u/Toby_meeplus
Toby_meeplus
Toby_meeplus
Actually, Buttero does have a purple option! 💜
Before we introduced the purple leather last year, we did a small poll on Instagram to see which purple leather people preferred. Most people voted for Pueblo Purple, so that’s the one we decided to bring in first.
I’m actually curious — how many people would also love to see a Buttero Purple? 👀
Toby_meeplus
Hi Aia, this is Toby from MeePlus.
Just wanted to say thank you for sharing this — I really enjoyed reading your post! It’s always interesting to see how people transition from bound planners to rings and slowly build their own systems over time.
Also, your Purple Pueblo Mini with the gold hardware and portfolio insert looks amazing.
By the way, about the pen that fits the Mini narrow pen holder — I think you might enjoy trying the Traveler’s Company 36726006 Brass Ballpoint Pen. The brass finish would pair really nicely with the gold spine and zipper. Another option could be the Zebra Mini Ballpoint Pen 0.7 mm, which is also a compact fit.
We’re actually planning to test more pens and share a post about which pens work well with our narrow pen holders (both ballpoint and fountain pens). Hopefully it can help more Mini users find a good match!
Thanks again for giving MeePlus a try. I hope it continues to be a great companion for your planning journey!
Toby_meeplus
Yes, you can! You can order a separate engraved spine and replace the existing one on your cover.
We have a step-by-step video showing how to remove and install the spine. Just follow the video and you’ll be able to swap it yourself. 😊
Toby_meeplus
Thank you so much for your thoughtful reply. We really appreciate you bringing up this topic.
We agree that transparency is important, and we know there are customers who care deeply about where materials come from and how they are produced.
We’re currently gathering more information from our suppliers and tanneries. Once we have a clearer and more complete picture, we’d love to create a dedicated page on our website to share what we’ve learned.
Thank you again for your suggestion and for encouraging us to do better. We truly appreciate it!
Toby_meeplus
Thank you for bringing up this topic. We have also been looking into the sourcing information behind the leather we use and would like to share what we have been able to confirm so far.
All MeePlus leather is vegetable-tanned leather. Our leather is sourced through authorized distributors of established European tanneries, including:
- Badalassi Carlo (Italy) — Pueblo leather
- Conceria Walpier (Italy) — Buttero leather
- VIRGILIO Conceria (Italy) — Margot Fog leather
- J&E Sedgwick (UK) — British Bridle leather
- Tempesti--Tempesti leather
These tanneries have long histories in leather craftsmanship and are known for producing high-quality leather using traditional tanning methods.
Regarding the origin of the hides, some publicly available information is available:
Badalassi Carlo and Conceria Walpier are members of the Consorzio Vera Pelle Italiana Conciata al Vegetale (Genuine Italian Vegetable-Tanned Leather Consortium). The consortium represents traditional vegetable-tanned leather producers in Tuscany and explains that the hides used by its member tanneries come from cattle raised for the food industry, with leather production making use of this byproduct rather than being the primary purpose of raising the animals.
Source:
https://www.pellealvegetale.it/en/associated-tanneries/
Additionally, some Italian tanneries such as Tempesti have publicly stated that they recover hides from the food chain (“raw hides recovered from the food industry”) and have related ICEC Leather Claim certification.
Source:
https://tempesti.com/
https://www.icec.it/
That said, we also want to be transparent: not every tannery publishes the same level of supply chain information publicly, and we do not currently have complete farm-level traceability documentation for every hide we use. We are continuing to work with our suppliers to better understand and document additional information regarding raw material sourcing, certifications, and production standards.
What we can confirm is that all MeePlus leather is vegetable-tanned leather sourced from established European tanneries. Vegetable tanning is a traditional tanning method that uses plant-based tannins and is considered a more natural alternative to chrome tanning. It allows the leather to retain its natural character and develop a unique patina over time.
Toby_meeplus
Thanks for sharing your experience! This is actually a great question.
Yes, with enough use, a MeePlus cover will generally become softer and easier to close naturally. Vegetable-tanned leather gradually relaxes over time as the fibers soften and the oils move through the leather. Many of our own binders become much easier to close after regular use.
