12 April 2013

Free For All Friday No 230

The middle of April... Spring/Autumn should be happening, although I know UK and Europe has been having some unseasonal weather (strange phrase that!) but putting the weather to one side for a moment...

We are getting to that point where people seem to shed their larger organisers for the next size down for Summer... will you be doing this again this year?

Also do people in the Southern hemisphere, move in the opposite direction? Smaller back to bigger?

Please let us know in the comments.

Before I throw the floor open to you all to discuss any of the above or anything else Filofax related... Can I thank you all for a great couple of Skype sessions last Sunday, it was great to talk to everyone again or for the first time.

So over to you all... and have a great weekend.

52 comments:

  1. As a new Filo-sopher I can say with absolute certainty that I won't move out of Personal size come summer. Why should I - My life won't change that much, and Personal size is perfect for me - in any season. The only thing that could happen is that I might move into the blue Finsbury I intend to order in May with the 50% discount I got with the Easter quiz on FF Germany. A fresh new colour for summer, but still Personal size.

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  2. My life won't be "smaller" in summer - so why should my Filofax be smaller? ;)
    I agree with Regina: Personal is just perfect for me in any season!

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  3. I have just started using a fountain pen (as I've only just discovered that you can get them for left handers!) and now see why people complain about the quality of Filofax paper. Can someone tell me a good quality paper. I will need an A5 WOTP diary, Filofax compatable.

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    1. Word is that Quo Vadis will soon have a line of inserts that will be Filofax compatable as far as far as the personal size. A5 is not a sure thing yet, with the hole pattern they are thinking of using, a re-punch might be required. There is hope.

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    2. I bought a Letts diary from WH Smith and hacked it apart and punched. Takes all pens perfectly

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    3. ...and I hacked my Plannerism Planner into sheets, because it's an unusual Imperial size and wouldn't fit in my Flex binder. The punched sheets are ok though and the Plannerism paper is quite good for all types of pens. There are still a few available from Laurie.

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    4. Tim I'm interested to know how you did the hack and how easy/ difficult it was. Would you be at all interested in doing a guest post on Plannerisms?

      And, I'm glad you like the paper! I love it, I specifically chose it because it's so smooth and a joy to write on.

      And yes, there are still Plannerisms planners available! See Plannerisms.com for more info for anyone who may be interested.

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    5. Hi Laurie - there's nothing complicated, although I hestitated before doing it! I love the idea of a bound planner to keep everything together for the year, so was gutted to find it didn't fit my Flex cover (needed to keep business cards, stamps, rail tickets, papers etc).

      A craft/ modelling knife, removes the covers. The bound stitching just needs a few careful nicks to sever that. The biggest issue is the glue that is used to keep the thing together. In the end I split the pages into their "chunks" and pared off about 3mm of glued paper in a guillotine. This made the pages narrower, but not noticeably so. A quick punch (I use a Time Manager punch) and they were ready to use a ring mechanism! I'll send you a photo!

      I'm tempted by the Moleskine Turntable Planners (see Plannerisms blog earlier this week). It'll fit perfectly into an A5 Flex cover, but I'm nervous about the weight and need to carry 18 months of pages around!

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    6. Tim I'd love to see a photo! Laurie at Plannerisms dot com. Which binder did you put the pages into, and do they fit in the binder well or do the pages stick out the top? And, I'll be interested to see how far into the page the punched holes go and whether they interfere with writing in the Wednesday and Thursday spaces.

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    7. Photo on it's way later!

      "Which binder did you put the pages into" My "Filoflex". Same as 9th/10th July 2012 post on here except I've since upgraded to Flex A5 Tan Leather (from City Organiser RIP)

      "Do they fit in the binder well or do the pages stick out the top?" They don't stick out of the binder at all. They are of course slightly taller and slightly narrower than true A5 sheets, so don't quite line up with my A5 pages.

      "I'll be interested to see how far into the page the punched holes go and whether they interfere with writing in the Wednesday and Thursday spaces" The standard Plannerism column is 3cm. Weds/Thurs are reduced to 2.8cm due to the rings. So hardly any affect.

      Now if only the Plannerisms Planners were true A5... (sorry, Laurie!)

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    8. Thanks for the info Tim! Great to know.

