Dear VDS fans,

We hereby want to inform you of a small price increase that will be implemented on January 10, 2020. For the last couple of years we have maintained the same prices. Due to ever increasing costs (material, transport, labour, operational) we will have to implement this small price increase.

However, this does not mean that we will increase our prices on a yearly basis. We always strive to maintain our prices equal for as long as possible.

The price change is only applied to our ‘main’ products. They will have an increase of 5%. All additional options, special customizations, and shipping costs will remain the same.

Thank you for your understanding.

The VDS Team

The post Price increase on main products appeared first on Blog Vdsshop.

Hi everyone,

In this post I will mention information and prices of the most often requested custom made planner extra’s that aren’t available on our webshop but are available via email.

We always try to maintain a good balance between offering a great amount of additional options online without overflowing you with too many choices. If we see that there is a high amount of requests via email for a certain additional option we always check whether we can add it to our webshop.

If you would like to add an additional option to your custom made planner that isn’t available online you can always email us at hello@vdsshop.com, since we can make almost anything
Please note that the list below is only showing the most often asked for extra’s, so if your desired extra isn’t in this list, please just email us and we will provide you with information and pricing.

General extra’s

• Squared Corners: (4 x €10,00) = € 40,00

• Use 2 different colours for the interior of your planner = € 15,00

Ring Binders

• Making left-hand side bottom pocket higher (for Senior & Standard this means that one credit card slot will have to be taken out) = € 40,00
  Adding a bottom pocket to the left-hand side of the junior size = € 20,00

Codex

• Adding 4 elastics in the spine to create a ‘Nodex’ (to insert Traveler’s Notebooks) = € 30,00
• Including a Secretarial Flap = €30,00. In this case you have to add a full height slip pocket as well or else you can’t slide in your notebook = € 17.50
• If you use your insert with a plastic cover over it we you have to increase the height of the Codex by 1cm to make that fit = € 45.00

Nodex – Adding elastics in the spine of your Codex

Nomad

• Having 6 elastics instead of 4 (this means including 3 eyelets on the top and 3 on the bottom, to fit 6 elastics) = € 20,00

Pen Loop

• Change position of Pen Loop = € 15,00
• Increase size of Pen Loop = € 5,00
• Extra Popper = € 15,00 (this option can only be added if you also decide to increase the length of the clasp by at least 12mm which costs €15,00 as well)

Change Position of Pen Loop

Zipper Pockets

Please note that when you add a zipper pocket to the lay-out, all other pockets on that side will not be included. If you want to include them, there will be an extra cost associated.

• Flat Zipper Pocket = € 65,00 ( € 55,00 for Junior Size)
• Gusseted Zipper Pocket = € 75,00 ( € 65,00 for Junior Size)
• Secretarial Zipper Pocket = € 90,00 ( € 80,00 for Junior Size)

The post Additional Options that are available on request appeared first on Blog Vdsshop.

Hi everyone,

To illustrate the process of ordering a VDS Special we will add examples and information about it in this blog post.

Special requests can be complete items (eg. a leather cover for your book, bible, for certain inserts you have) or additional options that aren’t available on our website. Due to our Handmade and Custom made focus, we can make almost anything your want in our workshop in The Netherlands.

1. Email us to hello@vdsshop.com with your desired product, be as specific as possible:
· include a sketch,
· measurements,
· images of reference and so on to help us visualize your dream item.*

*In order to handle all the requests that we receive we have to limit the amount of sketches and requests for price outlines to one design coming in from each person per Special Request. Please think carefully about your desired product and extra’s before sending us your design.

2. We will inform you of the possibilities and price.
· If we have all the needed material in stock, the production time will be the same as for Custom Made items: max. 5 weeks.

3. Always double check your invoice to assure that all the items you want are included.
· Once the invoice has been paid, your Special will go into pre-production. At this moment you cannot make any changes to the design anymore.

Examples of sketches from clients and the end result:

The post Special Requests – Examples and information appeared first on Blog Vdsshop.

Update March 20 – Almost all items from this list have been sold.
The only item you still available is:
2 x Standard in Turquoise – Discounted price = €80,50 (excl. VAT)
Email me at hello@vdsshop.com if you are interested in buying this item.

