We do this every now and then in the hopes that Filofax Headquarters will listen and heed our call: let's list our biggest Filofax wishes.
Here are mine:
1. Slimline A5 Finsbury. Many of us have been asking for years for a slimline A5 binder. Filofax has come out with a couple of options that I'm not satisfied with. The A5 Adelphi, despite its smaller ring size, has a bulky gusseted pocket in the front and a notepad in the back that prevents the book from being slim. And the new A5 Luxe may or may not be a true slimline, but I'll never know because the price is so far out of my range.
So I'm going to get really specific about what I want. I want a slimline A5 Finsbury, in colors for men and women. I don't want any bulky add-on pockets, no closure or strap, and I want the cover to be just wide enough to accommodate tabbed dividers. Rings at 23 mm or thereabouts. Please, Filofax.
2. More diary formats. This has been much discussed here on Philofaxy. Specifically I want a personal size week on two pages with the days as vertical columns, in English only, and the back sides of the pages LINED, not diary pages printed back to back. This is the way Franklin Covey makes them, and yes I could just go over to FC and buy theirs but I'd rather have Filofax pages because they fit in my binder better. I also want tabbed monthly grid calendars on two pages with the backs of the pages LINED so I can splice my months in with my weeks. And I'd like new, interesting diary layouts for the A5 size. With that larger page size they could go nuts with the formats.
3. Archival, acid-free paper for ALL their paper, diary inserts and all other pages, for those of us who want to keep our pages forever. Honestly I'm shocked the pages are not already acid-free. I'd like the paper quality in general to go up, and have less (preferably no) show-through with liquid inks. Fountain pen friendly paper would be a great option. But definitely archival, please.
Those are my biggest Filofax wishes. What are yours?
Totally with you on the A5 slim... could move some of my work diary/pages out of the office when on an off-site meeting/working from home - not a perfect solution in the range (at the moment)...
ReplyDeleteI have a 25 mm 'slimline' Malden [cough] but I know what you mean Laurie...
ReplyDeleteA modern "Winchester", personal pages, huge rings. That'll do me.
ReplyDeleteI would say, "not to be redundant..." however I think redundancy is the only way to be heard in some cases.
ReplyDeleteThe ability to incorporate MONTHLY TABS into one's diary formats.
If DayTimer can do it, and Day Runner can do it and Franklin Covey can do it...clearly it's not rocket science.
I'm happy to spend my hard-earned money on another brand so long as they provide me with the products I need (& that Filofax lacks) but what a shame for that to be the case.
We have plenty of binders to choose from; how about updates to stale diary inserts for a change?
Big rings for personal. Imagine 40 mm :o)
ReplyDeletea non-zipped personal with 30mm rings since I now seem to have reached 'stuffed' with mine and I only have half a year of diary in it! Oops. (It's all that Time-management stuff. Honest!)
ReplyDeleteHow about a make your own solution... Or adapt an existing one to the ring size you need. We know they come out fairly easily now....
ReplyDeleteAnd this firm might be able to supply the size you want big or small
http://www.loose-leaf.co.uk/products/ring-binder-mechanisms.php
And lots of others from the Far East if you do a Google Search on 6 ring binder mechanism:
http://tinyurl.com/3rjcdah
Hi Laurie,
ReplyDeletegreat idea and post! Though I actally do write with a fine nib fountain pen, I totally agree! A non-shine-through paper would be great.
I woud also love the cotton cream week on two pages with no 'to do's' and a shared Sat/Sun, pleeeaasssee!
@Steve
Hahaha (cough)
Regards, Thomas
I still find it funny that the slim A5 question keeps arising. I have been selling Filofax for 14 years now, and never once in that time has anyone ever asked me for a slim version. I really dont see it being financially practical for Filofax to produce. The slim Adelphi, even though it did have a pocket, was still slimmer than the other A5 versions, and we never sold any, at all. They have been sitting on the shelf at half price for 6 months now. I think the majority of people who use A5, use it for business and therefore a slim wouldn't be big enough to carry what people need. Maybe I am wrong about this, but as a retailer, i would not choose to stock it, due to a lack of demand for it. I will start asking customers who buy A5 organisers what they think, and take a poll.