      The A5 issue--I did a poll on my blog and lots of communication with customers. It turned out that more people wanted to keep the current 5 1/2 by 8 1/2 inch size instead of changing to a true A5. Of course it's more cost effective to keep the current size than to redesign the whole book for such a small change, and since the majority of customers wanted to keep it as-is, the 2014 Plannerisms planners will also be 5 1/2 by 8 1/2 inches. I know that disappoints people in Europe who want to put the book into a cover designed for an A5 sized book, but this is one of those cases where I can't please absolutely everyone.

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    9. If Quo Vadis bring out a Personal-compatible range, I think I'll be a customer immediately......

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    10. David they have been available in Europe and UK for some time. Just never imported in to the US until they have started talking about doing this recently.

      Here's the European site:
      http://quovadis.eu/site/page-collection/agendas/organiseurs/

      and the UK site, they are based in Northern Ireland and they order in from France :-)

      http://www.quovadis-diaries.co.uk/acatalog/TIMER_17-1.html

      Timer 17 is the range for personal as in 170mm tall. Hole spacing is the same. Europe has a bigger range.

      I see them in my local newsagent generally from about September onwards

      Time 21 is A5 size but the hole spacing is not the same as FF A5 they need to be repunched to fit a Filofax organiser.

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    11. Thanks Steve - Quo Vadis inserts and a Lamy Safari pen, I might just have found the answers I've been seeking!

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    12. To answer the original question - I have had a good experience with the following combination:

      Filofax #133047 ruled white paper
      F or XF nib fountain pen
      Pelikan fountain pen ink - drier than most

      This combination writes with very little ghosting on the opposite side, and no feathering to my writing (that is, I the holes in 'o' and 'e' remain open)

      The stock paper for Personal-size diaries, I agree, are hopeless. I write into them with a ballpoint.

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  4. Sticking with my Malden personal suze. I've only just got the bug for washi and cute stickers, and a red satchel is on the way to me as a good summer bag so it needs to match!

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  5. Size, not suze. Hate bad spelling if I can help it!

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  6. Not sure if it is seasonal but I'm not changing the size, but looking for more inserts to add and do a bit of a revamp.

    Also, loving the colder weather here in oz :)

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  7. Downsize for summer? You mean having to copy all the important information from A5 to personal or from pocket to mini? No way. It would take ages.

    But this post made me laugh. Especially since I´ve spotted this few days ago: http://www.filofax.de/store/businessdetails.asp?catId=6&productId=604 . Anyone planning on downsizing from a mini? :-)

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    1. Lollllll! Love it! Downsizing from a Mini...

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    2. Can I just state for the record... Ray and I will not be developing diary inserts for this size...

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    3. Although I guess you might be able to do a full 12 month insert on one sheet of A4 double sided! But think of all the cutting and making the holes with a sewing needle..!!

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    4. That's too funny but I can't believe how expensive it is!

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    5. I had a teacher once who hated marking homework in small hand writing. He ueed to throw it back asking 'Are you trying to write the Lord's Prayer on a Postage Stamp?' one day, having heard him saying it so much, we decided to try just that. I can report that on a normal sized stamp and a very sharp hard pencil, it is possible. So inserts for this should be a doddle, Steve!!

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    6. Steve, sorry to disappoint you, but there is no ring mechanism. Although Tim could probably find a solution for that...

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  8. in recent days I bought a red A5 Luxe. I loved the texture of it in my hands so I took advantage of the City Organiser Sale ( miss you!) and bought an A5 Black one. Again lovely texture. Because have no self restraint, when I saw a compact red one on Ebay at a good price I bought that too. But, the leather looks exactly like the A5s but it feels smooth. I even got my husband to do a blind feeling test in case I was being finnicky and he said there was a big difference. Anyone know how come? And can you do anything to enhance the texture of such leather - sort of 'bring out the bumps'?!

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  9. I probably won't downsize for the summer but I will probably switch out to my personal blue Finsbury or aqua Chameleon this weekend to try and inject some sort of spring feeling into my life since the weather in Michigan has been rubbish. Days and days of rain, wind, and even some snow flurries around me. And a few hours north...a dumping of snow. Yuk!

