28 September 2012

Free For All Friday No. 202

How many manufacturers are there of ring bound organisers? If you start with the obvious ones. Filofax, Franklin Covey, Day Timer, Sucess, Mulberry, but can you name the others?

To qualify they must have a ring system that allows you to remove the punched paper. Please include a website address of the ones you suggest in the comments.

But it's also a Friday so please feel free to discuss anything you like that is Filofax or ring bound planner related.


58 comments:

  1. First one that comes to mind is the Glen Royal, which at this point in time I consider to be the "cream of the crop"

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  2. My favourite - Collins Debden!

    www.collinsdebden.com.au

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  3. Scully
    Raika
    Aspinal of London
    Time System
    Day Runner

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    Replies
    1. I used to use and love Scully...they used to be available at finer office stores and leather shops in the US but I never see them anywhere. The online selection is small compared to what they previously offered. I thought the paper and leather were very classy :)

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  4. Time Manager (TMI) www.timemanager.com
    International Personal Planner Systems www.ipps.co.uk

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  5. I forgot Mont Blanc, Planner Pads and Kate Spade.

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  6. Time System International www.timesystem.co.uk
    They have a rather nice ostrich-style in brown in A5....tempting.

    Paul Smith made one too in their signature wavy line design. Sadly sold out at City Organiser.

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    1. I saw one on Ebay UK about 2 weeks ago, but the seller wanted more for it than the new price, which seemed odd. I love the Paul Smith Filofax, its very striking.

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  7. The Bridge do beautiful binders, and there are occasionally a couple on Ebay UK, usually around half price. The leather is wonderfully thick. (http://www.leather-goods-and-more.co.uk/products/the-bridge-accessories/the-bridge-filofax-organiser-019108-brown/ ).

    I saw a posting on some Aussie products but the only one i bookmarked was Poco (http://www.pocoprofile.com.au/ ).

    Paperchase do some cool and funky binders (but quite female focused), and great inserts. Cheaper than FF and better paper too, in my opinion.

    Don't WH SMith still do their own binders these days? or did they get consigned into the rubbish bin of history? Same with Microfile. Still going?

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    1. WHSmith still do own brand inserts but no longer binders (I think). Microfile was taken over (by Collins?) a few years back and the range quickly dumped by their new owners.

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  8. Davinci is an alternative:
    http://global.rakuten.com/en/search?k=Davinci&tl=205820

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  9. The Glenroyal, reviewed by Gerard:
    http://philofaxy.blogspot.com.br/2011/12/guest-review-glenroyal-organiser-gerard.html

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  10. Cross does also have some product lines
    http://cross.com/planners-and-journals/explore-leather-collections/autocross-leather.aspx

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  11. Regarding the state of the ring binder industry, there is an interesting and controversial analysis here:
    http://www.plannerisms.com/2012/09/the-future-of-planners-industry.html

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    1. Some very interesting views - there's always thought-provoking thoughts on Laurie's Planerisms blog!

      I recently acquired an iPad2 and I'm staggered at what it will do - especially when synchronised via The Cloud. I'm a very long standing paper fan but can see me ending up with just a Filofax Flex notebook with year planner and everything else digital.

      My daughters came home from school last night to announce that every child there will have an iPad from January 2013. This is not some posh school but a standard Yorkshire (UK) comprehensive ("high school"). Parents are being asked to contrubute £10 ($15) per month to a Government-backed scheme. Their paper planners will go and all homework (except English) will be submitted online rather than in writing books. Maybe this is widespread elsewhere, but it still came as a shock to me. I can certainly see why Letts Filofax, Moleskine etc are panicking and up for sale.

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  12. Chronoplan;
    like their clear day markers a lot...

    http://www.chronoplan.com/

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  13. I came across this one which shows the brand name as Napa, but haven't really found anything like a website when doing a search though:
    http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Napa-Personal-Filofax-Organiser-Black-Leather-/261102594389?
    pt=UK_BOI_Office_Office_Supplies_Stationery_ET&hash=item3ccaed6955#ht_500wt_1199

    Just wondered if anyone else had come across them?

    And another (off topic) eBay find... vintage Filofax sunglasses :)
    http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-FILOFAX-sunglasses-/221131084356?pt=UK_Women_s_Vintage_Clothing&hash=item337c709244#ht_500wt_1199

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  14. Hello,
    on a different topic I would like to ask the teachers among the community. Do you keep different diaries for school and personal stuff or do you synch two different ones? Still struggling to juggle school commitments with family schedules...
    Thank you

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    1. I keep lesson plans, work notes, and work meeting details in a separate Filo from my personal diary. However, I do write unusual meeting times/dates in my personal diary to help my sometimes sketchy memory.