The reason some new MeePlus binders may not fully close without the band at first is mainly due to the natural characteristics of leather. Even with the same Pueblo leather, different parts of the hide can have slightly different fiber density, thickness, and firmness. Some pieces will naturally feel softer, while others will have more structure when new.
We usually prefer selecting leather with a denser and more stable fiber structure, as these areas tend to age beautifully and maintain their shape better. The trade-off is that some covers may need a little more time to relax.
Another factor is how we prepare the center fold area. We intentionally don’t thin this area excessively. While making it thinner can help a cover achieve a perfect closure immediately, it may also reduce the support and durability of the fold area over long-term use.
If you prefer the cover to close fully right out of the box, you can leave us a note when ordering and ask for a slightly deeper center thinning. Another option is choosing a softer leather such as Tempesti, which has a more flexible feel from the beginning.
So the short answer is: yes, it will usually become easier to close with use, even without external pressure. Using the elastic band during the break-in period can also help the cover gradually adapt to the closed position, as the gentle pressure encourages the leather fibers to relax in that direction. Over time, many covers will become much easier to close naturally without the band.
Toby_meeplus
Hi! The gold spine uses a PVD vacuum coating, which is a relatively advanced and durable surface-finishing process.
Under normal use, the PVD coating offers good wear resistance and is unlikely to peel off in large areas. Since real gold is used in the gold-colored coating, and gold itself is relatively soft, very sharp metal objects may still leave fine scratches if they scrape against the surface with enough force. However, these scratches would normally affect only the surface and would not cause the coating to peel off in large sections.
The gold ring mechanism uses a traditional electroplating process. Since the ring mechanism is installed inside the binder, it is much less likely to rub against or collide with other metal objects during everyday use. Therefore, noticeable wear or color loss is generally not something you need to worry about.
Since polypropylene is a relatively soft material, it is not hard enough to scratch or damage the gold coating.😊
Toby_meeplus
So sorry for late reply. Are you referring to the card holder?
Toby_meeplus
Sure!
Comparison at a Glance
Price: British Bridle > Fog Wax > Buttero =Tempesti>Pueblo
Aging: Pueblo = Fog Wax=Tempesti > Buttero > Bridle
Firmness: Bridle > Buttero > Fog Wax > Pueblo>Tempesti
Scratch Resistance: Fog Wax=Tempesti > Pueblo > Bridle > Buttero
Toby_meeplus
Regarding the aging of Tempesti leather, I don’t have clear before-and-after photos yet. My own Tempesti notebook has only been in use for less than two months, so the changes are still quite subtle at this stage.
Like other vegetable-tanned leathers, the aging process generally starts with a relatively dry feel, with a slightly rough texture similar to denim. Over time, as it’s used and absorbs natural oils from the hands, the surface gradually becomes more supple and develops a richer sheen, while the color slowly deepens and forms a natural patina.
Once we have more obvious aging comparison photos in the future, I’ll definitely share them here 😊
Toby_meeplus
For deeper scratches (for example, if it gets hit by something sharp like keys in a bag), the mark will still be visible and won’t fully disappear with rubbing. Over time though, it will soften and become less noticeable as the leather ages.
One thing we like about this grain structure is that the vertical and slightly irregular texture helps visually break up scratches — so compared to smooth leather, marks are usually less obvious in daily use. (I’ve attached an example photo showing a scratch from keys.)
Tempesti can pick up dust a bit more easily compared to some of our other MeePlus vegetable-tanned leathers, especially in lighter colors, so it may feel like it gets dirty a bit faster. But on the flip side, lighter tones tend to show patina and color changes much more clearly over time.
Hope this helps 😊
Toby_meeplus
Hi! Thanks for the tag — happy to share some context from our side at MeePlus.
From a MeePlus perspective — all of our current leathers are vegetable-tanned, so they don’t have a surface coating.
Compared to coated or embossed leathers (like pebbled finishes), they tend to show scratches more easily, but the upside is that they also develop patina much more naturally over time.