    I was supposed to escape this depressing weather on Monday for a week in sunny Florida...but alas, one of my best friends of 48 years lost her father unexpectedly yesterday so now we will be postponing. This comes on the heels of loosing my own father 3 weeks ago. In the midst of all this, my neighbor next door lost her battle with cancer on Wednesday (attending her funeral this weekend) and my other best friend of 48 years is loosing her husband to cancer any day now. Four funerals in four weeks does not bode well for the spirit.

    I write this not to be sad and depressing or elicit sympathy (I know this is a caring, supportive community) but merely as an observation that my poor Filofax is looking quite empty and sparse lately with bits of posts that read: 'bad news today', 'send flowers', 'attend funeral', 'call neighbors about Shelby's passing'. No stickers, no colored pens, no frills. I recently read the blog post by A Well Planned Life who wrote about all the natural disasters this past year as recorded in her Filofax. I can relate; in looking back over my sparsely written pages over the past month, the words-or lack of-speak volumes. And then I look at future months and see appointments, weddings to attend, future trips planned and life moves forward. But I'll think about that tomorrow.

    Back to 'downsizing' for the season. I had planned to use one of my pocket Filofaxes or perhaps my compact Chameleon for the upcoming trip as I hadn't planned on taking my well stuffed Personal Filofax lest the pesky airlines charge me for 'over weight' luggage (a little snarky humor interjected). I was deciding weather or not to even take my Ipad; I was thinking of leaving it home and just go 'unplugged' for the week so I could focus on sand, surf and the occasional mojito (all three desperately needed). I think, if we eventually do take this trip, I will leave technology behind (except for the phone) because I have a feeling that my friend and I are going to need to 'be with' each other-to talk, to listen, or to not talk and just listen to the ocean. But I will take a small or slimmed down Filofax as a travel journal!

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  10. Hey guys, This spring/summer or whatever you call it, I will be moving to my new Filofax doodle. I would like to thank Christa for her lovely photos and review on the Filofax Doodle Compact, which lead me straight to the Filofax website. I also bought a Filofax pen which Im really excited about! Ive been currently going back and fourth between personal size, A5 and pocket which is becoming quite a task! i love using my personal and decorating the pages but start to forget about my A5 with its one day on a page diary inserts. I really want to use both planners but beginning to find it difficult going from one to the other.

    I recently bought a new Malden in mini, which is quite shocking for me; as Ive never been a fan of the mini! i just fell in love with it and actually found it pretty cute looking :-) It looks great in my bag and my bag is no longer heavy! I think this summer I will be using my mini as much as possible when im out and about!

    Sarah (Filofaxingagain)

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  11. After hearing you all speak of your fountain pens, I'm getting the itch. I haven't used one in years and that was a cheap Scheaffer, I think. Lot more choices now! My handwriting is big and I use .07 minimum in gel, but prefer 1.0. I am looking at the Lamy Safari. I am not sure if I should go with a medium nib or bold. Any thoughts? Or recommendations for a beginner? Thanks!

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    1. I prefer a fine or a medium nib. The broad nib is just too much for FF writing. I love the Lamy Safari and the Al-star....but would recommend you check out the Pilot Metropolitan (Medium) or the Pilot Prera (medium). I highly recommend gouletpens.com for all your pen and ink needs.

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    2. I'm quite interested in the Lamy Safari. A solicitor lent me one to sign some documents, and I was instantly convinced - great ink flow, and easy in the hand. If I didn't have four fountain pens already (none of any quality) I'd get oen straight away. I'm in London next week so temptation will be right there.......:)

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    3. Although I like quality fountain pens, I've always been a great fan of the Lamy Safari, and it's sister the Lamy All Star. They do write very well and you can easily replace the nibs if you have a problem or want to change the type of nib. I love an OB nib (oblique broad) but have gravitated to a M or even a F for filofax writing. This is partly because it allows me to write smaller, and it also lays down less ink so less show through and feathering. You can buy them from The Writing Desk, Amazon, The Paperie and sometimes you can pick one up really cheap on eBay. The only trouble I have is deciding which colour to buy!

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    4. I love my Lamy Safari! It always writes smoothly - unlike other fountain pens costing far more. I just bought a calligraphy Safari, and I'm loving it!

