Silent Sunday

 

Gillio Bubblegum Pink Matte Croco Medium Amica

Gillio A5 Compagna - Toscana Liscia

Gillio have today announced the released of a new Toscana Liscia leather. This leather has a very smooth surface to it. It is a very fine grain top quality leather. 

The leather hide goes through an extensive process to make the finished product a satin finish and very supple leather. 

I was fortunate to be sent an early pre-production sample in Gold and as an A5 Compagna. As you will all know I'm a long term user of the A5 size. I recently revisited my navy blue Gillio A5 Compagna, the design of this new organiser is no different to the established design.  

As a comparison here is a photograph of the navy blue in Epoca leather. The 'pebbles' in that leather are very obvious compared to the smooth finish of the Toscana Liscia leather. 

The interior layout is unchanged. 

The outside back cover continues from the front with no seams just luxury buttery leather. 

I am using my Lamy Logo Pen/Pencil in the single pen loop. 

Thank you to Gillio Firenze in Belgium for supplying the sample for me to examine and review.

Further information: 

Gillio - IIC bvba
Breedveld 2 unit 7
1651 LOT (Beersel)
Belgium

+32 (0)2 380 63 19

Email: helpdesk@gillio.be

Website: https://www.gillio.be
Facebook page: Gillio Firenze
Facebook group: Gillio Firenze

Instagram: @GillioFirenze 

Gillio A5 Compagna

For the last couple of weeks I've been revisiting my Gillio Compagna A5 in Navy Blue. I bought this a few years ago when they released the navy blue, definitely my sort of colour!

It originally came with 25 mm rings, but I've retro-fitted it with 30mm rings and they work just fine with no issues of overhang of the tabs and pen etc. 

Because the Compagna only has one pen loop I'm using a pen loop that fits on the clasp which came from Moterm, not the same colour I know but it works! Gillio now sell similar accessories, I will have to see if they do them in navy blue. 

This arrangement does work though and allows me to use my usual pen and pencil combination in my organiser. 

The internal layout suits my basic needs just fine. 

The back cover has a zip pocket and slip pockets too. It's a shame that the interior leather doesn't extend under the pockets. This is the back, but the front is just the same. 

Despite only having one fitted pen loop, I enjoy using the A5 Compagna, it's got quite a heft to it and the quality of the leather is very good and it does lay flat even with the full width back pocket. 

Gillio Compagna HBxWA5

Gillio have recently released a new size of Compagna, it was previewed at their event in November 2023, but it was a very busy event so I didn't get a decent chance to look at it. 

Gillio were kind to send me one from the first production batch to review, and this is it. 

From that photograph you might not be able to understand the size or have heard of it before. 

HBxWA5 equates to HB=Height Bible (Bible is the reference to Personal size in Japan) by A5 Width. 

The page size is therefore 171mm high (Personal Size height) by 148 mm wide (A5 width) and it uses Personal size (spacing) rings. 

It's not a new size or one exclusive to Gillio, this size is popular in the Far East and a French organiser firm also sell organisers/inserts in this size. 

You might recall this post, about one in this size bought by GMax for note keeping back in 2015.  

Comparing it to regular A5, the organisers are about the same width but not as tall. 

Looking at the interior. You will see that the pocket arrangements aren't the same as the A5.

The HBxWA5 has two additional card pockets on the surface of the inside back cover rather than the full width business card/papers slot which has been moved to the front cover on the face of the zip pocket. 

The location of the elasticated pen loop has been moved up to compensate for the reduced height. There is also an elasticated pen loop on the leather fly-leaf. 

When it comes to inserts, there are some from the French company Mignon 

They are some inserts also available from Amazon Japan, but the shipping and taxes can be expensive:

• Daily
• Weekly
• Monthly
• Note Paper

I suspect there might be other suppliers soon. 

I decided to attempt to create some of my own by adapting the Philofaxy Diary Inserts to suit. Being the same width as A5 I naturally choose the A5 inserts, but the reduced height means that the normal A5 page height of 210mm is reduced by 38mm, or 19mm at the top and 19mm at the bottom. 

I've not quite got the margins dialled in correctly yet on these test inserts, but you can see that the designs would work reasonably well in this different format. 

As mentioned in the introduction it uses Personal Size ring spacing and this example came fitted with 26mm Krause rings. 