ReplyDeletePLEEEEEESE, Filofax, an A5 Malden in crimson. Also many more insert options. More buckles like the Deco on other planner, to make them unique. Can interchangeable buckles be developed for us ladies.... and styles which would appeal to the chaps too.... ie buy a buckle button for the tongue closure,to personalise your Filofax, stylishly a la Deco. xx
ReplyDeleteLaurie,
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I was just thinking a few days ago that we could organise a Philofaxy reader survey, compile the results and issue it to Filofax as a significant piece of market analysis covering binders, forms, tabs, paper quality etc.
It could be structured as a sort of expanded version of "reader under the spotlight" merged with "what's in my filofax", formatted as multiple choice questions, with limited free text for clarifying descriptions and overall comments.
This might carry more weight than individual requests - and of course doesn't preclude follow-up individual requests.
Is anyone interested in this?
P.S.: My wish is for a modern Winchester or Eton in Personal size, with large rings and full grain calf leather, metal press stud, two pop fastener positions and notebook pocket at rear. A Jotta and change wallet as options, but I'd buy the lot as a bundle in a heartbeat if they were available. Probably more than once. Not that I've been dwelling on it excessively or anything :)
@shepcraig. I would love a slimline red Adelphi in A5,as I just love my pocket one immensely. As you say, it is just putting slimline width to good use. Would adore a 30mm red Adelphi in A5 too, or as I have said a crimson A5Malden 30mm. Both my idea of bliss.The quality and design of both is just lovely.
ReplyDeleteA little bird tells me... there are some superb bargains at Neal Street Store at the moment. Dee has been getting her fairy sales reductions wand out I think!! xx
ReplyDelete8 weeks to go......
ReplyDeleteBut to get back on topic......
I would also support a more universal availablity of an improved range of inserts including diary inserts that people want to use, such as a page per day with Todo's and reminders like the one I'm using in A5 format but in Personal size. Ones are available I know but not on the UK site or US site..
Don't want to take up too many lines here, but would so appreciate a mid year diary W2P vertical,with notes section,for us academics/teachers/students.In all sizes, on cream or white paper. Have had to purchase from WH Smith.The perfect format here,but the paper quality is poor.Could there be a solution in an academic pack like the city dwellers'/family organiser pack??
ReplyDelete@Laurie, Great idea!! I really hope Filofax will listen!
ReplyDelete@Gerard, that's a brilliant plan! I would fill it in! I've always thought that if we did a survey about who uses which filofax, personal crimson Malden would come out on top!! I'd be really interested in seeing what the other most popular binders and refills are too!
My wishes: more colours in the brilliant Malden range, maybe a jewel purple and emerald green :)
2 elasticated pen loops in EVERY filo, my favourite feature on the Kendal.
More and better inserts, especially diary refills. For example, I second Laurie's columned appointments WO2P, I've tried to make my own but they look horrible, but I'd buy them from filofax in a heartbeat!!
And maybe different ruler colours than black, clear, cloudy and brown (=boring!)
Tabbed months and diary pages that work with these :)
Thanks Filofax! I would spend more money on your products if you produced these!!
Oh, I forgot, more diary options to start at the start of the academic year for students, such as DPP (pocket, personal and A5) starting in September, finishing August :)
ReplyDeleteim always baffled that there isn't more choice, particularly of inserts and accessories. i understand that filofax have to be sure there are enough people willing to buy a5 slimlines, as they will be pricey and complex to design and produce, but what about cheaper things like limited edition tabs, today markers, etc with themes? there could be coloured and patterned ones, produced really easily and not on a massive scale at first. same goes for different diary layouts - i bet we would all buy them, even if they weren't what we really wanted, just to get our hands on something new and exciting!
