Reader Under The Spot Light - Jessica Shepherd

Jess is from Manchester and is currently reading Philosophy and Theology at Oxford University. She loves everything to do with stationary and style, and writes musings about the latter at http://jess-shepherd.blogspot.com


1. When did you buy your first Filofax and what was it?

My first Filofax-style binder was a gift for Christmas 2009, a gorgeous silver patent Anya Hindmarch planner in the softest leather imaginable. I also received lots of Filofax Personal refills with it, and thus began my Filofax love affair. The first one I bought for myself was a Personal Fresco, as I wanted something much more durable and hardwearing and the canvas material was suitable.

2. What other brands have you used or considered using?

I’ve made some of my own refills using diytemplate.com, and have bought refills from WHSmith that are compatible with Filofaxes. I’m also quite taken with the DayTimer refills that Yvotchka recently blogged about, but as yet I haven’t purchased any.

3. Out of the organisers you own which is your current favourite (Style and Size)?

My A5 Domino in the bronze snake is a thing of beauty, and the Filo I have used for the longest period of time. I’ve recently bought a Personal Finsbury in pink for the upcoming year at university and I think that might replace the Domino as my favourite.

4. How many Filofax organisers do you own?

Five – two A5 Dominos, a Personal Fresco, a Personal Pimlico in black, and a Personal Finsbury in pink.

5. What do you use your Filofax for?

I don’t use more than one at once – if it’s not currently in use, it’s in storage. I am heavily reliant on a paper diary and use one to plan every aspect of my life. I’m currently using the Week on Two Pages but am considering switching to Two Days Per Page. Besides that, I have to-do lists, health information, my passport, stamps, post-it notes, spare envelopes, tons of lined paper with scribbles of blog ideas, inspiration and things to research...

6. What was the feature about Filofax you like most?

The ability to customise the layout and set-up to suit me personally, and how easy it is to alter my set-up for different times in my life. For example, when I was at university I used the Week on Two Pages with vertical columns and appointment times – at the moment, I’m on summer break, so I’m using a normal Week on Two Pages as I have much less going on.

7. If you could design your own Filofax what would it feature?

I don’t really make use of the card slots in the covers of the Filos, because I carry all my cards etc in my purse. I’d quite like to see a model where the insides had clear slots to put photos in. Apart from that, I’ve no real major design issues!

8. How do you carry your Filofax?

I have a huge everyday handbag, so it gets chucked in there. I’m not too precious about keeping it clean or tidy.

9. Which Filofax in the current range do you like the most? Are you going to buy it?

I had a brief love affair with the Amazona in red, but there’s no way I could ever afford it. I’m quite happy with the ones I have currently. The recent addition of the Finsbury has satisfied my desire to have a ‘proper’ leather Filo.

10. What is the most you have ever spent on a Filofax? Which model?

The A5 Domino in snake was £36. Not too expensive, really!

11. Turning to Philofaxy, what do you like the most?

I like how it reaches across many platforms – there’s the blog, Twitter, Facebook. All these make it really interactive and a great way of sharing other people’s Filo stories.

12. And what do you not like about Philofaxy?

I’m not a fan of the brown colour scheme, but that’s just personal taste.

13. What was the last music album CD you bought or downloaded?

I use Spotify (a free legal streaming programme) to listen to all my music, but my most played artist recently is Frank Turner, an amazing lyricist and guitarist with a Britpop edge.

Thank you Jessica for being this weeks reader under the spot light.