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    2. I have all my work stuff in an A5 and personal things in a personal size zip up which is also my wallet/purse.

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    3. I do exactly the same as Sandra. A4 Strata for school to take back and forth and decant this week's lessons into... huge policy folders etc kept on desk at school. Diary school and home combined in an A5. One diary, never ever two, as so easy to miss something, or to double book oneself. I colour code... school in light blue, home in purple and social in pink. I use a Dodo pad as an at school overview for homework set, extra curricular, duties and meetings in the day.

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    4. I just started using a slim organiser. It's not a Filofax, since I wanted to try something cheaper to find out if personal size paper and 11mm rings would work for me before investing in a nicer binder. I keep everything time sensitive, both professional and personal, together (before in PocketMod booklets, A7 in size). All information related to work, either teaching or anything else, is stored in different, dedicated, A4 binders or folders depending on the amount of paper and where and when I might need to use it (office, classrooms, laboratories, computer classrooms, home).

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    5. I use both. I have an A5 for school that keeps my appointments and tasks for there and a Personal for my...well, personal stuff. I do put some of my personal appointments in my school binder if they affect what time I need to leave.

      Both calendars are also on my phone.

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  15. Hi,

    I need some advice about storage. What have you found to be the best for storing Filofax diary pages etc Filofax black storage boxes or another say cheaper Filofax?



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    1. I use the Filofax black boxes!!

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    2. I simply stick them in an envelope and put them in my stationary box.

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    3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    4. I keep them in a pretty cardboard box and separate the different kinds of inserts by holding each group together with an elastic/rubber(?) band

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    5. You can use individual rings purchased from the office supply store and make covers. If you're using personal size, you can buy storage books from Franklin Covey or Day Timers for about $7 or $8 each. I have the storage binders for all my years from 1993. It's fun to look back and see what we were doing those years.

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    6. I use the Ikea cardboard boxes that are meant for DVD movies/video's. I just label the box with the year so I can find my stuff back if needed.

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  16. @Mary:
    I am a teacher as well - I keep two different Filofaxes.
    I have an A5 red Finchley which is my school planner - I have lesson plans, grades, ideas, school appointments and everything that is school-related in there.
    For everything else, I have a persoal-sized Filofax (keep switching it, at the moment it's a personal Holborn in wine). I have all my personal stuff in there. I put school appointments in there as well (in the diary section), but nothing else work-related.

    For me, this system works perfectly:
    First, I like to have my personal stuff separated from my work stuff.
    Second, I don't want to bring my personal Filo (which has all my private stuff in there, such as addresses, health info and much, much more)to work - wouldn't want to lose it there or leave it somewhere at school for a student to see.
    And I wouldn't want to have and see all my school stuff with me in my free time ;)

    Hope this helps :)

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  17. I'm wondering has anyone ordered from a company called Atelierducuir yet? http://www.etsy.com/shop/AtelierduCuir?ref=seller_info
    I'm not planning on getting a new binder/filofax soon but some of their products look quite well made and reasonably priced so they would be definitely in the run for future purchases. There are no reviews yet so I'm quite curious whether the binders can keep up with the pictures in real life.

    Their main business seems to be in making personalised products that customers can use as corporate gifts
    http://www.marimeks.com/

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    1. I haven't but I do have this site bookmarked for future reference from when I was doing a planner search a few months ago. If you order one, please do a review!

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  18. Franklin Covey sold off their planner division a while back and it is now Franklin Planner at www.franklinplanner.com.

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    1. I didn't know that. I've been using FC products for years and I missed that change.

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    2. Ha! Thats funny...thats how they started--as Franklin Planner back in the day.

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  19. This is my first post! I've always been obsessed with organization and have recently switched to a binder system with the purchase of an A5 Malden. So far so good although it is a little bit heavy. I just found the Filofax community on this site and the awesome blogs out there so thank you for all of the information! I am going to try to stop "lurking" and post more so here I go with my first questions :)

    For those of you who use both weekly and monthly diaries:

    1. Where do you keep your monthly pages? Right now, I have mine in a separate tab with a Filofax ruler to let me know where to turn to. Ideally, I'd like to see the monthly page next to my weekly page. Should I move my month page in between the week pages and just move it back each week? Or should I just keep it separated and hope that I get used to looking in 2 places?

