So, the struggle has been real with this planner. However, I am going to try and not let that get in the way of this review. I ‘m going to try and be objective, and not let my frustrations with this planner get in the way.
So having said that let’s get into it shall we?
Background Story
Back in October/November time, the planner world was abuzz with videos of a new B6 Kikki-k ring planner that would be going on sale. Needless to say that B6 is kinda my size. I had been in a B6 TN for a few months prior to seeing this.
The Kikki-k team uploaded a load of videos onto their channels and we all watched them thinking YASSSS! Finally! Then we had to wait. It had not been released yet so it was just a matter of watching the website until they became available.
The AU and USA website got it first. Then videos started to show up on YouTube reviewing the new B6 planners. The UK was needless to say a bit jealous and we had to wait a bit longer. Okay, a couple of months longer (#bitter).
It’s available!
I know that Daisy got a lot of questions about when it would be out and when the UK site would have it available. When we should be expecting it? Would it be in stores? How much would it be? Will the refills be in continuous stock? Would it be out by the end of December?
Okay, you get the point. Though she is on the Planner Insider Project Team, she did her best to keep the community in the know. And she even made an announcement when it was on the website.
Finally, it came to the UK website and I managed to grab one quick sharp. Needless to say that I was very excited about this and the wait began! But to be honest it wasn’t that long of a wait. I came in the post very quickly. Side-note about the box it came in, it was huge compared to the actual planner. They must have run out of smaller boxes.
The exterior of the planner
The first thing that you might notice is the strap of the planner. They have gone for a more triangular shape to it. Which I quite like and I hope that they role this out to their other planners as well.
The colour is a nice cream. If you wanted to change the colour of this planner, some leather paint would do the job. It is a smooth leather, unlike there others that have that hatched texture to them.
I think that keeping this a very neutral planner they have opened them self up to please a lot of people and that theme runs through onto the inside of the planner as well.
On the back of the planner, there is a small metal nameplate that is in the same white as the popper on the front. This is a nice touch as in the past this has just been printed on the fabric of the planner.
Interior of the planner
Like I said the inside is just as plain but there has been a lot of clever additions to the inside. So one of the first things that hit me was the white hard wear. I am so glad that the didn’t do gold but I would have loved to have seen silver.
The pocket configuration has been updated. There are a few more pockets for those that like to decorate their pockets (not me) and the secretarial pocket is still there. But there is also a zip pocket and a long slip pocket at the back.
Lot’s of storage! Plus you may also notice that there is a second pen loop near the zip pocket. I was happy to see this as I tend to carry a pen and a highlighter. This was a big yippee for me.
In the back of the planner, you have the standard scrap pad and you may also notice that the closure has two poppers on it. This is GENIUS! This gives you such a nice amount of breathing room in regards to chunking up your planner.
Kikki-K rings are a great size at 30mm which means that you can get a LOT in there and the closure can sometimes come under a bit of pressure. So having this extra lei way to stuff your planner is great.
One other little genius detail before I get into the inserts is this little elastic band just above the rings there. Well, that is there for the people that love to have charms on their planner. I think that this is great attention to detail and a great addition for those planner girls/boys that love to deck-out their planner!
What inserts do you get?
The inserts in this have had a MAJOR upgrade. From the dividers to the actual layout, the insiders’ team did a fantastic job in making sure that the inserts are versatile and paper-snob (points at self) friendly.
The dividers are all plain textured laminated card and they all have a piece of stationery on the corner in gold foil. Nice and simple and if you want to jazz them up you can. Or you can leave them as is and they are just as nice.
So you get the basic lined, grid and plain paper in here but you also get un-dated monthly inserts and un-dated weekly inserts. The best thing about the new inserts… 120 gsm paper! *finally!* So, what do they look like?
Though the inserts are fairly plain I really like them as you can either leave them as is and just use pen and highlighter or you can dress them up with stickers and what not! They are a Mon-Sun layout with notes on the far right.
After using a Sun start monthly for so long this would throw me for a while until I got used to the Mon layout. I know that I would not be the only one that would have a problem with this.
Not quite a horizontal, not quite a vertical. It has a bit of both in it and I think that this would please a lot of people in regards to again decorating or leaving plain.
I do like that the weekend is together and that both days have the same amount of space given to each of them. This is a huge plus from me, so many planners and inserts dedicate more space to the week. Which is not always helpful for people as they may do or do more on a weekend.
I have set hours on a weekday and then I have a huge to-do list on a weekend so this makes me happy that there is equal space and that there is a space for notes as well. Gotta scribble somewhere!
The struggle is real
Overall I really like this planner I may end up in at some point this year however at the moment I am just not feeling rings. If you are a planner girl you will know what I mean.
Not only that but I had a struggle with the planner when I first got it as well which put me off moving straight into it. Even though I had bought some DIY-fish inserts that I had used last year to use in this planner.
I was very excited when the Kikki-K box turned up on my doorstep. Needless to say I opened it straight away to check it over and look at the beauty that would be my new planner.
Story time
Well…
Slightly dishearted when I opened the box and the planner was in a plastic bag when it said on the site, and still does, comes with a black dust bag. I know, no big deal but if like me you want to be able to store away your planner when it is not in use. It now means that it will just be stood up. Oh well!
I did the usually stroke and sniff of the planner and looked at the details on the outside. Like I have said the details in this planner are amazing. So I opened it up and my heart sank.
The rings had gaps in them. What, the, heck! I tried turning some of the paper to see if this was a gap that I could live with. Unfortunately the paper kept catching and if I was going to use this as a everyday planner is was going to get more abuse.
So I emailed Kikki-k about the ring problems and sent them photos of it as well. I also nipped into UKPA and asked if anyone else had had problems with there and there were a few running themes.
Gappy rings, black marks, dents, and bent corners. On one
I did get a very friendly email off one of the team over at Kikk-K. They told me that I would be getting a refund for the problems and I was to keep the planner. Which was very much a surprise to me.
So my new mission to fix these rings and then give it a purpose later in the year. I must admit that even though it is damaged, I think that it fills a very interesting gap in the market.
I will update you later in the year if I do manage to fix the gap!