ReplyDeleteBigger ring choice for the personal size binders, 2DPP diary pages with English only (more space for writing instead of the multi-language format), another pen loop on Malden personal, and make the pen loop bigger to accommodate fatter pens.
ReplyDelete@Butanben & @ThePerpetualStudentTPS I agree about academic year products. The shops will be full on back to school products at the moment and I feel that the company is missing a chunk of the market. I ordered by diary from French Filofax (August onwards) as they did not have the product in the UK store.
ReplyDeleteI could really go to town here, but in addition to what everyone has suggested here is my list:
ReplyDelete1. All binders should have the half leather/half elasticated pen holder to hold a range of pen sizes.
2. More glamorous A5 binders - i.e. an A5 Deco style binder?
3. Lots more colours in A5.
4. Coloured rulers and index tabs for A5
5. A5 coloured paper packs in separate colours - how hard would that be?
6. Diary that could be divided into the month tabs - and monthly/weekly/daily pages that interact as in FC et al.
7. One of those double punched hotlist sheets that day-timer do. Also in same pretty colours.
8. A really good quality A5 hole punch instead of the complete rip off they currently sell for an extortionate price!
9. A lifestyle diary to tick off water, food etc as you have it during the day.
I'm sure there are loads of other things - just can't think now.
@Gerard would love to complete your survey! Put me on the list.
So many lovely suggestions! Maybe we need to formally petition Filofax/Letts. Can the Filofax King, aka Steve, please create an on-line petition? I would happily sign it!
ReplyDeleteSteve, what do you think of the Philofaxy Reader Survey idea?
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's something we could develop over the next while.
Drop me an email if you think there's some mileage in the idea.
Acid-free paper.
ReplyDeleteVertical ledger (3 or 4 column) pages.
Mini size paper in packages of 100 sheets.
And yes, bring back the Winchester.
I would love MORE INSERTS! And the paper needs to be better and acid free. More descriptions on the website, why should I have to ask online what size the rings are? Monthly tabs incorporated. I don't mind that the hole punch is expensive if it worked great, but it doesn't. That is a problem. At least one cotton cream option for every diary type. I can't do 2PPD or PPD because it doesn't come in cotton cream which is the current best paper that Filofax US offers.
ReplyDeleteCraig I'm surprised nobody has asked for a slimmer A5. A similar size (but unfortunately not Filofax-compatible) slim binder is very popular in the US (I think it's made by Dayrunner? I nearly bought one last year). In the US the nearest size to A5 is 8 1/2 by 5 1/2 inch paper, and there are more binder options (thick and thin) in this size. I've been tempted to cross over into the US binders to be able to use this paper size in a slimmer binder but I really don't want to invest in an entirely new binder and pages etc!
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the reason why people mainly use the A5 for business is because it's too big to be portable enough for other uses? I know loads of people who use A5s at home for various purposes, and some who even use it for university. But in general it's too big to carry everywhere so the main uses for it are ones where the book can sit on a desk.
Personally I think Filofax has failed to tap the market for a portable A5 binder. The page size is useful for students, parents, and other people who are out and about a lot. It would be nice to swap out pages with the big binder that stays on the desk and carry the pages you need with you as Globetrotting Cacti noted.
I am more of a reader than a poster on here but this topic got me thinking. I only use one organiser - a personal size - because of the portability, the cost of refills and the selection of binders. I also agree with the "one life, one binder" idea.
ReplyDeleteIn my personal I have a WO2P in the German professional range, and tabs for travel, info, me and etc. I tried using my filofax for taking notes in my German class, I wanted to have access to my notes and voacbulary words at other times, on the train etc. My problem was the width of the paper, its just too narrow and the lines on the lined paper are too narrow for general note taking. I just could not effectively use the filofax personal paper. I also bought the filofax meeting-notiz (meeting notes) paper and the lines are 4mm apart!! I used one page before giving up!
