Wall Calendar

Has it ever happened to you to have paper documents to keep temporarily (doctor’s prescriptions, certificates to submit before a deadline, concert tickets booked months in advance, etc.) without really knowing where to store them?

Either they clutter a table, a desk, or the entrance, or they are so well stored in a place you’ll have forgotten by the time you need them.

Fortuitous Prototype

Faced, as a student, with this problem of capital importance, and by a happy coincidence: - my accommodation was adorned with a wall, whose strangely thick and soft wallpaper had been methodically ruined by the claws of a previous tenant’s cat, - I was in possession of a large roll of white paper, still searching for a purpose in life, - I had time.

So, I had the idea to exploit these three resources to create (unbeknownst to me) the first prototype of my "Wall Calendar™".

Wall Calendar™

It involves writing the names of the months and the numbers of the days across the entire surface of a "soft" wall, then pinning all sorts of documents to the part of the calendar where the due date is.

The prototype was a success in two respects: - the practicality of the device, which effectively allows you to temporarily store things while making them easy to find at the crucial moment, - the aesthetic aspect of the contraption, which decorates a wall with a slightly orderly patchwork of practical documents and keepsakes (photos, postcards, event posters, flyers, etc.).

9,460,800 Minutes Later

Years (about 18) and several moves later, I decided to do it again, but this time in a place where I wanted to keep the walls in good condition. So, I equipped myself with large MDF panels attached to the wall with plasterboard and Molly bolts, painted the visible edges white, then glued cork roll on top. Finally, I attached wallpaper on the cork and printed and glued the names of the months and the numbers of the days.

After-Sales Service

I am somewhat disappointed with the result of the white wallpaper, which is not the same white as the paper on which I printed the day numbers, which is not the same white as the paper for the month names…

And I wonder why I didn’t include the names of the days (Mon, Tue, Wed, etc.). Because they change every year! I’ll answer myself, and I haven’t found a simple way to shift the names of the days relative to their numbers each year.

And why didn’t I paint the cork white instead of using wallpaper? Because it’s soft; I imagined the paint wouldn’t adhere well to it (though there are special cork paints, so maybe I was wrong), and I wanted the finish to be as smooth as possible.

Still, it remains a practical installation, and once it’s filled, you pay less attention to the finishing touches.