I received two “Shutterdoris” from @Shuttercreations.ph last week: One A5 (Which I’d ordered and customized) and one Standard Wide for review purposes (thanks, guys!). I had the A5 one almost immediately up and running. Ir’s pink. PIIIIIIIIINK. Shiny pink! Perfect for one of the projects I’m currently working on.
Battle of the Pinks!
Yeah, despite my fixation on leather and earth tones, I am actually helpless when it comes to a) pink shades, or b) shiny things. With these two combined in a notebook cover… ugh, yes, I had to buy it.
They’ve got other colors on their account, but you’ll have to check their availability. I really like the Turquoise and brown and am hoping for a purple or black patent with pink elastics.
Despite their flaws ( and it has a few of them) I love my Shutterdoris. They’re very similar, with slight differences.
A5 Patent Wide for 6 inserts.
The A5 has rounded corners ( which I’d asked for), while the Standard has straight corners. It’s a purely aesthetic choice for me.
Both have the same configuration of elastics:
Three elastics per TN, but you can fit two inserts per elastic.
The vinyl (?) (pvc?) material of the A5 patent has a slick feel while the matte Standard is slightly grainy. Both are medium stiff firm enough to hold their shapes when empty. I’d say they’re around 1 or 1.5 mm thick. The cover seems to be two sheets of material stitched together. The stitching and trimming of the materials is not exactly straight, but it’s a tolerable variation for me. For others, perhaps a little too “off the mark.” This could be improved upon in later models.
stitching is slightly off, as is the trim..
Inside is a vibrant turquoise in matte.
The A5 is what I’d call bubble-gum colored. I want to call it my ‘Gum’dori in fact. It tends to mark with scratches and gouges because it’s so smooth. It’s also a bit of a fingerprint magnet, and it has a very subtly horizontal grain to the material. It’s probably not the best choice for someone who dumps their books around like me; it’s something you have to baby and polish and probably get a cover or bag for.
Slight vertical grain and a few marks on the surface from light useage so far).
The matte Standard has a slightly deeper, more magenta-ish, less bubblegum tint , which I prefer, actually. I also am growing into the matte texture and have come to prefer it over the Patent- maybe for my next purchase? It’s less prone to scratches and fingerprints, and I feel it’ll take folds a lot better.
The Standard Matte: slightly grainy surface and a deeper magenta color.
Both lack pockets and are extremely basic in nature, but I’m not hung up on that because they’re a) Lighter than leather, b) strong, and c) waterproof in a way that leather isn’t. They’re also just the right level of thickness/ floppiness for me. They’re also thinner, which is a nice change for someone who likes to carry a whole library in their bag.
Elastic tends to “bite” into the cover materials. Since the cover materials doesn’t take bends or folds like leather, it might wear down more easily.
There’s one possible area for improvement: the closure elastic tends to dig into the cover material, which is a but soft. I’m afraid that it might eventually cause permanent marks or dents. Perhaps a small notch could be cut into the side so that the elastic could settle there? I’d classify that more as a nitpick though.
I’m pretty happy with my purchase and may consider more, since the price is reasonable (well under P1000 for the A5). The turnaround time from ordering to delivery was about one and a half weeks. Communication with Shuttercreations.ph was very easy and they answered within a day of my messages.
Oh, note that custom orders (like the A5) do not come with inserts, but the standard sizes do come with one each, I believe.
Pretty in pink. Damn, I should’ve reviewed this in February.
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