Are you a collector of Filofax (or other brands) of organisers?
Back when this Filofax community was only a year or two old someone admitting that they had a large number of organisers would cause people to gasp in surprise.
Much less so these days it seems.
I will admit to having about 76 at the last count. The first one being bought in 1986 so 40 years ago. Or less than 2 per year on average.... Although until about 2010 I only had about 5 organisers!! The acquisition curve is far from being a straight line!
My pathetic reasoning for having so many is mainly down to writing for Philofaxy. I have at least one example in all the sizes from M2 or Mini to A4 at the other end of the scale. Most are A5 or Personal size, these are my two most used sizes as well.
There are some people that just like collecting all of the different models. For instance I have the Holborn in all the different sizes released and also the Malden in all the different sizes released.
One of our readers collected all of the sizes and colours of the Filofax Finchley made/sold, quite an achievement when you realise that one or two of the colours were not released in all of the sizes that other colours were released in.
When you have a large 'collection' sharing photos of it becomes quite an undertaking. I've done it a couple of times, but well over 10 years ago now. It takes a lot of organisation to gather them all together for the group photograph, herding cats might be easier!
I'm sure that we all have our favourites in our 'collections' the ones that get used more than others. There might always be a story behind some of the others, the rare ones, the ones you can still remember buying after tracking them down for many months.
I started back in the 80s buying a Balmoral and Winchester. Have been a fILOFAX personal format user forever. Here’s a pic of my current rotation … The only non fILOFAX is an Omega.
ReplyDeletehttps://imgur.com/a/uBxiPFz.jpg
I would describe myself as a user and collector, inspired mainly by the catalogues from the 1980s, when there was a huge range of high quality products. The durability of these allows them to be enjoyed still today.
ReplyDeleteMy collection currently stands at 21, over half are Maldens. The majority are pocket size. Some I have never used so I suppose that makes me a collector. Trying not to buy any more!
ReplyDeleteI used to have a lot, collected over the years from Ebay, charity shops, and a few bought new.
ReplyDeleteSome I gave to friends, a lot I gave to the local charity shop a few months ago. Now I have only my favourite binders, and I am not planning on buying more. Time to use and enjoy what I have instead.
I have had Filofax in my life for almost my whole life as my father used one everyday. I picked up his love of pen and paper. I am not a hard core collector but I enjoy finding vintage or specific models at thrift stores and some online venues. I try to be quite discerning. I like to ‘rescue’ old used Filofaxes that have obviously been well-loved. I love to imagine their story. I don’t really know how many I have - I might not want to count them. 😉
ReplyDeleteI think that I would describe myself as a Filofax user & enthusiast, instead of a collector. I suppose I'm not really a collector of anything by nature, so that's why I have sold so many over the years as it means I enjoy some variety without owning too many for me personally.
ReplyDeleteMy father, a clergyman, introduced me to filofax in the late 60s - he wasn't near a stockist and I would pick up inserts for him in London. I had a Personal mock-leather Letts (I think) which I used as a true EDC (not called that then). In the early 80s my in-laws gave me a beautiful genuine tan leather Filofax which was indispensable to me for years. Eventually, with the onset of electronic devices, it became little more than an address book kept in a drawer.
ReplyDeleteFast-forward to the lockdown years. I started using notebooks regularly again and acquired a few more binders, including a rather nice red Bloomsbury bought from a charity (thrift) shop for £1.50 (reduced from £2 after haggling - I know, I'm ashamed). This led me to more purchases from second-hand shops and auction sites - before long I had developed a serious habit.
Over the last five years or so I have amassed several hundred Filofax and many other brands. This year has (almost) brought a halt to me buying any Filofax, other than the around fifty models (from around 250 known) that are not represented in my trove. The two main reasons for this (other than my sister no longer regularly attending auction houses) lead me to the advice I would offer to anyone wishing to grow their nascent collection.
Firstly, they take up a lot of room. It would be difficult to accommodate more than, say, 60 or 70 on shelving so you need somewhere with easy access to store bins or boxes. Consideration is needed to ensure storage conditions will not adversely affect the binders.
Secondly, the cost of acquisition is much greater than it was even a year ago while value has not increased to match. In the first few years of my addiction it was unusual for me to spend over £10 for anything, even scarce models, and usually much less. Recently the asking price on eBay has shot up without regard for quality or provenance. All the Saffianos, Dominos and so on dumped last year by Filofax (on TKMaxx, WHSmith as was, and other discount outlets) have flooded the market at inflated prices. Some models, particularly the Ranger, achieve ridiculous prices far beyond their worth. Everything more than a couple of years old is described as 'vintage'.
I would advise limiting any collection to between a few dozen and a hundred at most. Specialise in some aspect that particularly appeals to you - age, colour, configuration, whatever. I wouldn't claim a rerun of the South Sea Bubble is imminent but anything collectable runs in price cycles and I would say this is not a good time to buy, so be very selective.
But Filofax collecting can be very rewarding, particularly with the help from Steve, Kevin, Neil and others who do such sterling work researching, developing and maintaining the archives.
Good luck - there are still some bargains about!