Hi everyone,

We keep receiving requests from people that would like to know whether we have any items left from the old Touch Me Collection Colours.
We still have a few items left of that collection that have small imperfections. Therefore we are selling these last items with a 30% discount.

In this post I will mention which items we still have. Please email me via hello@vdsshop.com if you are interested in any of the items and I will send you images of it (including the small imperfection).

For Senior you can choose between 20 and 25mm rings. For Standard you can choose between 25 and 30mm rings.

TM Menthe:
2 x Junior – Discounted price = €62,30 (excl. VAT)
1 x Senior – Discounted price = €72,80 (excl. VAT)
3 x Standard – Discounted price = €80,50 (excl. VAT)
1 x Pencil Pouch – Discounted price = €24,50 (excl. VAT)

TM Bordeaux:
2 x Standard – Discounted price = €80,50 (excl. VAT)

TM Turquoise:
3 x Standard – Discounted price = €80,50 (excl. VAT)
1 x A5 – Discounted price = €98,- (excl. VAT)
1 x Pencil Pouch – Discounted price = €24,50 (excl. VAT)

TM Lilac:
1 x Junior – Discounted price = €62,30 (excl. VAT)
1 x A5 – Discounted price = €98,- (excl. VAT)
1 x Pencil Pouch – Discounted price = €24,50 (excl. VAT)

The post Last items for sale from old TM Collection Colours – 30% discount appeared first on Blog Vdsshop.

In this post you will find videos of all VDS Planner lay-outs.
If you have any further questions or would like a different lay-out, please email me via hello@vdsshop.com.

Custom Made Ring Organizers

Mini | available with 15mm rings.

Size: 126 x 104 x 30 mm (+/- 4.96 x 4.09 x 1.18 inches)
Left hand side: 3 horizontal creditcard pockets | 1 full height slip pocket.
Right hand side: 3 horizontal creditcard pockets | 1 full height slip pocket | elasticated leather pen loop.
Leather Colour of the Organizer in the video: Outside & Inside Leather | Denim Croco.

Junior (= Pocket Size)| available with 16mm and 20mm rings.

Size: 141 x 110 x 32 mm (+/- 5.55 x 4.33 x 1.26 inches)
Left hand side: 4 horizontal creditcard pockets | 2 full height slip pockets.
Right hand side: 1 full height slip pocket | 1 bottom pocket | elasticated leather pen loop.
Van der Spek Junior is compatible with Filofax Pocket size inserts.
Leather Colours of the Organizer in the video: Outside Leather | Foresta Croco. Inside Leather | Acacia Nappa.

Senior Size | Available with 13mm, 20mm, and 25mm rings.

Size: 171 x 134 x 34 mm (+/- 6.73 x 5.28 x 1.34 inches)
Left hand side: 5 horizontal creditcard pockets | 1 small pocket on the bottom | 2 full height slip pockets.
Right hand side: 1 full height slip pocket | 1 bottom pocket | elasticated leather pen loop.
Leather Colours of the Organizer in the video: Outside Leather | JL Black. Inside Leather | JL Undyed.

Standard Size (=Personal Size) | Available with 13mm, 25mm, and 30mm rings.

Size: 188 x 138 x 40 mm (+/- 7.4 x 5.43 x 1.57 inches)
Left hand side: 6 horizontal creditcard pockets | 1 small pocket on the bottom | 2 full height slip pockets.
Right hand side: 1 full height slip pocket | 1 bottom pocket | elasticated leather pen loop.
Van der Spek Standard size is compatible with Filofax Personal size inserts.
Leather Colours of the organizer in the video: Outside Leather | Sakura Croco. Inside Leather | TM Parme.

B6 Size | Available with 30mm rings.


Size: 188 x 174 x 50 mm (+/- 7.4 x 6.85 x 1.97 inches)
Left hand side: 6 horizontal credit card pockets | 1 bottom pocket | 2 full height slip pockets.
Right hand side: 1full height slip pocket | 1 bottom pocket | elasticated leather pen loop.
Van der Spek B6 size is compatible with any B6 inserts.

Manager A5 Size | Available with 25mm and 35mm rings.