If we take Filofax Personal size as the starting point the width difference for different sizes that use this height page is as follows: 

Size	Dimensions	Width
Filofax Personal	171x95mm	zero difference
Franklin Covey Compact	171x108mm	+13mm
Personal Wide	171x121mm	+26mm
B6	176x125mm	+30mm
HBxWA5	171x148mm	+53mm

Personal Wide or B6 inserts would also work in HBxWA5 size and still allow for very wide tabs! You would also be able to have 30mm Krause rings fitted without any fear of page overhang. 

Depending on the popularity of this size we might make some 'ready to print' diary inserts available on Philofaxy, we will certainly consider producing a future post on how to convert the existing files to fit this size. I didn't want to get in to that in his review post. 

Please comment below if you would like to see how to create your own inserts in this size.

Finally the HBxWA5 comes in a special box rather than the usual Gillio brown box:

Would you consider using this size? 

Thank you to Gillio Firenze in Belgium for supplying the sample for me to examine and review.

Further information: 

Gillio - IIC bvba
Breedveld 2 unit 7
1651 LOT (Beersel)
Belgium

+32 (0)2 380 63 19

Email: helpdesk@gillio.be

Announcement post: https://www.gillio.be/en/blog-2/mellacompagna
Website: https://www.gillio.be
Facebook page: Gillio Firenze
Facebook group: Gillio Firenze

Instagram: @GillioFirenze 

Gillio Meet Up - November 2023

This last weekend saw me travelling to Brussels to take part in the Gillio Meet Up, ten years after the first meet up led by Mella, that one was held on 30 November 2013. There have been many since then of course. 

I knew a lot of the people attending, but we hadn’t seen each other since 2019 at PlannerCon Europe, so it was wonderful to see each other after so long. 

The event was to ‘reveal’ a lot of new/revised products. The event was ‘live streamed’ using a professional company to provide as many people as possible to be there in a virtual sense and get the news about announcements as quickly as the people there. 

The event was held in a former paper-mill powered by a water wheel or steam engine, which I thought was very fitting considering the products revealed at the event. 

You can watch the recording of the event in the video at the foot of this post.  

I hastily wrote down the details of what was announced. 

1. B6 Slim Appunto notebook cover.

2. The Gillio Cat Collection, three colour combinations, in three models (Medium, Pocket, Appunto A6) two fly leaves with cat paws on them, and the face of a cat on the other. Square shaped clasp with a cat paw imprint. 

3. Crocodile leather prototype…. Very much in the early stages of development. Not calf leather, but actual crocodile!

4. Bags have returned in a big way, five different designs, some similar to previous designs, but with improvements such as removable/adjustable straps etc. 

5. The Vintage Collection leather re-visited with more colours and a new quality leather, again in development. This is a link to the original Vintage Collection from February 2019

6. A new size of ring planner to the Gillio collection HBxWA5 this is for a page size that is 172mm (6.76 inches) high by 148mm wide. This equates to Personal page height, but the width of A5. So think of Personal Wide on steroids!! Personal Wide is 26mm wider than Personal Size, HBxWA5 is 27mm wider than Personal Wide, so you end up with a much squarer page but without the height of true A5 (210mm) 

If this format sounds familiar, it is because Gmax did a post for us back in 2015! And there is part 2 as well.

Availability of all of the above outside of the ones that were for sale today is variable with no definite release dates as yet. 

For full details on any of the items, please skip through the video to get the full details as mentioned by Mella, I was just scribbling down notes in a notebook whilst the presentation was going on so I hold me hand up if there are any errors or I mis-heard something!

It was an excellent event, people had the chance to buy some of the items and see some of the yet to go in to production samples and prototypes, some of them had only arrived from Italy on Friday morning!

A big thank you to Tom Van Harlem and all the team at Gillio Firenze for putting on the event for all the fans. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait four years for the next one!

Gillio Meet Up

Get your last tickets and more info on www.gillio.eu and check the Gillio Facebook lives videos for more updates in the next few weeks

All of the Admins of the Gillio groups will be there plus a lot of the founders of the groups who have attended most of the events in the last 10 years. 

Gillio Meet Up 2023

It has been several years since the last Gillio Meet Up (2016), likewise the last PlannerCon Europe (2019). 

However, this week Gillio announced that they are holding a Meet Up in Brussels on Saturday 11 November 2023. 

It's a ticket only event, but the tickets are free. 

