Guest Post - Philofile and the Accessory files. - Ian

Thank you to Ian (The Filofaxist) Dawes for this guest post. 

Philofile and the Accessory Files.

Philofile and the Accessory files.

Philofile Accessory File.

No, it’s not the name of a new band, but it is the stuff of legends! 

After meeting the ever-excitable Jenny Dunbar at the last Philofaxy meet up in London, I was lucky enough to have a glimpse into one of her organisers. 

I cannot remember which Filofax it was, but I do remember the very intriguing plastic insert that she had in there and how excited I was that I had actually seen one in the flesh, so to speak. 

The insert was branded as an Accessory File and it contained a multitude of small, but superbly well packaged miniature devices that would be perfect for any Filofax connoisseur.

It was a personal sized insert with six ring holes and a rule along its spine along with a further 10 (approx) items that could be used for a variety of everyday scenarios.

• Scissors
• Knife
• Pen-Red at one end and black at the other
• Highlighter-both ends are orange
• Letter opener
• Comb
• Tray containing 6 paper clips and a sewing kit
• Eraser
• Tape measure.

This was something I had seen online before but knew nothing about, it was something I needed to own for myself, where could I get one? After Jenny had shown me it was made by Philofile I started my online search to snag myself what should surely be an expensive addition to my collection.

Luckily, I found one on my best (and worst) friend, eBay. It was just £10! Click, done. It was being sold by a German firm who sold mainly plates and teapots along with this and a few other Philofile items, presumably leftover stock from the 80’s or 90’s? 

It appears that they also had a small range of other items available as well which I quickly snapped up. For me I have always loved buying an item then adding the accessories, this is the same for cars, homes, bike, computer, phone and just about everything I own. 

Getting a Filofax is just the start of it, adding all the little extra bits is what makes it so enjoyable, it’s never complete, sometimes the search is just as much fun!

Philofile Mirror.

Philofile Mirror.

I do remember that Filofax did produce their own pocket-sized mirror some years ago, but I have never seen another size, the Philofile one is personal size. 

It has an edge to edge mirror, six holes as you would expect and a small tab on the top right-hand side of it. I have seen a similar looking one made by Mulberry but again only in pocket size. This item was packaged in a slim plastic bag only with no other backing or support, the mirror is good quality, but the wrapper seems cheap. 

I rarely look at myself in a mirror and I don’t really need one in my Filofax, but it is a potentially useful thing to have, I’m happy to keep it but I doubt I will use it on a regular basis.

Calculator

Now this isn’t exactly the most exciting discovery as there are plenty of Filofax calculator inserts available and you can also find lots of cheaper alternatives.

However, this one was given to me as a freebie by the vendor as it wasn’t working properly, I didn’t ask for it, they just popped it in with the rest along with a sticky note on it saying thanks for the order, sorry but the clock doesn’t work, you can have it for free. 

A clock! I’ve never seen one with a clock before, a clock is not something I would have thought about putting in my Filofax, but it does look cool. I did change the battery but sadly it made no difference, it no longer works, but the calculator is still very useful.

Write and wipe file.

Now this is the one that I really liked, very cool for any Filofax owner, very simple in design but also very useful. It comprises of the actual insert (which will work with a dry wipe pen), the actual pen, a cleaning cloth and 4 half personal sized plastic covers. This means you can use the file for taking quick notes and the store it by placing the clear plastic covers back over it which will then protect the pen from smudging onto any paper inserts you may have next to it, genius! The front side includes a section for a priority list, carried over/reminder and the rear side has a sketch pad which features grid lines so you may use it as a graph. Sadly, the pen is quite old and very dry (pictured) so finding an exact fitting replacement might be difficult, the search continues!

I’m really pleased with these discoveries and overall, I only spent £30 which is not a great deal. I will be adding them to my personal sized Filofax Malden which I carry with me as an extra binder on a daily basis.

As I mainly use the A5 Malden for my diary and notes the personal Malden will feature as an ancillary organiser full of useful but not so frequently used accessories. There are a few of these items left on eBay but they won’t be there for long, if I had deeper pockets, I may have bought a few more as back-ups.

I have done some research online and I can find very little to do with the brand name of Philofile, most mentions are of the eBay listings that I had purchased. 

On the back of the mirror insert it did mention a chess insert which I know someone in the Philofaxy Facebook group does own, this I would love to own. If anyone does have any more information on these inserts I would love to know more, please contact me: Ian Dawes, filofaxist (at) gmail dot com.

Thank you Ian, great to see these add-ons. Somewhere I have a Filofax Backgammon set, I will have to hunt around for it for you. 

I found it!