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  12. Nothing to do with the seasons...

    Has anyone had a filofax that really didn't lie flat but they were able to 'train' it? I've just got a pocket classic and it lies as flat as a camel rather than flat as a bat. Any 'training' advice? Little by little? Brute force and ignorance? It honestly doesn't feel like it will ever lie as flat as my Baroque...

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    1. My personal Kendal didn't lie flat, so I encouraged it with some training little by little. Firstly by leaving it open as much as possible & then putting progressively heavier items on overnight.

      My first binder was a Classic, & I didn't attempt any training as it was so stiff & I didn't want to risk damaging it.

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    2. I have a personal Pimlico Filofax that was really stiff when I bought it years ago. I opened the rings and had roughly the same amount of paper inserts on each side. I placed a paperback dictionary on one side and a paperback thesaurus on the other side. I left it like that for a few hours and the leather is not as stiff anymore. It does not lie completely flat but at least it stays open on a desk.

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    3. My daughter-in-law got the Personal Finsbury and it didn't lie flat at all. In fact, when she put it on the counter open, it closed itself. She's been working with it and it's laying much better but not flat yet. She's hoping it will eventually as she keeps trying.

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    4. I had to train my Metropol, but it wasn't too bad. It only closed again the first day or so, but it was enough to put something on the "lighter" side. Soon it wasn't so stubborn any more.

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  13. I sorta like the idea of changing colors for Spring. I've never done that before. I'll stay Personal and just move everything from my brown Osterly to, say, a pink Domino. The more I think about it, the more excited I am about the prospect.

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  14. I don't so much want a smaller binder but smaller rings in my A5. When will there be a compact A5? I am currently using a compact personal but the page size is just too small but A5 rings are just too big!! What to do, what to do?

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    1. Have you looked at the adelphi or boston A5's they both have 20mm rings, i have a new adelphi in red on adspot for £55 if you are interested

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    2. I didnt know they had the smaller rings, thanks. I will have a look.

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  15. I won't be changing size for the summer, winter or anything else! My Personal is perfect for all needs, I always have everything to hand, and I've now learned to operate my system within the confines of that page size. I'm a happy camper, at least in respect of size!

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  16. I'm getting dissatisfied with my John Rocha leather shoulder bag - t's beautiful but impractical - as in takes forever to get things out, out things in, because of the way the flap overlaps the top.

    Any Personal size UK Filofax and man-bag users have any suggestions as to a *reasonably-priced* bag? I've heard Troop London are very good.

    Seriously - I don't want to spend £300 on a bag.....so sensible suggestions only please!

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    1. Hi David, I don't know about man bags but I have a Troop London messenger bag which is fantastic, hard wearing and spacious. I recently bought a Franklin Covey Veronica binder which is rather bulky and it fits in my bag no bother, with plenty of room to spare. Hope this helps

      Margaret :)

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    2. Hi David
      I use a Lowepro Messenger 150 as a 'man bag' the inserts in side the main compartment remove easily and it will hold an A5 easily, there is a slot for an iPad as well.

      The flap has velcro as well as buckles, so it's quick to get in to if you need to, you can also deactivate the velcro tabs if you want to use it in quiet mode!

      They also do a slightly bigger model too the 250

      Some photos here: http://bagsey.blogspot.fr/2012/04/new-messenger-bag.html

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    3. David, Next time Im back, you are welcome to my Filofax Messenger bag. Forget the details but Its black, masculine and businesslike. I will send you details. there are a couple of things I dont like about it, but none of them are a showstopper. Consider it another part payment for all the assistance and inserts :) Haven:t stopped travelling since London, but once things settle down, I:ll be looking to spend some relaxing time with all the inserts and books ou generously provided. And I WILL make sure you receive the Cuban Zip.

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  17. Here is a 20% discount code for filofax.co.uk : DISCOUNT20 !

    I've just discovered it's valid even for items that are already on sale, therefore, I have been about to click the "confirm" button for an A5 Apex in Pink, or a yellow Apex Personal, which are already reduced at 50%.

    But no, I am being reasonable, I don't need them, but still, I'm tempted. Maybe someone else might be interested ?

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  18. Hi!
    Does anyone know the CORRECT size of A5 FF pages in mm?

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