Van Der Spek - Custom Planners - ColourBlock

Van Der Spek have been our 'go-to' company for custom made leather organisers/planners. They have been in the business for 100 years this year. 

When we discovered them back in 2013 ordering a custom organiser wasn't exactly easy. Over the years it has become a lot easier with the advances to the Van Der Spek website. https://vdsshop.com  

For quite a few years you have been able to choose the outside leather, the inside leather and the colour of the stitching inside and out. Also what other options to include such as additional pen loops, full width back pocket etc. (It's quite a long list!) You can still do that of course. 

However, recently Van Der Spek have added also a new option called 'ColourBlock' which allows you to select four different leathers for the outside cover and a single leather for the internal cover. 

Here are a few samples of planners that they have already made for customers. 

The potential of this is huge, I don't know the number of combinations you could have from the available number of leathers, but it potentially means you will have a 'one of one' unique planner. 

As you select the different leathers on the website so the illustration of the outside of your planner appears on the screen. 

You can choose the inside colour too. 

I think you will agree this has a huge potential to create a very unique organiser or planner cover.

Here are a few more examples that I put together. 

What colours would you choose? 

Thank you to the team at Van der Spek for supplying me with the sample photographs.  

Further Information.

Web Site: https://www.vdsshop.com
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/VDSleathergoods
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/vanderspekorganiserfans/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vdsshop/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@vdsshop.com

Silent Sunday

 

Journal pages - thank you to Daniel

Web Finds - Saturday 24 October 2026

It is time to enjoy a few blog posts from around the internet, grab a drink and make yourself comfortable for our weekly round-up.

Here are some Philofaxy posts you might have missed this week:

1. Web Finds - Saturday 17 October 2026
2. Silent Sunday
3. Inserts for 2027, 2028 and 2029
4. Free For All Tuesday - No. 820
5. Video Web Finds - Wednesday 21 October 2026
6. Filofax in films and real-life
7. Free For All Friday No. 937 by Eve

Here are the latest Filofax and other brand blog posts from around the Internet. Don't forget to leave a comment on the posts you enjoyed reading, all bloggers enjoy getting comments.

1. 7 Soft Productivity Weekend Activities That Will 3–5x Your Productivity Next Week - Strange & Charmed
2. Episode #385: Clarifying for Better Lists - Getting Things Done
3. Filofax à Paris - Filofax
4. What to Do If Your Week Doesn’t Start as Productively as You’d Like - Strange & Charmed
5. Vintage Collection: new models - Blog | Gillio
6. Filofax Malden A5 vs A5 Compact what is the difference ? - Filofax
7. Daily Planner vs. Weekly Planner: Which Is Right for You? Planning - Blog – Day Designer
8. How Shadow Work Can Help You Overcome Self-Sabotage and Become More Productive - Strange & Charmed
9. Link Love: Recuperation Week - The Well-Appointed Desk
10. Web Finds – 21 October 2026 - Travellers Notebook Times
11. Your blog post could appear here. Please let us know if you have a blog that features ring bound organisers.

• Please leave a comment on any of the blogs you enjoyed reading and mention that you saw their post mentioned on Philofaxy. Thank you
• We monitor over 400 blogs and sites, your Filofax/Organiser blog posts could appear in this list, just contact philofaxy at gmail dot com to be added to our monitoring list. 
• We can not guarantee people will read your posts, but we know there is a higher chance of people reading your posts and returning to read other posts if you make them interesting with pictures and good hints and tips. 
• Your Filofax/Organiser posts could appear in this list, just contact philofaxy at gmail dot com to be added to our monitoring list. 
• Consider joining our Facebook group - Filofax for Philofaxy fans
• Follow Philofaxy on Reddit
• Follow Philofaxy on Threads
• Follow Philofaxy on BlueSky

Enjoy

       

Free For All Friday No. 937 by Eve

 The Planner Graveyard

With Halloween around the corner, let's explore the planner theory of the carefully curated collection of abandoned planners, half-used inserts, forgotten notebooks, and “perfect systems” that lasted anywhere from three months to approximately one optimistic weekend. 

I think most planner people eventually end up with one. A drawer. A shelf. A basket. Possibly an entire closet if things got out of hand for a few years there (cough, me, cough).

The planner graveyard. Dun, dun, duuuuuuun!

Every planner in the graveyard once represented hope, “This is the system that will finally fix my life", “This is the planner that will make me consistent", “This is the planner for the version of me who meal preps.”

Spoiler alert: I still do not meal prep.

The funny thing is that every abandoned planner made perfect sense at the time. We had reasons. Very logical reasons.

This one was too bulky, that one didn’t have enough writing space. One was beautiful but impossible to carry, another was practical but had the emotional appeal of corporate tax paperwork.

Social media makes this worse. Online, everyone seems to have perfectly consistent systems that they use beautifully and they showcase beautiful system after beautiful system. They aren't called "influencers" for nothing, am I right?!

Meanwhile, many of us are over here closing Instagram or FaceBook thinking, “Maybe if I completely redesign my planning system at 11:30 PM on a Tuesday, everything will finally come together.”

But honestly, the older I get, the less guilty I feel about the planner graveyard. Every abandoned planner taught me something useful, and even if I did have to eat Ramen for a month after buying a new one, I had fun filling up that closet!

Maybe the planner graveyard is just part of being interested in planners. People who love cooking own unused kitchen gadgets. People who love crafts have unfinished projects. Planner people own notebooks full of unrealized potential and at least one set of inserts they were certain would change their personality.

Ok fess up, how big is your planner graveyard? What planner did you swear would be “the one” before quietly abandoning it? And does anyone else keep certain planners because “I might go back to it someday,” despite absolutely no evidence suggesting that will happen, or is that just me?

As usual, on Fridays you are free to discuss anything ring planner related. Have a great weekend everyone! 

Filofax in films and real-life

Spotting a Filofax organiser in a film or TV series or in real life is always good fun. 

Our dear friend Janet (This Bug's Life) has been 'collecting' these spots in films and TV series for years. There isn't a month that goes by without someone sharing one they have seen. 

You will find her collection here: The ultimate compilation of films featuring ringed organisers (updated Nov ’24)

Keep looking out for them in films etc. 

Now the second type of sighting is a difficult one.... What do you do if you spot someone else using a Filofax in real life? 

I have seen a stranger in a cafe/bar with their organiser on the table here in France and I was tempted to go over and introduce myself armed with a Philofaxy business card, but I chickened out! 

I was once spotted in real life waiting to board a tube train in London, and a guy who was getting off the train said 

'Are you Steve Morton?' 

"Yes I am" 

'Yes you are just like on the podcast' 

Then  he was gone and I had got on the train thinking what just happened! But it was quite amusing thinking back to it now. Matthew emailed me later that day!! 

I hope if anyone else sees me who recognises me that we get to have a longer chat! 

Do you spot other Filofax users?