Tempesti has a subtle fabric-like grain. For light marks, you can usually reduce their appearance quite a bit just by rubbing with your fingers — the natural oils help the leather blend the mark back in (I’ve attached a video showing this effect).
Toby_meeplus
Thanks everyone for the detailed feedback — really appreciate you taking the time 🙏
It seems like Option 2 is clearly the favorite for most of you, especially because it balances slim profile + versatility really well. We’re going to continue developing in this direction.
A lot of the suggestions (like refining the zipper pull size and improving pocket structure) are super helpful too — we’ll keep iterating on those details as we refine the design.
Really grateful for all the insights, this is exactly the kind of input that helps us make it better 👍
Toby_meeplus
Thanks for the suggestion! That’s actually a really good point.
We’ll go back and see if we can find an even smaller zipper pull to slightly reduce the overall width 👍 Really appreciate the feedback — super helpful for refining the design.
Toby_meeplus
For reference, this is Option 1 with three credit cards inside the zipper pouch. I was pleasantly surprised by how slim it still feels.
Toby_meeplus
We actually already offer custom A6 and B6 sizes. 😊
If you’re interested in either of those, just send us an email and we’d be happy to discuss the details.
As for Personal Wide, you’re absolutely right. Since it’s a less common size, demand is lower, which unfortunately means refill inventory isn’t always as stable as our more popular sizes. We’re aware of that and will keep working to improve both refill availability and accessory options for Personal Wide in the future.
Thanks for the feedback — it’s always helpful to know where people would like to see us expand. 🙏
Toby_meeplus
Hey! Really sorry to hear about your experience — I can totally understand how frustrating that must feel.
I just double-checked the measurements on our side. Our pocket cover width is about 3.86”, which is quite close to the Plotter Mini6 at 3.9”. We also took another look at Plotter’s official sizing, and it seems they measure including the spine bar as well.
For reference, I tested a pocket 13mm here with 3.15” wide inserts (same width as Plotter), and the pages sit about 2–3mm inside the cover. If using 11mm rings, they would likely sit slightly further in.
That said, it does sound like your fit is tighter than expected — would you mind DMing us your order number? If possible, it would also really help if you could share a quick photo of the cover and inserts with a ruler for reference. We’d love to take a closer look and figure out what might be causing the difference.
Toby
Toby_meeplus
If you’re looking for something that holds its shape better, our British Bridle leather is relatively firmer, and it’s about 0.5mm thicker than most of our other leathers. Because of that, it’s less prone to bending from an elastic band, and it also tends to show ring impressions a bit less over time.
That said, some customers do find Bridle a bit too stiff at the beginning — it may not close 100% flat right away and can rely on the elastic band until it softens with use.
If ring marks are something you’d prefer to avoid, using a ring protector can help a lot in reducing that pressure on the leather.
Interestingly, quite a few of our customers actually enjoy the look of those ring impressions — they become part of the binder’s character as it ages.
Toby_meeplus
You can use our wallet accessory to store cards and cash. At the moment, we don’t offer a design like the one shown in image 2, but we truly appreciate your interest!
Toby_meeplus
Hi! Thanks for your interest in MeePlus.
At the moment, we sell directly online through our website, so there aren’t any physical stationery stores carrying MeePlus yet in Hong Kong, mainland China, or Taiwan.
We chose this approach so we can keep close control over materials, customization options, and quality for each piece we make — while also avoiding extra markups from middlemen.
If you have any questions about sizes, leather, or setup, feel free to ask — we’re always happy to help.
Toby_meeplus
Sorry you’re experiencing this.
We provide a 1-year warranty on the ring mechanism, so if the hardware is causing trouble we can absolutely replace it for you.
Toby_meeplus
No worries — I’ll count you in 😊
Toby_meeplus
We now offer custom 3.5 × 5.5 inch sizing 😊 If you’re interested, just reach out to [email protected] and we’ll help you sort it out.
Toby_meeplus
We’re not fully satisfied with the quality of our current Buttero Black leather, so we’ve placed a new order. It’s expected to arrive and be restocked in about one month.
Thank you so much for sharing!