Guest post series - 'Filohax' No. 20 - Paul

Thanks very much again to Paul for this twentieth instalment of his wonderful guest post series.
You can find all of the 'Filohax' posts here.     There is an index of all the previous Filohax posts here 

To mollycoddle or not to mollycoddle...

I have always been against mollycoddling binders, I love the patina that builds with use over time. And when I got my Kid leather Filofax Grosvenor 9 months ago, I initially just carried it in my backpack, along with everything else. However, before long I started to notice damage to the spine leather, where it meets the metal opener, so I wrapped it in a simple cloth to mitigate against further damage. It didn't really help that much and I noticed further damage. 

 

 

Then while on holiday recently, browsing through a vintage and retro boutique, I spotted an old suede slip case - a typical 1950's unisex case for carrying all of the bits and bobs needed back in the analogue era (an era I would happily return to!). 

 

For two British Pounds it was a no-brainer - I didn't even measure it - and it's turned into my Grosvenor's saviour. It looks too big for the job, but as it's not gusseted the bulk of the Grosvenor fills it out with room to spare for packs of inserts, pens etc.

 

I think I could throw the laden case on the ground and the Grosvenor would be fine.

 

Looking back through catalogues featuring the Grosvenor, it makes sense that it came new with its own felt carry case. You can see a photo of one of these protective felt pouches in Guest Post - Dust Bags by gmax

How do any Kid leather binder owners get around damage to this quite soft leather?     

Filofax Garden zipper pouch review

Depending on the Filofax model, it can sometimes be hard to get into the zippered pockets or I've found that I'd like to securely carry money or important documents, so I hole punched a cheap plastic pencil case. Despite years of use, it's still going strong and has been very useful whilst on holiday, or for processing bits of paper or receipts. 

Plastic pencil case on a trip to Iceland

 

I rarely buy direct from Filofax, so I decided to treat myself to an upgraded version when they brought out the Garden zipper pouch. 

My first impressions were that I like the print and the pouch itself feels nice to the touch. The Filofax website doesn't say what material it's made of, but it feels like some sort of plastic, with a more textured pink lining inside. 

The pouch fits both personal and A5 size. I remember seeing some reviews saying that it doesn't fit A5, but due to the differences in hole configuration between personal and A5, it does work as below in my DIY A5 binder.

 

However, one thing that was immediately obvious to me was that the Filofax pouch is unsurprisingly more bulky than a basic pencil case, which is not something I considered at time of purchase. In the photos below, both are empty and you can see that the Filofax pouch takes up quite a bit more ring space.

 

The Filofax pouch is also smaller.

So, while the new pouch may be aesthetically more pleasing to the eye, unfortunately from a practical point of view my old pencil case is still the winner as:

• It takes up very little ring space, even when full with receipts
• It's taller and wider, so holds quite a bit more, like folded bits of A4 paper.
  

However, I do think that the Garden pouch would work quite well to hold spare pens etc. in a second binder, along with some spare paper, so that you have it all easily to hand. 

Filofax Carrying Pouch

Do you worry about carrying your Filofax organiser in your bag/purse? Could it get damaged by other things in your bag, such as keys or loose change etc?

Why not carry it in a dust bag. There is a great simple to make travel pouch on Thomas's site here.

Or look out for dust bags or gift bags on Amazon or Etsy, an example is posted below.