Philofaxy

04 December 2012

Web Finds - 4 December 2012

Here are the latest Filofax blog posts from around the internet.

2013 will be a-ma-zing with these workbooks!!! - We really didn't need another Filofax blog
It Began As Pure Lust... - Thoughts and Exploration
Wer viel fragt, kriegt viel Antwort - Filomaniac
Filofax M2 - turning the M2 into a really useful bit of kit. - Filofax Filosophy
my filofax week #33 - Paper Lovestory
How to print a custom page - Filofaximile
Back in a Pocket Filofax - Lady Tamlynn
Keeping Miss. Kendal - Filofaximile
A goodie box!!!! :D - Lime Tree
A Christmas Gift Guide For Her - Modern Musings
Filofax Saved My Life! - Glossette
Time to Get Back to Work! - Kiwi Paper Addict
The gift of giving .... A Filofax - Monica Luis
My new Filofax! - Stickers. Stationary and Saving $
Day 4: The personal experiment - The Crazy Suburban Mom
compact osterley: blog planner - Paper Lovestory
Filofax spot - Pride, It leaves you hollow
Finally! Tabbed Inserts for the Compact - Well Planned Life
Planner Fail? - Paper Pens Ink
In praise of….the internet - This Bug's Life
Macht hoch die Tür... - Filo-Manie
My week 26Nov - 2ndDec - Filofaximile
Making Monday – Filofax - The Yarn Yard
Filofax confession - From down the well

Here are the latest Filofax videos from around the internet:

Enjoy.

03 December 2012

Filofax UK have said Sorry... well I didn't receive the original code but whatever I will forgive them for that.....

We're sorry the code we sent you this morning is not working! Please use the code below for 20% off all organisers. We've extended the code too, to give you extra shopping time.

Simply use code SORRY3 at the checkout

Expires 5/12/12 9.29am <<< how precise is that!!!!!

So get shopping... all commission earned via links to Filofax UK are donated to, Chimwemwe, no I can't pronounce it either... but it's an excellent cause which you have contributed to already this year through shopping on Filofax UK Let's boost the total even more. So go on... treat yourself or a friend...

Filofax/Philofaxy Meeting - 26 November 2012 - Meeting Notes

You might recall a few weeks ago, I announced that I would be attending a meeting with Filofax UK at their London store. Unfortunately David couldn't attend the meeting due to pressing business commitments, but I was joined in London by Anita and Tracy.

Following that announcement I was contacted by quite a few of our readers, expressing their views etc. Kate TPS, created a summary document of all of your comments that were posted on the blog over a three week period... not a simple task, so thank you to Kate for taking the time to do that.

Here are the notes of the meeting, please feel free to ask any questions in the comments and I will do my best to answer them.
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FILOFAX AND PHILOFAXY MEETING Monday 26^th November 2012 at 14:00 held at Filofax Pen & Paper, Conduit Street, London

Attendees:
FILOFAX
SG Head of Marketing Services
JL NPD Director
LK Marketing Executive

PHILOFAXY
Steve Morton (SM) Philofaxy Contributor and blogger
Anita Lim (AL) Philofaxy Contributor and blogger
Tracey Lannigan (TL) Blogger ‘Rapunzel’s World’

Philofaxy.com

SM gave an update on Philofaxy.com background.
Worth noting the blog platform works on US time zones so content and comments from the UK will not go live instantly. The website traffic shows clear trends throughout the year and benefits from organic optimisation through linking and sharing content from other bloggers. Philofaxy has grown into a search engine of sorts that allows bloggers to find content quickly. The blog has a small amount of advertising and any commission after overhead costs goes to the charity Chimwemwe in Malawi.

Philofaxy Community

SM gave an insight into the Philofaxy social community where they regularly have face to face meet ups in different cities around the world where the network has been established through the site (London, New York, Chicago, and Rotterdam). Bloggers and Filofax enthusiasts can exchange and review each other’s products over lunch and store visit (e.g. Filofax Pen & Paper or City Organiser). SM has set up Skype where they can talk remotely and spends his time devising ways to serve the Philofaxy community better. They are keen to think of new ideas for paper inserts. SM has already designed and prints inserts.

