Guest Post - Filofax Norfolk as a sketch book

Thank you to EmpressBat for her guest post, it is always interesting to see other uses for a Filofax Organiser. 

I have many Filofaxes in different styles, colours, and sizes. I have had to stop collecting them as I have run out of shelf room, and I really don’t need anymore!  I like to use the Filofax binders for various reasons and encourage others to think outside of the using it as a diary or planner stereotype, particularly given the Filofax origin was of a binder of facts, and not a planner.

One way I use my Filofax binders is as sketchbooks. Being able to remove paper out, move it around, and add to the binder makes it ideal to hold on the go sketch paper. I can take a page out to draw or paint on, and when I have finished the page can easily be stored back in the Filofax. 

I can also add swatches of paint or pencils, and notes about the sketches and medium all in one place. Because I like to use 300gsm (140lb) cold press paper to sketch or paint on, I need a binder that can handle thick paper and hold more than a few sheets! 

This is where the Norfolk Filofax personal with its 30mm ring capacity is ideal. 

I have the Norfolk in sage green, and it is crammed full of my favourite sketch paper, I use the zipped pocket to hold a sharpener, a short pencil (a long pencil won’t fit), and other small drawing accessories even a small glue stick, and the pen loop is great for a small pair of scissors. (If I suddenly feel like creating a collage my scissors are ready).

The personal sized Filofax Norfolk is not too heavy or large to carry around, can carry a good chunk of sketch paper, and it makes for a great portable sketch set up on the go. 

Accompanied with some decanted gouache paint in a tin, a couple of paint brushes and a water bottle, I even used it to capture a quick sketch of a lake we visited recently.

As I mentioned I have a lot of Filofaxes, some are currently ‘having a rest’ in my collection, and others are being out to work for a variety of uses. None of them currently are being used as a planner.  

Filofaxes are so flexible and can be adapted to all manner of uses. 

How do you use yours?