Size: 240 x 215 x 50 mm (+/- 9.45 x 8.46 x 1.97 inches)
Left hand side: 10 horizontal creditcard pockets | 1 small pocket on the bottom | 2 credit card pockets at the bottom | 1 full height slip pocket | elasticated leather pen loop.
Right hand side: 1 full height gusseted slip pocket | 1 big zipper compartment | elasticated leather pen loop.
The leather colours of the organizer in the video are: Outside Leather | JL Dark Brown. Inside Leather | TM Poussiere.

‘Touch Me’ Ready-made Ring Organizers (shipped to you within 5 workdays)
These organizers with BIG BACK POCKET are made in beautiful premium durable buffalo leather made in France.

Touch Me Junior | Available with 20mm rings.

Size: 148 x 122 x 38 mm (+/- 5.83 x 4.8 x 1.5 inches)
Left hand side: 1 full height expanding zip pocket | 1 full length high pocket | 1 bottom pocket | secretarial flap.
Right hand side: 3 horizontal creditcard pockets | 1 bottom pocket | elasticated leather pen loop | secretarial flap.
The leather colour of the organizer in the video is TM Poussiere.

Touch Me A6 Size | Available with 20mm and 25mm rings.

Size: 177 x 150 x 40 mm (+/- 6.97 x 5.91 x 1.57 inches)
Left hand side: elasticated leather pen loop | 1 full height expanding zip pocket | 1 full length high pocket | 1 bottom pocket | secretarial flap.
Right hand side: 6 horizontal creditcard pockets | elasticated leather pen loop | secretarial flap.
The leather colour of the organizer in the video is: TM Parme.

Touch Me Standard Size | Available with 25mm and 30mm rings.

Size: 194 x 146 x 46 mm (+/- 7.64 x 5.75 x 1.81 inches)
Left hand side: elasticated leather pen loop | 1 full height gusseted zipper pocket | 1 full length slip pocket | 1 bottom pocket | secretarial flap.
Right hand side: 6 horizontal creditcard pockets | elasticated leather pen loop | secretarial flap
The leather colour of the organizer in the video is TM Noir.

Touch Me Manager A5 Size | Available with 35mm rings.

Size: 240 x 205 x 55 mm (+/- 9.45 x 8.07 x 2.17 inches)
Left hand side: elasticated leather pen loop | 1 full height gusseted pocket | 2 full height slip pockets | 2 bottom pockets | secretarial flap.
Right hand side: 6 horizontal creditcard pockets | 1 bottom pocket | 1 full height slip pocket | elasticated leather pen loop | secretarial flap.
The leather colour of the organizer in the video is TM Perle.

Custom Made Codex Covers | for  ‘slide-in’ type inserts like Hobonichi and Stalogy.

Codex A6 Size | Compatible with Hobonichi Techo planners ( 105 x 148 x 14mm = +/- 4.13 x 5.83 x 0.6 inches) as well as A6 Stalogy planners.

Size: 165 x 110 x 25mm (+/- 6.5 x 4.33 x 0.98 inches) and flat open size 165 x 242mm (+/- 6.5 x 9.53 inches)
Left hand side: 2 full height slip pockets | 5 horizontal credit card pockets | 1 bottom pocket.
Right hand side: 2 full height slip pockets.
The leather colours of the organizer in the video are: Outside Leather | 238 Light Grey Ostrich | Inside Leather | TM Parme.

Codex Standard Size | Compatible with Hobonichi week type inserts.

Size: 200 x 108 x 22mm (+/- 7.87 x 4.25 x 0.87 inches) and flat open size 200 x 224mm (+/- 7.87 x 8.82 inches)
Left hand side: 2 full height slip pockets | 6 horizontal credit card pockets | 1 bottom pocket.
Right hand side: 1 full height slip pocket | 1 bottom pocket.
The leather colour of the organizer in the video is: TM Noir

Codex Standard Mega Size | Compatible with Hobonichi mega weeks inserts.

Size: 200 x 113 x 30mm (+/- 7.87 x 4.45 x 1.18 inches) and flat open size 200 x 229mm ( +/- 7.87 x 9.02 inches)
Left hand side: 2 full height slip pockets | 6 horizontal credit card pockets | 1 bottom pocket.
Right hand side: 1 full height slip pocket | 1 bottom pocket
The leather colour of the organizer in the video is: Sakura Croco.

Codex B6 Size | Compatible with B6 Stalogy type inserts.

