23 March 2020

There and Back Again: a Kensington's Tale - by Anita

I have bought and sold many binders over the years, but rarely have seller's regret.
In hindsight, I have often been a little too keen to sell, but have realised recently that I have pushed myself to own only the one when keeping more is allowed! Like many in the community, I don't smoke, barely drink and in general am a fairly frugal person, so owning more than one isn't going to cause any financial issues. Organisers help me stay sane and I enjoy using them.

With all this in mind, I realised that since I purchased my first Filofax back in 2009, one fairly unassuming one has really become my favourite, my black personal Kensington. I first purchased it from eBay back in 2014 and it has also belonged to three other people in the Philofaxy community. The lovely Deb gifted it back to me in 2016, but I sent it back to her the following year as I was again trying to get back down to just the one and couldn't see myself using solely a black organiser.

Once again, I am so lucky for her kindness as when I got in contact, she was happy to return it again and didn't allow me to pay for shipping. Thank you, Deb.


I'm using the same simplified set up that I've been using for nearly two years now, except that I have now added an additional section for projects.




After the last London Philofaxy meet up, I treated myself to a TWSBI Eco fountain pen, but it's a bit too large to fit in either the Kensington's or Van der Spek's pen loops. My VdS has two pen loops, so my Staedtler Triplus fineliner lives in one and the TWSBI pen clip attaches to the other. However, how to use both pens in the Kensington? After a little experimentation, I discovered the simplest solution is for the TWSBI to live inside the rings as when the binder is closed the inserts stop the pen moving.


Deb very kindly added this little card in the package.



My Van der Spek is currently holding some spare inserts and some old notes that I need to process. I don't plan on using both the personals together any more than that, but when I fancy a change or need more colour, I will then move back into the Van der Spek. 


Back in April 2018, this was my version of my planner peace:

Pocket size Raydori, red personal Winchester and A5 lined Leuchtturm

And here is my updated 2020 version:

Raydori, Kensington, custom Van der Spek and A5 Leuchtturm

4 comments:

  1. Hi. Where do you get your bookmarks?

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  2. Ah I love when your Kensington shows up on Philofaxy. Kensignton posts are my favourite as I own one myself :D

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  3. Your well-travelled Kensington looks wonderful. But I also have to ask, what happened to the red Winchester?

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  4. Your black Kensington looks so soft and lived in. I can't have a stiff planner. It's why I sold my cognac Finsbury after purchasing it on Ebay. It was absolutely gorgeous, but when I opened the front cover, the back cover would flop over. No. Not.Good. My planner needs to open and stay flat. Yours is such a joy to look at. Simple, effective, DIY, no overly pretty stuff to distract. It's...well....a planner!

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