I will be there, along with the other Gillio Group Admins (Christina, Susan and Mella) 

You can find out all the details on the Gillio website and there is a link there to book yourself a ticket. Don't wait too long though as the tickets are going quickly. 

Gillio Meetup 2023 - November 11th 

Gillio Compagna - Day and Night Edition

Gillio have today announced another limited edition organiser. This time it is based on the Gillio Compagna Pocket size organiser. It will be known as the Day and Night Edition. 

All of the organisers are in two colours a Royal Blue exterior with a Yale Blue interior, with the edging also in Yale Blue.

Like the previous 'Belgium Edition' each item comes in a special edition presentation box and dust bag.

The 'Night and Day Edition' is based on the Pocket XL Compagna so it has 20 mm rings fitted to it and the full width back pocket.

The organiser comes with two special edition fly leafs, one in Royal Blue the other in Yale Blue.

This scan shows the detail of the embossed fly leaf.

The inside front cover has three card slots and a deeper business card pocket with a secretarial flap pocket behind that.

The rear inside cover has a secretarial flap pocket along with a zip pocket and a single elasticated pen loop.

The 'Night and Day Edition' features all gold hardware including gold plated Krause 20mm rings.

Each one is stamped with a number to show it is part of the limited edition. 

Thank you to Gillio Firenze for supplying the review sample.

Further information: 

Gillio - IIC bvba
Breedveld 2 unit 7
1651 LOT (Beersel)
Belgium

+32 (0)2 380 63 19

Email: helpdesk@gillio.be
Website: http://www.gillio.be
Facebook page: Gillio Firenze
Facebook group: Gillio Firenze
Instagram: @GillioFirenze

Gillio Special Limited Belgium Edition.

Gillio have today announced a Limited Edition called the 'Belgium Edition'. Gillio are of course based in Belgium, but their products are made and imported from Italy. 

The Belgium edition is limited to 200 items spread across three models. The Medium Compagna(Personal size), the Pocket XL Compagna (Pocket with 20mm rings) and the Appunto A6 (Notebook cover) each item is embossed with a unique number. 

Today we are going to look at the Medium Compagna from the 'Belgium Edition' range, the unique features extend to all three models. 

The box it comes in is in three national colours of the Belgium flag with the name clearly labelled on the lid of the box.  

Likewise the dustbag the item is contained in has the name on it and it is also a black dust bag rather than a  brown one.

Here is the Medium Compagna. The exterior is black with red piping around the outer edge with yellow stitching, following the colours of the national flag.

The leather piping is a change to the way the Compagna is normally made. However, I think it is a really good way of finishing off the edging of the organiser as it will stand up to wear and tear a lot better.

The leather is the usual high quality 'Epoca' vegetable tanned leather that Gillio use for all of their products.

The interior is the same design as usual, in red Epoca leather with the yellow stitching. The rings are Krause 26mm internal diameter in a black finish. Gillio also supplied a set of gold rings as well.

The inside front is in the usual Compagna design with the obvious exception that the zip has a leather pull over the metal tab. This has appeared in the past in Compagna organisers.

The card slots on the inside rear cover are neatly picked out by the yellow stitching around their edges.

A Compagna normally comes with one matching single sided leather flyleaf, the 'Belgium Edition' comes with three! Obviously you don't have to use all three at once.

The yellow flyleaf features a well-known land mark in Brussels. The Atomium was built for the 1958 Brussels World Expo.

The red flyleaf features an embossed map of Belgium.

The black flyleaf features another well known Brussels landmark Manneken Pis !

Each of the items in the 'Belgium Edition' has a serial number, this one is 099 out of the total 200 that have been made across the three different models. You can also see a close up of the leather piping and stitching that runs around the outside edge of the organiser.

Here is a close up of the leather zip closure.

The pen supplied with the organiser is a matt red finish. The inside of the clasp is black rather than red, but with yellow stitching.

All the hardware used is gold finish.

A close up of the outer edge leather piping used between the outside and the inside of the organiser.

Watch the announcement of this model on the Gillio Website.

Full details on prices and availability are on the Gillio Website here.

Thank you to Gillio Firenze for supplying this organiser for review.

Further information: 

Gillio - IIC bvba
Breedveld 2 unit 7
1651 LOT (Beersel)
Belgium

+32 (0)2 380 63 19

Email: helpdesk@gillio.be
Website: http://www.gillio.be
Facebook page: Gillio Firenze
Facebook group: Gillio Firenze
Instagram: @GillioFirenze