Hi, friends! Xi's Essentials is back with an essential tool that will assist you in making your life a bit easier. With the upcoming school year starting soon as well as the beginning of the final 6 months of 2020, it's time to invest in or update those planners! Whether you're an avid planner like myself or if you're new to the planner game, feel free to read below for the top 6 planner brands that I've found! Oh and did I mention that all of these companies are Black-owned?! It's time to get our lives together, friends.
Busy bee.
I've been utilizing planners and stationary items since the beginning of time... or more reasonably, since middle school. Maybe it's the Virgo tendencies in me but I've always been keen to being a super organized person. The feeling of being organized stems from my way of having control over certain things in my life. Being able to write down my to-do list, tasks, weekly/monthly deadlines, goals, and more has always been a comforting feeling to me. I feel so accomplished whenever I am able to physically cross off an item or date in my planner. Not to mention there are tons of benefits to owning a planner as well. In fact, studies have shown that people are often more successful if they own a planner.
Not only will planners help you to become more organized; having a daily planner contains a number of additional benefits as well. Time management is a key benefit of owning a planner. By writing down specific deadlines in your planner, this will help you to keep track of everything and the allotted time that is needed to complete the desired task(s). Planners also provide you the ability to track nutritional activities as well. By writing down your daily calorie intake and exercise in your planner, this will help you to become more accountable to your physical health goals. Another benefit of owning a planner is that it will improve your productivity. I often use my planner when I am home from work and school so that I can stay on top of things that need to get done. I don't feel comfortable laying down or watching TV if I haven't crossed off a daily task on my planner yet. But as important as it is to write down your responsibilities such as paying a bill or completing homework, it's also important to make sure that you include time for self-care. When school is hectic—especially during midterms or finals week—I am sure to remind myself to take some "me time".
Every planner is different.
Now let's get into the real business of finding the perfect planner for you. In 2018, I was gifted with thee perfect planner that I've ever had in my life! Since then I've supported the company for years until recently when the owner released a statement supporting All L*ves M*tter—a problematic slogan (and group) that disregards the Black Lives Matter movement. Following their statement, they issued an apology but as for me and my Black coins—it was too late. It's unfortunate that this event had to occur for me to start looking into Black-owned planners and stationary companies. But I will do my very best to show my support now and you can too! Last month, I reposted on my Instagram story and Twitter account a link from @momruncraft where she provided a list a of Black-owned small businesses within the planner community. I received a lot of questions from my followers asking for the link again or more specifically, who was my favorite planner company from the list? After going through @momruncraft list and doing some research of my own, I've managed to compile a list of 6 Black-owned planner companies who served as my fave. I think that you all will become a fan of theirs as well. Continue reading below to see how I organized them into 3 different categories.
Ballin' on a budget:
First we have, Cloth & Paper, an elevated line of organizational products based in my hometown of Richmond, Virginia. They offer a variety of products from planners, planner inserts, accessories, and stationary items. Additionally, C&P offers a monthly subscription where subscribers can receive fancy lifestyle items and exclusives. Their minimalistic style is perfect for those who seek a sleek, business-type look. Need a mood tracker or passport notebook? A message or memo notepad? Fancy yet reasonably-priced pens and pencils? How about a leather agenda? C&P has all of your writing needs. Prices for all products range from $1.50 to $160.
Ivory Paper Co. (IPC)* is a super cute Black-owned stationary and planner company based in Gahanna, Ohio. Lifestyle influencer, Alitzah Stinson, serves as the founder and CEO of Ivory Paper Co. She launched her company back in 2018 and named IPC after her daughter, Eleanor Ivory. Alitzah's goal is to inspire others, along with her daughter, to take charge of their life and follow their passions. And you can do just that by purchasing an IPC planner today! Along with their popular All-in-One planner, they also offer monthly, weekly, and daily spreads that are easily customizable. Planners start at $49.
