VDS Custom Personal Wide (Lavender Ostrich)

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In Spring 2020, I purchased a Van der Spek (VDS) “standard” size widened to fit personal wide inserts in the lavender ostrich leather! I found it on the Van der Spek Sales group on facebook and was lucky enough to snag it!

You’ll find the specific customizations below. Please note that this personal wide planner is widened by 2cm whereas my Parme personal wide was widened 1.8cm. It has a bit more room but its not terribly notable. I would still ‘prefer’ 1.8cm for personal wide inserts. But, I love this planner. The color is fantastic and so unique. The original owner’s choices were thoughtful and I wouldn’t change a thing. For a video featuring my Lavender ostrich, check out this video.

I don’t have personal experience going through this process but my general understanding is that if you want to order a planner from VDS in an ostrich leather you must find “hide buddies.” Join the VDS facebook group to find buddies or reach out to VDS directly to see if there is a waiting list you could join. Ostrich leathers are significantly more expensive and are always custom planners. You cannot order them directly from the website.

The Order Specs:

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Pocket Configuration:

Left Side

Left Side

Right Side

Right Side

VDS Custom A5 Codex (Sakura Croco)

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In July of 2019, I placed another custom order with VDS. This time it was for an A5 Codex (notebook cover) in the waitlist leather Sakura Croco. The Sakura is a velvety suede-like leather. It’s gorgeous but I found susceptible to wear easily. I also found that its difficult to truly capture the color of this beauty in photos. I’ve included a few pictures below but also check out my youtube video to get more of an idea of coloring! I included my customizations below.

The A5 codex is VERY roomy. I fit a Moleskine Classic daily (more like an A5 slim) along with an A5 1/2 year stalogy in mine easily. Note that I didn’t lengthen the strap on the codex, just widened the clasp!

I love this planner. Even though I may go in and out of using it, an A5 codex is a staple in any planner collection.

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top: parme custom standard codex; bottom: sakura croco a5 codex

top: parme custom standard codex; bottom: sakura croco a5 codex

In darker lighting (at starbucks)

In darker lighting (at starbucks)

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sunlight in my office

my custom order specs:

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VDS Custom Codex (Hobo Weeks)

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van der spek custom codex specs:

I ordered a custom Van der Spek (VDS) for my Hobonichi Weeks Mega Sneaker. The Mega version of the Weeks has double the amount of notes paper! Please note: that although the ‘sneaker’ Hobonichi Weeks is slimmer than a regular Weeks, I did not alter the dimensions of the codex standard besides asking for it to fit the “Mega” size.

You’ll find my specific customizations below. I ordered my cover in the Parme Touch Me leather with no stiffener so that it matched my Custom Personal Wide VDS I ordered last year. I waited 6 weeks for this custom codex to arrive after placing my order & submitting payment!

For a video featuring my Parme codex, check out this video. At the beginning and at minute 18, I discuss my codex. I love her!

my custom order specs:

The items in bold are additions or upcharges.

  • Codex Standard Mega

  • Outside & inside Parme, matching stitching

  • No stiffener

  • Smooth leather

  • Add Gold popper

  • Add back pocket

  • Add right secretarial

  • Upgrade to A5 clasp (normally comes with same size strap as the standard (personal) size)

  • Add pen loop (right side)

a5 vs. personal size strap

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