Size: 196 x 144 x 25mm (+/- 7.72 x 5.67 x 0.87 inches) and flat open size 196 x 293mm (+/- 7.72 x 11.54 inches)
Left hand side: 2 full height slip pockets | 6 horizontal credit card pockets | 1 bottom pocket.
Right hand side: 1 full height slip pocket | 1 bottom pocket
The leather colour of the organizer in the video is: TM Parme

Codex A5 Size | Compatible with Hobonichi Cousin planners and other A5 size notebooks (210 x 148 x 18 mm = +/- 8.27 x 5.83 x 0.7 inches).

Size: 228 x 160 x 25 mm (+/- 8.98 x 6.3 x 0.98 inches) and flat open size 228 x 345mm (+/- 8.98 x 13.58 inches)
Left hand side: 1 full height slip pocket | 3 vertical credit card pockets | 2 horizontal slip pockets.
Right hand side: 1 full height slip pocket | 1 bottom pocket | 1 elasticated leather pen loop
The leather colours of the organizer in the video are: Outside Leather | Miele Croco. Inside Leather | 104 JL Brown.

Custom Made ‘Nomad’ Covers | for Traveler’s Notebooks.

Nomad Junior Complete | for 140x90mm notebooks, Field Notes and Moleskine Pocket.

Size: 152 x 105 x 30 mm (+/- 5.98 x 4.13 x 1.18 inches)
Left hand side: 1 full height slip pocket | 2 vertical credit card pockets | 1 horizontal slip pocket.
Right hand side: 1 secretarial flap | 1 horizontal slip pocket | elasticated leather pen loop
The leather colour of the Nomad in the video is: JL Undyed

Nomad Standard Complete | for Traveler’s Notebook 210 x 110mm inserts.

Size: 223 x 120 x 35 mm (+/- 8.78 x 4.72 x 1.38 inches)
Left hand side: 1 full height slip pocket | 2 vertical credit card pockets | 2 horizontal slip pockets.
Right hand side: 1 secretarial flap | 1 horizontal slip pocket | elasticated leather pen loop.
The leather colours of the Nomad in the video are: Outside Leather | Tortora Croco. Inside Leather | Barbie Nappa.

The post All VDS Planner Lay-outs explained by Petra appeared first on Blog Vdsshop.

We are adding a third colour to our Velvet Matte Croco leathers: Tiffany Velvet Matte Croco. This iconic and elegant light bluish green has a two-tone effect, just like the other two Velvet Matte Croco’s. They are made from full grain cow leather and have a nice soft and supple touch with a matte nubuck finish.

Tiffany Velvet Matte Croco is not a stock leather, so it is currently only available by emailing me via hello@vdsshop.com.

You can also order it as a leather sample.

The post New Velvet Matte Croco Colour! – Tiffany 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!
All the hides we use for our leathers are sourced from animals that are used for the food industry.

In this video Petra also discusses the different characteristics of the VDS stock leathers:

Italian leather:
A firm, smooth surface with some neck-grains and medium-shiny 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:
Nappa is a soft and supple cow hide leather. Leathers 6208 Cuoio, and Barbie are NAPPA leathers 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 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:
Thick, firm, natural grain, smooth and pebbly parts, delicious smell, rich leather. These cow hide 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. The newest addition to the JL family is #110 undyed. This leather is very sensitive to everything you can think of and the color will change over time.

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.)

Velvet Croco Leather: The latest additions to our stock leather collection are Sakura Croco and Stardust Croco.
They are cow leathers with a croco print. They have a two-tone color effect and soft matte finish.

Inside leather:
These cow hide 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.

Waiting list leathers are leathers that we do not have in stock, but we can order them 1 hide at a time if enough people would like to buy a product with that leather.
This is the waiting list leather procedure:

• We need 6 people on the list for TM leathers and 8 people for Croco print leathers before we can order the hide.
• When starting a new waiting list we immediately promote this leather via our social media channels to get more people on the list.
• If after 2 months we don’t have enough people on the waiting list for a certain leather we will promote it one more time and give people 1 more week to sign up for it. If at that time we still don’t have enough people on the list we will inform you that unfortunately that waiting list is cancelled.