Convention

SM outlined his idea for user convention and due to the amount of planning involved it would be 2014. He hoped Filofax would be able to participate – SG/JL felt sure that this would be possible and they should discuss further when SM’s plans are more established.

Open question session with SG and JL

Q: TL asked the question, ‘What went wrong with Slam PR?’
A: SG explained the findings from recent research which set out to profile current Filofax users and identify new, target consumers. Filofax users are predominantly female (75%), well educated and affluent, and use is primarily personal rather than business. They are interested in the functionality as well as the aesthetics of a Filofax organiser – the product helps them feel in control and organised. The survey found that the most likely new consumer is female and motivated to buy more for emotional reasons – ie because something looks good. They have a need and desire to use paper but the aesthetics are highly important – they are impulsive shoppers. The Alice Temperley partnership was one strategy in the overall communications plan to target these new consumers. The partnership was highly visible due to the huge success of the media campaign. The strategy to align the brand with a British fashion designer was to appeal to these new consumers. Slam PR has been very successful in answering the brief on this project.

SG noted the confusion amongst the Philofaxy community following the interview carried out by the MD of Slam PR. This was a promotional opportunity for the agency with a trade newswire and was not intended to be a consumer facing interview. The interview focused specifically on the fashion/Temperley strategy rather than the holistic PR strategy. SG and JL reiterated that Filofax is not a fashion brand.

SG explained the Temperley partnership was coming to a natural end. Slam PR were appointed to fulfil a specific brief for which they are specialists in their field. Next year a new PR agency will be appointed to run a broader PR campaign, although the fashion credentials built up will remain an important part of the communications mix. SG will introduce SM to new agency at the appropriate time.

TL highlighted she’d asked Slam PR for a Temperley Violet to review on her blog and was ignored. She did not receive a reply. SM also highlighted he’d asked Slam PR for press releases and had been ignored also.

Q: We’ve found on some of the Finsbury and Chameleon product the colour rubs off.
A: This was noted and JL explained the colour dying process and how these products are tipped by hand to create the two tone appearance.

Q: Leather quality (e.g: Filofax Classic and Malden) – we’ve seen quite a lot of these that have a coating that bubbles and cracks.
A: This was noted and JL explained that these are very successful lines with huge volumes being produced. Filofax Classic in particular has been around for many years and several thousand products are in the market. On a small proportion of some colours (e.g: Cherry), a coating is applied to the leather and this may have rubbed off.

Q: The plastic hole punch is unusable and the metal version price is too high.
A: There are two versions of the hole punch, a plastic and a metal desk version. The plastic version is designed to be used to punch a couple of papers at a time and is not suitable for large volume of papers for which the desk version is designed. The desk version is a more robust and elaborate item and is therefore more expensive to manufacture with a higher RRP.

Q: Why are certain ranges discontinued when loads of people still desire them?
A: JL explained that there may be an internal decision to stop producing or buying certain lines but it is not policy to communicate this to consumers as often the lines remain in the range for several months or years afterwards. In recent past, some consumer blogs have announced discontinued lines when in reality they will still be available for a long time. It is important to keep refreshing the range year on year with new innovation and designs. It would only be the high trend lines that we stop buying after one year.

Paper Quality

SG explained that there has been no change to the paper specification for many years – there are several specification metrics such as grammage, burst, opacity etc. and there is a small acceptance +/- tolerance level for each. She explained that the company sourced a percentage of its paper from a Japanese paper mill prior to the Japanese tsunami 18 months ago. That paper mill was destroyed and the company was forced to move all paper production to another source (who they had been buying paper from for many years). The previously used Japanese paper is no longer available and the slight variations will be a result of the change in supplier rather than a change in specification. Filofax specifies an ‘off-white’ tinted paper because this has a more premium appearance than a bright white paper. Filofax will continue to review the paper spec as part of the product development process.