I would like:
- Personal sized but wide version with wider pages
- Lined paper with wider lines
There is one thing that I would really like: daily pages like the white ones, but in cotton cream. Ideally in Dutch, but English would be great too.
ReplyDeleteI have been thinking of trying out the succes line of pages, they do have daily pages in cream. Has anyone tried these?
terriknits, I told you wrong awhile back about the 2 days per page inserts I bought in the UK. I couldn't find them at the time, but I was just sure they were English-only. I found them today and sure enough they are multi-language! Sorry I told you wrong!! I wish Filofax would have English-only options for all their inserts! The extraneous languages take up too much precious writing space, especially in the week + notes formats.
ReplyDeleteA Personal Fucshia Malden is all i want!!! :-)
ReplyDeleteDEFINITELY more diary formats - FF are light years behind everyone else in this department. Also, how about more options for a paper that would take a fountain pen properly without bleed-through? OK, fountain pens may be a minority interest generally in our approaching-illiteracy world, but I think not among the Filofax community. I'd like to see *all* the diaries available in a higher quality paper, and I'd be prepared to pay more to get one.
ReplyDeleteI am in complete agreement with the monthly tabbed inserts and a better daily layout (more like the Franklin Covey inserts). And equal space for Saturday and Sunday that is given to the rest of the week - just because it's the weekend doesn't mean I stop having things to do. In fact, I have MORE to do.
ReplyDeleteI would also love to see a Compact in the Malden style binder, and more colors for the Malden.
Another wish.... could the small stickers come in idividual packs and mixed. As I use birthdays, meals and drinks out vey often, but the others hardly at all.... very wasteful to throw stuff I don't use out. xx
ReplyDeleteA greater range of coloured binders - the A5 Malden in crimson would be wonderful.
ReplyDeleteAlso a greater range of inserts, including weekly and monthly planning pages.
I would also like more options for coloured and patterned diary inserts - white can be so boring!
In addition, Filofax offer personalized inserts, which are lovely quality but only available in a week on 2 pages for A5 - come on Filofax, offer it on different diary formats!
Today at the bookstore I found an A5 binder that is slimline, and compatible with A5 Filofax pages. It was cheap vinyl, so I didn't buy it, but I'm thinking about it. I'm still holding out hope that Filofax will come out with a slimline A5. I'd hate to have to give up Filofaxes to get the size of binder I want. :(
ReplyDeleteI'd like a plain leather "archive" type binder - A5, 25mm or 30mm rings.
ReplyDeleteWhat I don't want, more than anything, is any sort of closure - it's never going to travel anywhere except between shelf and desk, so no pen loops, no snap closure, no zip, no elastic bands - nothing.
Just a good quality leather A5 ring binder, basically.
I would love a WPP diary that has large Saturday/Sunday fields, because that's when I do most of my stuff. Mon-Fri is "0700: work. 1600: come home from work". The weekends is when all the good stuff happens!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see bigger rings in personal binders (say 30mm) and even bigger rings in the A5 (say 40mm?). Daytimer do a big ring in their a5 equivalent and it's fantastic.
I'd also like to see non-bleed paper. The Midori Traveller's journal has the thinnest paper known to man and NOTHING bleeds through that stuff, so it's definitely possible.
I'd also like ledger pages for the A5. I'm reduced to using the Month Overview side of Performance Objectives pages for ledgers, which works well enough, but proper ledgers would be better.
Final wish: (and if this isn't possible, then I abandon all hope of Filofax ever listening to us), is folded lined/plain paper/calendars/ledgers. They already have the technology for year calendars and month overviews, etc, so why not just print some lines on them and sell them like that? I've toyed with making my own, but (a) you'll never get the fold in the same place on every page (and I like my pages to all line up) and (b) without a guillotine, you'd soon get fed up with lopping off the 7/8" of every A4 page so that it folds up withouth touching the rings and still fits an A5 binder.