Reader Under the Spotlight - Angela

Welcome this week to Angela.

I’m Angela and I blog over at Paper Lovestory. I’ve been blogging on and off since I was 14 but I finally settled on Paper Lovestory at the end of my first year at university :)

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

I bought it in 2009 but I’m pretty sure I had one of the children ones when I was younger. I’ve forgotten what brand it was but I remember it having square patterns and the rings were much like a Filofax!

The one I bought back in 2009 was a personal Finsbury in Raspberry but my sister has it now! Foolishly, I bought it full price from John Lewis (as I didn’t discover City Organiser til early 2010 when it’s website was cityorg-pdq or something!).

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

I had a brief flirtation with a Moleskine in 2011 (I used it for 9 months) but I really didn’t like how rubbish the paper was so quickly reverted back to a Filofax in late December 2011.

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

I really am in love with my personal Osterley in plum. So much so, that I am considering getting it in the Compact size. I also love my Finchleys - I don’t think I will ever sell them.

4. How many Filofax organisers do you own?

Oh dear. I think it is eleven, but I may have counted wrong so it could be ten or twelve! Only four are in use at the moment. I’m thinking of saving them for when I have children and then have one for each child. I’d keep momentos of their childhood in there; like the bracelet they wear after they are born (in hospital), a scan of them in my womb, record their first word, first time they walked, etc. I may be thinking too far ahead here though!

5. What do you use your Filofax for?

• Personal Osterley - daily diary and this one goes everywhere with me
• Personal Finchley (Vintage Rose) - my ‘me’ binder
• Personal Finchley (Teal) - holds my 2013 inserts and comes out from time to time so I can write things in it
• Personal Finchley (Jade Green) - my ‘fashion’ Filofax

The rest are acting as storage binders (for my spare notepaper, tabs, etc) and my A5 is lying in wait in case I ever require a bigger daily diary.

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

The fact I could customise them and make it look like my own. There is only so much you can do with a Moleskine; and even then, you can only keep it for a year anyway!

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

Well, it’d have gold compact rings. The exterior would be leather - though I don’t know what pattern (if any)  and the interior would be smooth leather. Inside, it would have four card slots with a pocket underneath that on the left, and on the right, there would be a zipped pocket. Not unlike the Osterley I’m using I guess, apart from the zipped pocket!

8. How do you carry your Filofax?

I’m really quite careless with how I handle it. I just throw it into my bag before leaving the house with no regard for the fact that I have keys and other potentially sharp objects in there too!

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

I’m actually very tempted by a Compact Osterley, but also the Temperley for London Violet! At the moment, these two are the ones I am currently lusting after. I will most probably be getting one of these two as I really do want a Compact (I’m finding the personal a bit too big at the moment) but I’m not anticipating a purchase anytime soon. Unless my parents are particularly generous with a graduation present (my grad ceremony isn’t til late October!).

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

I spent £375 on The Affair by Temperley London but of course, that went back due to the rings. The next most expensive is probably my Osterley which only cost me £55 (to replace a faulty Amazona almond). I don’t remember spending anymore than that on a Filofax.

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

Everything! The community, how friendly everyone is and how willing everyone is to try and help each other. In the dog-eat-dog world that the world is portrayed as sometimes, Philofaxy is a breath of fresh air. Also, it’s great to meet other people who share the same obsession with stationery.

12. And what do you not like about Philofaxy?

Honestly? I can’t think of anything. Or maybe the fact that it makes me want to buy more organisers?

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

I last bought Down the Way by Angus and Julia Stone. I can’t stop listening to it on loop!

Thank you Angela. If anyone else would like to step under our Spotlight and share their Filofax story please get in touch philofaxy [at] gmail [dot] com