If you would like to get a good look and feel of the leather before deciding, some of these waiting leathers are available as leather samples on our webshop (check the bottom of the leather options to see the waiting list leathers). The samples will be sent to you right away, no waiting time.

Please keep in mind that the images in this post will not completely match the reality of the colors.

Rosa Croco is currently in stock! You can email me via hello@vdsshop.com if you want to order a product with this leather.

Melanzana Croco is currently in stock! You can email me via hello@vdsshop.com if you want to order a product with this leather.

TM Bois de Rose is currently in stock! You can email me via hello@vdsshop.com if you want to order a product with this leather.

TM Amandine is currently in stock! You can email me via hello@vdsshop.com if you want to order a product with this leather.

TM ROSE is currently in stock! You can email me via hello@vdsshop.com if you want to order a product with this leather.

TM Grenadine | start of waiting list = April 7

TM Turquoise | start of waiting list = April 21

Here are all the waiting list leathers together:

If you would like to start a waiting list for a certain leather colour you like or that you have seen somewhere, you can always email me to see whether that is possible.

The post Waiting list leathers appeared first on Blog Vdsshop.

The ‘Special Nomad‘, with a different right hand side lay-out than our Standard Nomad, as well as including the Big Back Pocket and the Clasp, is now available on our webshop.
This version of the Nomad (for Traveler’s Notebooks) was first requested by Inkimperfections and has become a VDS favourite. Here are the specifications:

Size: 223 x 120 x 35 mm (+/- 8.78 x 4.72 x 1.38 inches) compatible with TN cover 210 x 110 size inserts.

Left hand side: 1 full height slip pocket | 2 vertical credit card pockets | 2 horizontal slip pockets.
Right hand side: 1 secretarial flap | 6 credit card pockets | 1 full height slip pocket | 1 lower bottom pocket | elasticated leather pen loop.
The Special Nomad includes a Big Back Pocket & Clasp

Images courtesy of Inkimperfections.

If you would like a Nomad in a size that isn’t available on our webshop please email me (Petra) via hello@vdsshop.com

The post The ‘Special Nomad’ is now available online! appeared first on Blog Vdsshop.

We are excited to introduce a new JL leather to you!
It has an open structure and a soft Nubuck finish. The colour falls in between brown and grey, like a warm Taupe. Through our social media contest it has been given the name:

111 Janet Leather Velvet Sand

For now it will be a waiting list leather, which means that you can order any Custom Made VDS product with it by emailing me (Petra) via hello@vdsshop.com.
Just as all the other JL Leathers, it has a 10% price increase on the main product (not on additional options) compared to the ‘normal’ leathers.

The post New Janet Leather colour – 111 JL Velvet Sand appeared first on Blog Vdsshop.

We added 2 new ring sizes to our Touch Me & Custom Made Ring Organizers:

• 25mm Junior (=pocket) Custom Made & Touch Me
• 30mm Senior Custom Made & 30mm A6 for Touch Me

For Touch Me

Junior with 20mm or 25mm rings
Old size | Closed: 141 x 122 x 36mm (+/- 5.55 x 4.96 x 1.42 inches)
Open: 141 x 250mm (+/- 5.55 x 9.84 inches)

New size | Closed: 141 x 126 x 43mm (+/- 5.55 x 4.96 x 1.69 inches)
Open: 141 x 270mm (+/- 5.55 x 10.63 inches)

Our own inserts are 77mm, with tabs they are 83mm. In the following images you can see the difference between the Junior with 20mm and 25mm rings, as well as the fitting of the paper with tabs inside the Junior 20mm and Junior 25mm.

A6 with 20mm, 25mm, or 30mm rings
The A6 size remains the same as before, namely

Closed: 177 x 150 x 40 mm (+/- 6.97 x 5.91 x 1.57 inches)
Open : 177 x 318 mm (+/- 6.97 x 12.52 inches)

Our own inserts are 95mm, with tabs 103mm. In the following images you can see the fitting of the paper with tabs inside the A6 with 20mm, 25mm, and 30mm rings.

