Why Our Planner Isn't $9.99 at Target November 16, 2015 19:51
If you haven't heard by now, we launched our 2016 planners on the website today! We are really excited because we have been developing these for a year, and we can finally share them with you now. It's been quite the learning process, but our end product is one that we're really proud of.
You can purchase your planner today by clicking here!! If you snag one this week, shipping is on us. Actually, in celebration, let's make it so that everything in our shop ships for free! Really - who doesn't love a good discount? Enter FREESHIP at checkout (lasts until 11:59 EST on 11/22).
So, why is our planner not $9.99 at Target, you ask?
First off, let's just be realistic. We are two people, not a big company. Being a startup, we don't pull as much weight as the big wigs out there, and smaller quantities lead to higher prices. But, we didn't want that to stop us from providing a quality product. Because we are not a large company, we've been able to pour a lot of love, time, and effort into every little detail instead of making quick, profit-driven decisions. We are very happy with our finished product and know you will be too!
(To read more about the development process of our planner, check out our five part series, Planning a Planner, where we discuss how the idea was formed, how we made key decisions with the help of a focus group, and the final layout of the planner.)
Here are a handful of other reasons we think our planner is amazing (and worth more than $9.99):
- Our planner is locally printed and bound in North Carolina.
- Our custom covers were letterpressed stateside by The Laughing Owl Press (they did an amazing job, per usual).
- Our planner includes a double sided folder. (We personally use it for invitations, coupons, and receipts, but the options are endless.)
- Our planner pages measure 6" W x 9" H so that you can fold an 8.5"x11" size sheet of paper and stick it in your folder or in between pages without bending the corners.
- We chose 70lb text paper for our planner. We did a lot of tests with different types of pens, pencils, and sharpies to choose a paper type that has minimal bleed through without making the planner too thick.
- We developed the best layout ever (in our eyes, and hopefully yours too). One of our main goals was versatility. We wanted every space to be useful, but for you to be able to set the purpose, so there's a lot of freedom in use. We feel like we achieved that goal in our weekly layouts (click here for more details and sample), by having 5 blank pages at the end of every month for you to use however you like, and by providing pages at the beginning and end of the planner to track things throughout the year.
- Our planner has tabs to mark the months. The tabs have a mylar coating for extra durability. Directly following each tab is a goal sheet for the month and a two page month layout prior to the week layouts.
(For close up of images, shop our planner!)
If we still haven't sold you and you have more questions, comment below, or shoot us an e-mail at hello@upstudionc.com, we'd love to share more details!
--Mary Beth and Becky
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