    [Side note: this is going to pose a problem for 2013 because I bought month on 2 pages. I printed a month on one page for the rest of 2012 and I think I like that better. TBD...]

    2. When do you fill in your months? At the beginning of each month and the add activities as needed? Or do you do it each time you add an activity to your weekly pages? I don't usually like to write things more than once but really feel like I need a birds eye month view for quick reference.

    Thank you!
    Lisa

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    1. Lisa I have my months and 2DPP in the same tab. I keep the months FIRST with a top tab to mark the current month. I then have the 2DPP right after the last month with the today ruler to find the current day.

      i would like to have my months merged in with my days (as many wire-bound planners do), but right now, it's working for me.

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  20. I just bought an A5 Cuban (no zip) and I've found that the two pen loops are different sizes! The front one takes a thicker pen than the back. I haven't noticed that feature mentioned anywhere, so I'm wondering: is this a flaw, or are they all the same?

    I like it the way it is, since it snugly holds a skinny pen, I just thought it odd...

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    1. Hi
      Yes most A5's have this different size pen loop feature the same as yours.
      Steve

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    2. Stefanie, my Cuban A5 is exactly the same. I think that the thicker loop is for a pen and the thinner one for a pencil. My Cuban is unzipped and is in the ink colour. What colour did you go with??

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    3. Thank you both for your replies!

      I went with the black. Although I was a little concerned about it looking too "business" it's a nice change from my other Filo, a grey personal Malden. And since I intend for the Cuban to be my career Filo (I'm a writer), maybe it's fitting that it look professional.

      The Ink colour looks lovely :)

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  21. My Cuban personal size Zip also has 2 loops. One is really stretchy and takes my Acme "Crayon" rollerball pen. The other one is not quite as big.
    Also available, re: the different ring systems is one made by Coach

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  22. A really interesting set of links in this FFAF. Love the power of the Philofaxy community :)

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  23. Collins (http://www.collinsdebden.co.uk/), Microfile, Factafile.

    I'm not sure if manufacturers outside of English speaking countries might be of interest, but anyway: Finocam (http://www.cabero.es/); Regina (I don't know the manufacturer, but they are available in some online shops like http://www.cruzaltpens.com/tienda.php/2012/04/18/agenda-%E2%80%9Cregina-%E2%80%9D-2320-marron-50-45-e/).

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  24. Planner Pad actually sells ringed binders, too. http://plannerpad.com/covers.asp

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  25. Oops the weblink did not store.

    http://www.executive.org/planners/home_planners.asp

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  26. MomAgenda has a "personal portfolio" which is ring-bound: http://www.momagenda.com/products.cfm?cID=21&pID=69

    I don't think anyone has mentioned this, but in the States one can find ring-bound planners at Target - they are typically Mead brand and come with colorful canvas covers. Barnes and Noble also has them - clear plastic covers show up every year around the time school starts, and then year-round they have their more staid-looking binders.

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  27. No love here for Paperchase? You can see their own brand binders and inserts mingling with their Filofax stock here:

    http://www.paperchase.co.uk/stationery/organisers-+amp-filofax/icat/sorganisersandfilofax/

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  28. For any other Down-Underers, Baron & Buxton Leathergoods make binders, and sell refills for them as well, although the paper seems at least as thin as filofax refills :-/

    http://www.leathergoods.co.nz/

    Their personal size has a full zip wallet at the back - really handy!

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    1. Those inserts look exactly like the 1980s Day Runner A-Z tabs I have! Makes me wonder how old the photos are...

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  29. Louis Vuitton makes binders in A5, personal and pocket size. They wear like iron. I have all 3 sizes for well over 15 years, used constantly, they have softened but hardly show any wear. (mine are all the LV monogram, but they also make them in some of their other leathers.). I also have a slim A5 from Bottega Venetta, it's over 20 years old. The leather is beautiful and only gets better with age. Louis Vuitton also has a cover that will hold an A5 notebook or planner (bound, no rings). I love the quality of these binders. For that same reason, I like to use vintage filofax. Some of the newer binders do not even feel like leather. Like the Adelphi, for example.

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  30. Apologies if this one was already mentioned as I scrolled though rather quickly. Success Canada...this is a link to their catalog:
    http://succescanada.com/cat2012.pdf

    They have some nice looking binders but I can't speak about the paper or the quality of the binder as I've never used them. I just bookmarked this website awhile back.

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