For Custom Made

• 25mm Junior ( = pocket) Ring Organizer
  Size | Closed: 141 x 126 x 43mm (+/- 5.55 x 4.96 x 1.69 inches)
  Open: 141 x 270mm (+/- 5.55 x 10.63 inches)
• 30mm Senior Ring Organizer
  Size | Closed: 171 x 145 x 47mm (+/- 6.73 x 5.71 x 1.85 inches)
  Open: 171 x 313mm (+/- 6.73 x 12.32 inches)

The post 2 new ring sizes added to our Touch Me & Custom Made Ring Organizers! appeared first on Blog Vdsshop.

If you love the Touch Me lay-out, but would like to order it in different colours and prints, or perhaps add or change a few additional options to it, in this post I will go through all the specifications and prices for a Custom Made Touch Me Organizer in A5 size (other sizes are covered in a different blog post).
This ‘Custom Made Touch Me’ is only available by emailing me (Petra) via hello@vdsshop.com.

Touch me Custom Made
Custom Made A5 Planner with 25mm rings: € 205.00
Custom Made A5 Planner with 35mm rings: € 205.00

Left hand side lay-out:

• 1 full height expanding gusseted zip pocket € 55.00
• 2 full height slip pockets € 45.00
• 2 bottom pockets € 35.00
• elasticated leather pen loop (€0 always included in basic lay-out)

Right hand side lay-out:

• Secretarial flap € 35.00
• Bottom pocket € 20.00
• Full height pocket € 20.00
• 6 Credit card slots € 30.00
• elasticated leather pen loop (€0 always included in basic lay-out)

The last item to be added to create the TM Custom Made lay-out is the Big back pocket € 60.00

You can also decide to choose only a few of these options and/or add additional options to your own liking

Happy planning!
The VDS Team

The post Custom Made Organizer with Touch Me lay-out | A5 SIZE appeared first on Blog Vdsshop.

Dear VDS Fans,

This is Petra. First of all I would like to express my gratitude for your enthusiasm for our products. When I entered into our family business I could have never imagined such worldwide love for and interest in our planners and leather goods. Thank you so much for making it easy for me and the whole team to go to work every day to make you happy with our planners and products that we hand-make with care.

We naturally strive to make each customer happy and therefore I would like to share some information with you about the current situation in our Atelier. The demand for our Custom Made products has risen to the point that I currently have to increase production time for Custom Made Planners and Specials to 10 weeks. Please know that we are in the process of hiring people for the production of our planners as well as for online customer support. I will be able to lower the production time again as soon as we get extra crafts(wo)man hands on board

What does this mean for your orders and emails?
* From today (26 January) on, the production time for Custom Made orders is 10 weeks. TM orders remain 5 workdays, and Custom Made Pen Cases are made within 5-6 weeks. I kindly ask you to only email me with questions about the status of your order once this time has passed. If this time has not passed, your order is not ready for sending yet. As soon as your order is sent you will receive an email from Fedex with a track&trace code.
* If you email us with questions regarding your (potential) order or with special requests, please allow me a couple of workdays to reply. We want to give everyone the attention that they deserve, and we currently receive a high amount of emails, so I need some extra time in order to answer everyone.
– I do quickly check all new emails that come in every day, so if you have an urgent matter that cannot wait, don’t worry, I will handle it with preference.

Thank you so much for your patience and understanding.

All the best,
The VDS Team.

The post VDS Production time and Customer Service response time appeared first on Blog Vdsshop.

We are happy to let you know that Beige Croco is now a stock leather. This means that it is available on our webshop for all our Custom Made products.

Beige Croco belongs to our print croco family (from denim to papavero croco). It is a full-grain cow leather with a croco print. It’s very durable and easy to clean.

If you would like to see, touch, and smell the leather first, you can always order a leather sample of it.

The post Beige Croco is now a stock leather appeared first on Blog Vdsshop.

Our Custom Made Mini Ring Planner is now available with 13mm Krause rings (Silver and Gold).

• The ring spacing is 19mm – 19mm – 19mm – 19mm.
• Paper size: 70 x 108 mm | 77 including side tabs
  +/- 2.76 x 4.25 inches | 3.03 inches including side tabs
• Maximum paper thickness to use in the planner: 9mm

Our Mini Ring Planner is compatible with Filofax Mini Size inserts.

The post New VDS MINI with 13mm Krause Rings appeared first on Blog Vdsshop.

Hi everyone,

I’m creating this post to explain what VDS Touch Me stands for, since we use it both as a name for our Collection as well as a type of leather.

