winner!

Here is my order:
Standard 25mm Ø
Outside-colour: 108 – Janet Leather Red
Inside-colour: 109 – Janet Leather Burgundy
Inside-stitching: 238 – light grey ostrich
Outside-stitching: 238 – light grey ostrich
Mechanism: 25 mm silver
Stiffener: No
Standard big back pocket
Extra pen loop

The post From Samples to Custom Made Planner appeared first on Blog Vdsshop.

What would you like to know about VDS and the process of making a leather planner? Ask away!

Send in your questions to Petra here and we will publish a video of her answering the questions.
You can send in your questions until the end of November.
The video will be posted here and on all our social media channels.

We already have questions in from two of our Planner Friends that will be covered in the video:

• ‘Mr. Philofaxy’ Steve Morton: Did you imagine when you joined the company the interest worldwide there is today?
• ‘Janet Leather Muse’ Janet Carr: Could we look forward to seeing bags in the future?

The post Q&A with Petra van der Spek appeared first on Blog Vdsshop.