16 July 2018

Buying an A6 ring organiser

"Where can I get an A6 size organiser?" is a frequent question that pops up on some of the Facebook groups or in one of my emails.

Today I want to try to help all those prospective A6 users find a suitable A6 organiser. Naturally personal tastes vary and budgets vary, so I'm not going to recommend one particular brand or model.

As well as buying direct from the companies there are also the Facebook groups too, see the end of this post for links to all of them.

So in no particular order...

Gillio

Gillio currently sell two A6 size organisers, their A6 Compagna, and the A6 Mia Cara. Both are made in a variety of leather colours and finishes. Both models come with 23mm A6 rings

We reviewed the Gillio A6 Compagna when it was released.

Gillio batch produce all of their products, this can mean that they might be out of stock of a particular size, colour, model for longer than everyone would like. It is not possible to pre-order items.

However they do have an alert service on their website, which you can register your email address on.

This does two things. Firstly it informs them of the level of interest in a particular model/size and colour, this will then help them decide their production schedule. This schedule is not made public.

Secondly if you have registered an interest, you will receive an email when that particular model/size and colour is back in stock and about to be released for sale again.

Production numbers of any one colour vary depending on the perceived demand for a particular colour/finish in a particular model/size.

So if they are out of stock register an interest straight away...

See the Gillio Website for more details.


Van der Spek.

Van der Spek produce several A6 models in their 'Senior' size.

However be aware they they do two sizes in Senior. Un-widened for the original Senior size inserts (150x95mm) and Widened for A6 size inserts (148x105mm)

Un-widened will take A6 size inserts but you will have to use 'top-tabs' on dividers for the best results.

This past post will help explain the difference in more details.

Within the Van der Spek model range there are basically two models.

The 'Touch Me' range in Senior size this is a 'ready to ship' model and is available with either 20mm or 25mm Krause rings. The Touch Me range are made externally to Van der Spek using leather from a French tannery in a choice of 5 colours. If a colour is out of stock it will not show up on the website.

All of the current Touch Me models are made in widened size and can take A6 with 25mm rings. They have an expansive range of pockets etc, including a full width back pocket and two pen loops all as standard.

The Touch Me range is here on the Van der Spek website.

There is also the Custom range, these are all made to order, you get to pick the leather colours inside and out, the thread colours, all the various options etc. The number of possible permutations is huge therefore virtually no two are the same!

In the Custom Senior range you can specify 13mm, 20mm or 25mm size rings

Production time is approximately 4 weeks from order to shipping. Naturally the price is higher for this level of customisation, but a lot of people go this route because they can specify exactly what they want.

All of the Custom range are made in Van der Spek's own workshop in the Netherlands under the watchful eyes of Petra Van der Spek. Petra will help you decide the final design of your Custom Organiser if you want to go outside of the normal options available.

For full details of the Van der Spek Custom range see their website here.


Succes
Succes have a large number of different 'Senior' models available these are all designed for slightly narrower inserts than A6 at 95mm x 150mm, they can also supply inserts in this size as well.

See their website for full details.


Mulberry
Mullberry offer a small range of leather Mulberry Agendas which are A6 size and available in leather in a number of colours.

They also sell inserts and dividers for their Agendas too.

See their website for full details.


There are also a small number or new smaller makers that I found out about.

Pedori Vienna

See their Etsy Shop for full details

They also have a Facebook page.


Mystic Little Gifts

See their website for full details.

They also have a Facebook page.




When it comes to Facebook Groups this list isn't exhaustive, but it is certainly the main ones to be aware of if you are seeking out an A6 ring bound organiser or information about them.


Be careful when buying from Ebay, Etsy, AliExpress etc. People often describe Personal size organisers as being A6 and they aren't, wrong page size and different ring spacing.

I'm sure over time the number of outlets for A6 ringed organisers will increase, the size is becoming more popular.

4 comments:

  1. Thanks for a great post, Steve.
    If I was starting out now, I think I would definitely go A6 as the paper dimensions feel better to me than personal. If you're patient, you can pick up a Mulberry agenda for a great price on eBay too.

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  2. I am just venturing into the A6 world...I've ordered a cheap binder from Amazon to try out the size. Thanks for the info.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Robyn
      I would be interested in a link to the one you have ordered. I hope it really is A6 not Personal.
      Steve

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  3. I have even seen adverts for "A6 Filofax refills" mostly Chinese. Also a lot are A6 pages with Filofax personal punching. Been caught on that one...

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