Let’s start with the leather. Our Touch Me (or TM) leathers are made with beautiful and durable full-grain buffalo leather from France. The reason we call them ‘Touch Me’ leathers is because they are so soft and supple, something that is really nice to touch
They are easy to (keep) clean, don’t patina over time and the hides have both smooth and pebbly parts.

Our Touch Me (or TM) Collection is our handmade ready-made Collection. These items are ready to ship, therefore they don’t allow for customizations (except for gold rings, flyleaf, zippercase, and embossing). We called this Collection ‘Touch Me’ since we only make them in a few of our Touch Me leathers. Currently this collection is available in ring-bound planners of the sizes Junior (= Pocket), A6, Standard (= Personal), and A5.
Our Touch Me Collection items have the iconic Big Back Pocket and the Full Height Gusseted Zipper Pocket, as well as a very complete layout of pockets and credit card slots. The layout varies slightly with each size. You can see each layout explained in image and video in the links I added to each size mentioned above.

At the end of this year we will be adding a new size to our Touch Me Collection: Standard Wide (= Personal Wide) as well as 2 new leather colours: Beige Croco and Stardust Croco.
These 2 leathers are NOT ‘Touch Me’ leathers.
* Beige Croco is an Italian full-grain cow leather with a semi shiny croco print. It’s very durable and easy to clean. The leather texture for this leather is the same for each hide, so there are no smooth or pebbly parts.
* Stardust Croco is an Italian full-grain cow leather with a croco print. It has a two-tone color effect and soft matte nubuck finish. Because of the nubuck finish it is more sensitive to dirt and marks. The leather texture for this leather is the same for each hide, so there are no smooth or pebbly parts.

The Touch Me Collection in these 2 new croco leathers are a little bit higher in price because there is more leather loss in the cutting of each item, since they have to have a specific pattern (large scales on the outer sections of the planner, small scales on the inner sections of the planner + all the parts of the inner layout have to be in line to match this scaling). This matching of the pattern is also more time consuming.

These are all the leather colours of our Touch Me Collection. The top 5 colours are Touch Me (TM) leathers.

The post What is VDS Touch Me (TM) appeared first on Blog Vdsshop.

Dear VDS fans,

We hereby want to inform you of a small price increase that will be implemented on January 3, 2022.

In the last two years we have experienced various increases in the cost of leather, shipping, labour, and general overhead.

We always strive to maintain the same prices for as long as possible, but at this point we will have to implement a price increase of 5% to our products and additional options.

Shipping costs will remain the same for you and shipping will remain free for orders over €400,-

Thank you for your understanding.
The VDS Team

The post Price increase on VDS Products appeared first on Blog Vdsshop.

We are introducing 2 New Colours and 1 New Model to our Touch Me (Ready-made) Collection!

The new model is the ‘Standard Wide‘ which is equivalent to Personal Wide.
Available with 25mm or 30mm Rings.

Planner Size
Height | 194mm | +/- 7.64 inch
Width (closed) | 172mm | +/- 6.77 inch
Width (flat open) | 362mm | +/- 14.25 inch
Depth | 46mm | +/- 1.81 inch

Paper size: 121 x 171 mm (+/- 171 x 6.73 inches) | 129mm (+/- 5.08 inches) including side tabs.

Lay-out 
Left hand side: 1 full height gusseted zipper pocket | 1 full length slip pocket | 1 bottom pocket | secretarial flap.
Right hand side: 3 horizontal credit card pockets | 1 bottom pocket | elasticated leather pen loop | secretarial flap.
All our TM Planners include a Big Back Pocket

The 2 new colours that will be added to our TM Collection are: Beige Croco and Stardust Croco!

The post Touch Me Collection – 2 New Colours and 1 New Model appeared first on Blog Vdsshop.

Thanks a lot Steve for reviewing the latest addition of our Touch Me line: the Standard Wide Ring Planner.

See the original post here.
Website: Philofaxy

Product Details
Type and Size: Touch Me Personal Wide Ring Planner
Leather Color: Stardust Croco

A lot of people asked Van der Spek for a Touch Me ‘Personal Wide’. After some thought they have brought out a ‘Standard Wide’ version in their popular Touch Me range of ring bound organisers.