*UPDATE (April 4, 2021): Unfortunately at this time, I do not recommend that planner shoppers should purchase any products from IPC. Currently they are having some major shipping issues where planners have been delayed to customers for months. I, too, have ordered an IPC planner in July 2020 and did not receive my planner until September of 2020. There are also numerous reviews of poor customer service in regard to refund policies and so on. So it is at your discretion to purchase anything with IPC. I would not be doing my blog justice by providing inadequate products as customer service and shipping are very important to me as a consumer. Please support any of the other 5 Black-owned Planner Brands that I have provided. Thank you.
Lavish Life Brand is an esteemed Black-owned powerhouse that is home to four companies by Ruby Asabor—including the Lavish Life Academic Planner. I encourage everyone to support this young, Black woman. Right now you can purchase their 2020-2021 Academic Planner for only $45! You can also purchase their Student Kit for $65 which comes with a planner cover of choice, a daily planner notepad, a gold pen, gold stationary kits, and a FREE student guide to success. I need to get my coins together so that I can partake in this sweet deal!
Luxury :
NOTIQ (pronounced no-teek) is a luxury Black-owned planner brand that I cannot wait to get my hands on! Artist and designer, Vivian Jokotade Adeniyi, started NOTIQ just a year ago! With their goal to empower ambitious women, NOTIQ offers planners, inserts, journals and a variety of tech accessories. Their quilted leather agenda covers serves as one of their most popular items. Planners start at $59 and agendas start at $99. Did I mention that a portion of their proceeds support their global mission to advance the creative enterprise of women and girls in developing countries? Luxurious and philanthropical?! We have to stan.
Where are my HBCU grads at?! Let's support Isys Jay, a graduate of North Carolina A&T State University, and her leading product, the Jay Planner. Jay has received a lot of social media attention by having multiple celebrities like Megan Thee Stallion, B. Simone, LaLa Milan, BB Judy and more support her business. Her vegan leather planner comes with a variety of items including a calendar booklet, 3 card holder slots, folder pockets, an 8 GB flash drive compatible with Mac and PC, a builtin portable charger, and more! Currently, Jay Planners comes in 5 different colors, but you better hurry because some colors are already sold out. Planners start at $98. You can also personalize your planner as well for an extra $15.
Digital:
Now for some of you, you might be more comfortable with planning your life through you phone or computer. If this is a convenient option for you, then here's a Black-owned digital planner company! Meet Visaysha Kaliah, creator of Planted Paper Co. and provider of digital planning and organizational tools for people everywhere. PPC have digital planners, notebooks, and notepads. If you sign up for their emails, you'll receive a free Palm Print Digital Notebook and a digital download each month. I absolutely love the design and layout of PPC's planners. I'm more of a fan of using a physical planner but if I wasn't so hands-on then Planted Paper Co. would definitely be my digital pick! I do plan to purchase their digital budget tracker though. Her products are very wallet-friendly as they range from $5-20.
Support Black Women & Black Businesses.
if you haven't noticed, every planner company that I've mentioned above was created by a Black woman. Which isn't surprising to me because according to the Fortune, Black women are the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs in America. Whether you prefer a physical or digital planner, please support at least one of these Black-owned planner companies. Even if you're not a fan of planners, feel free to share their work via social media or by word-of-mouth. Again, I'd like to give a huge shoutout to @momruncraft for shining light on Black-owned Small Business Planner Companies as I was unaware of the number of these businesses that were out there. I'm super excited to purchase my new planner soon and I cannot wait until you do the same. Let's get our lives together, friends by supporting these Black-owned planner companies! As always, Black Lives Matter and remember to #BuyBlack!
XO, Xiara.
P.s. In case you're wondering which one out of the six is my absolute fave? I'm still debating between Ivory Paper Co. and Lavish Life Academic Planner. A final decision will be made before the school year starts in mid-August. I'll keep you guys posted lol!
UPDATE: Again, I purchased a planner with IPC but I, along with many other customers have not enjoyed the shopping experience. I plan to purchase a Lavish Life Academic Planner in August of 2021 for the next school year.
Xi's Takeaway Essentials:
Support Black women.
Support Black-owned businesses.
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