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Object Lessons: The Paper Planners and Diaries with a Cult Following

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Object Lessons: The Paper Planners and Diaries with a Cult Following

January 16, 2025

Remember the Filofax? Mine looked like an overstuffed club sandwich and I lugged it everywhere. I’ve been fully digital since then, grateful for my streamlined data center. But this year, I find myself increasingly nostalgic for pen and paper, for scribbled daily entries and lists.

It turns out I’m far from alone. Many in the design world have remained fully committed to analog organizers. Not just any, mind you, but to Marjolein Delhaas’s planners and diaries. The Rotterdam-based graphic designer introduced her first in 2008, aiming in her words to create “pared down, (typo)graphic and functional everyday systems that also serve as beautiful objects.”

Delhaas struck a nerve and, by demand, she produces her designs every year in new colors: her palettes are as beloved as her bold-minimalist layouts. Delhaas’s collection is printed near Rotterdam in limited runs and manually bound.

Devotees thrill to each edition—within weeks they often sell out. Fortunately, we’re at a restock moment after the start of January rush. Take a look and consider 2025 as the year you discovered the Delhaas way.

delhaas&#8\2\17;s 365 type planners are the designs that sell out fastest ( 17
Above: Delhaas’s 365 Type Planners are the designs that sell out fastest (such was the case for these from Present and Correct in London).

Delhaas has her own online shop where you can see the whole line—but she, too, has sold out of 2025 planners.

fortunately, wms & co., one of the few us shops to offer delhaas&#8\2\1 18
Above: Fortunately, Wms & Co., one of the few US shops to offer Delhaas’s designs, and has just added a new batch of the Marjolein Delhaas 2025 Planner in all six colors, including blush pink; $46. They’re pocket-sized—6-by-4 inches—and Wms & Co’s come with an invisible protective sleeve.

“We have clients who have been using Marjolein’s planners for years and keep them as a sort of library of their lives,” says Allison Williams, who, with JP Williams, runs Wms & Co. N.B.: We recently featured their NYC loft: see Design Vignettes as “Special Sauce.”

iris, a year old independent bookstore in montclair, new jersey, also offers th 19
Above: Iris, a year-old independent bookstore in Montclair, New Jersey, also offers the 2025 Basic Planner in black and gray-beige; $32. Entirely made in the Netherlands, it has a lay-flat binding book edged in the color of the cover with a visible spine and 128 calendar pages and 56 notes pages.

Delhaas writes that in keeping with the adage “a better world starts with you,” her designs are “produced (and priced) as sustainably as possible, and printed locally on paper that is either FSC certified, or—even better—Cradle-to-Cradle-certified.” Impressively, this year’s line is all Cradle-to-Cradle certified (read about the certification on page 226 of Remodelista: The Low-Impact Home.

delhaas&#8\2\17;s pocket sized month notebooks, \$6 from present and correc 20
Above: Delhaas’s pocket-sized Month Notebooks, $6 from Present and Correct in London, are for planning a month at a time.
wms & c0. sells the monthly journal 3\1 in sets of three for \$\18. of the  21
Above: Wms & C0. sells the monthly Journal 31 in sets of three for $18. Of the 1-365 and 1-31 series, Allison Williams says,”The streamlined quality of Marjolein’s planners are in a league of their own and the design details are always on point. They form an architecture for your thoughts but let your thoughts shine.”
delhaas&#8\2\17;s 365 wall planner comes as twelve &#8\2\20;large and i 22
Above: Delhaas’s 365 Wall Planner comes as twelve “large and in charge” monthly sheets and To Do lists. It’s $60 from Wms & Co. via Field + Supply.
for diary keepers, the page a day journal \1 365 is printed on high quality, un 23
Above: For diary keepers, the page-a-day Journal 1-365 is printed on high-quality, uncoated, unlined paper. It’s $48 from Iris.
surely everyone could use one of delhaas&#8\2\17;s spiral bound things to d 24
Above: Surely everyone could use one of Delhaas’s spiral-bound Things To Do Today planners: the left pages are for structuring your days and the right for making lists; $36 from Wms & Co. in several colors. You can also order the Things To Do Block and other planners directly from Delhaas—go to her site to see her stockists around the world.

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Frequently asked questions

Where can I buy Marjolein Delhaas planners and diaries?

You can buy Marjolein Delhaas planners and diaries from her own online shop or from select retailers like Wms & Co.

Are Marjolein Delhaas planners sustainable?

Yes, Marjolein Delhaas planners are produced and priced as sustainably as possible, printed locally on paper that is either FSC certified or Cradle-to-Cradle certified.

What is unique about Marjolein Delhaas planners?

Marjolein Delhaas planners are known for their bold-minimalist layouts, beautiful design, and limited runs that often sell out quickly.

Why are Marjolein Delhaas planners popular?

Many people appreciate the nostalgia and functionality of pen and paper planners, as well as the design aesthetic and sustainability of Marjolein Delhaas planners.

Product summary  Item 6 154Item 7 155

marjolein delhaas month notebooks from present and correct london 5 1
Notebooks & Journals

Month Notebook

$5.00 USD from Present & Correct

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