Petra asked me if I would like to review a sample from the first batch that went on sale about a week ago. Of course I said yes.

I’m not particularly keen on ‘Personal Wide’ as it’s a size that was invented, it’s almost ISO216 B6 size. To me using B6 size makes more sense because it is easier to scale inserts to that size.

B6 is 125mm x 175mm whilst ‘Personal Wide’ is 121 x 172mm. The additional height of B6 is less of an issue and it’s only 4 mm wider than ‘Personal Wide’

Obviously trying B6 or Personal Wide in a normal Standard even with 25mm rings isn’t going to work, the pages stick out beyond the edge of the organiser! With 30mm rings the B6 paper pushes hard against the clasp!

The line at the edge of the B6 paper is where Personal Wide would finish, not that much different, but it just confirms that normal Standard size just isn’t wide enough for every day use with the wider paper in ‘Personal Wide’ or B6.

Standard Size fitted with 25mm rings using B6 Paper

I’m pleased to confirm that even with 30mm rings fitted to the ‘Standard Wide Touch Me, B6 fits perfectly and Personal Wide is 4 mm narrower, so no issues with that size either.

The Standard Wide Touch Me has been made generously sized to cope with being fitted with 30mm rings or 25mm rings if you wish.

I used a stack of normal personal size inserts either side of B6 size paper to make sure that the B6 stack was in the middle of the rings, the peak of the arc of the rings and therefore at the widest point.

Standard Wide fitted with 30mm rings using B6 Paper

The rest of the design of the Standard Wide is the same as the normal Standard Touch Me, they both feature:

• Full width back pocket for larger sheets of paper
• Two pen loops,
• Two full height secretarial pockets
• The inside front cover has a vertical slip pocket and also a full height zip pocket and a card pocket.
• The inside back cover has 6 horizontal card slots on the front of the secretarial pocket.

It should be noted that the inside leather goes the full width of the organiser, it’s not cut out like on some other brands. The inside of the full width back pocket and the reverse side of the secretarial pockets are finished in a synthetic leather like material.

The post Review of NEW Touch Me Size | Standard Wide ( = Personal Wide) appeared first on Blog Vdsshop.

Hi Everyone,

Some, but not all, Real Ostrich planner prices will go up on June 10. I will hereby mention the new price calculation for all types of Real Ostrich planners, and explain the reason for this increase.

The prices that have gone up are mentioned in bold.
· The first number you see mentioned for each type is the number with which you should multiply the price of the Main Planner that you are interested in (prices of the planners are available on our webshop), to get to the price of that planner in Real Ostrich.
· The second number you see mentioned for each type is the number with which you should multiply the price of the Additional Options that you interest in (prices of most additional options are available on our webshop), to get to the price of that additional option in Real Ostrich.

Full Quill | x4 – x3

Full out Less in | x3,5 – x2,5
Less out Less in | x3 – x2

Full Quill out | x3 – x1,5*
Less Quill out | x2,5 – x1,5*
* For these Real Ostrich Planners, only the additional options of Big Back Pocket, Leather Flyleaf, and Chunky Clasp have to be multiplied by the number mentioned here. All other additional options keep their ‘normal’ price.

There are several reasons for the increase:
1. We will no longer be using the neck pieces of the hide. This part is too thin to work with (it requires too much time and work to strengthen that hide piece in order to be able to use it in production). This means that we incur more cutting loss on the hide since there are less parts of it that we can use to make planners from.
2. While Full Quill is more expensive in terms of the part of the hide to be used for it, Less Quill requires more time in production since the hide piece is thinner than Full Quill which means we need to strengthen it first. Next to that, Less Quill also requires more time in terms of Customer Service (before the customer decides upon a certain piece and planner for it).

The price increase will be incorporated from June 10 on. If we are already in contact with you about an order before that time you will still get it for the old price, even though your invoice might come after June 10.

Please know that due to the price per hide that have to pay for Real Ostrich, it is only possible to buy a hide for Full Quill orders. Less Quill orders are made with the hides we have in stock after making the Full Quill orders with it.
· You can always check our current Less Quill stock and reserve a piece of it here.
· For information about Full Quill orders, please go here.

Thank you for your understanding.
The VDS Team

The post Real Ostrich Planners | New Prices appeared first on Blog Vdsshop.