SM highlighted the main issues within the community seem to be the bleed through when using fountain pens and that many pen bloggers had been reviewing this. JL suggested absorption may be better in some whiter papers than coloured paper due to the heavier coverage of ink applied to achieve the wash of colour on coloured paper.

New Product Development

JL explained the new product development process. The company has around 40 markets around the world with at least 80 key contributors from these markets contributing new product ideas from trade and end users. These ideas are reviewed centrally by a commercial process and those that are viable go into the development cycle. The potential scale and number of ideas is therefore enormous.

Ring Mechs

SM said the ring mechanism quality seemed to have deteriorated in the last year. SM put forward his theory as to why he thought this might be that the ring mechs are of sound quality at purchase but then after some given time, through wear and tear, they lose their elasticity. JL explained that the ring mechs are produced from various different manufacturers in different countries and so maintaining a consistent level of skill when assembling them has proved difficult. Millions of ring mechs are manufactured each year and the rejection rate has gone up by half a percent recently and overall it is still only a very small percentage.

SM said the particular issues with the ring mechs were misalignment and physical gaps. The quality in older organisers is much better and there is a feeling in the community that we should go back to that.
JL explained the number of QA staff has recently been increased and quality control (QC) process is 100% checking.

New Product Ideas

SM highlighted that the community had some useful product ideas and suggestions for existing product designs:

Slimmer ring mechs for A5s (20mm). JL advised that the Pennybridge A5 has incorporated this.
Personal ring mech sizes to be bigger (30mm). JL advised that due to consumer demand the standard ring mech, 23mm is specified for this product.
Can some organisers have two pen loops. JL advised this depends on the range and design of the organiser as to whether this could actually be physically incorporated, but request is noted.
Customised binders e.g. colour, ring size and pen loops
At the moment the monthly inserts are printed back to back which doesn’t allow people to archive easily because, for instance, on the right hand page of January, you have the left hand page of February. More importantly, it is difficult to interweave monthly and weekly or monthly and daily pages. Suggestion is to have the Jan daily pages, then Jan monthly, Feb daily then Feb monthly.
Monthly pages are tabbed for Personal and A5 only and not for Pocket and Mini. Also would be more useful to have a notes page on the reverse.
‘Flatability’ of the organiser covers. JL suggested that the user can manipulate the leather (depending on the range and design) so that over time the organiser because more supple. JL also suggested a You Tube video might be good for users to see the effectiveness.

SG suggested that rather than receiving ad hoc ideas throughout the year, it would be more useful to collate and have one input at the relevant time in the NPD process. She would get back to SM to discuss how and when this could be implemented.

Filofax Enthusiasts Collection

JL explained the concept of an Enthusiasts collection, giving Filofax enthusiasts the opportunity to design special inserts. Three designs would be selected each year (voted on by Filofax users) and these would be produced and sold on the Filofax website.
The mechanics of this are still in discussion but the idea is to launch this process in 2013. Philofaxy would be kept in the loop on this.

Filofax Website

SM highlighted the fact that the Filofax website is dysfunctional in many areas such as errors on pages, some pages that haven’t been updated for years (bank holiday dates) and products difficult to find – e.g. Time Management inserts and Compact sized organisers. The point being if these areas were corrected, customers would be more aware of the products and purchase more.
SG acknowledged the issues with the current website and explained that a new site was currently in development for launch in the Spring of 2013. In the meantime there would be limited opportunity to make significant changes to the current site. However, the new site would be a much improved environment and shopping experience. SG suggested that the Philofaxy community might be able to assist with consumer testing of the new site in a test environment . SG/SM to liaise at appropriate time.

Communications

Filofax would like a more open dialogue with Philofaxy in future and SG would liaise with SM to confirm contact points.

Samples for blog reviews and marketing communications

Filofax will establish a more proactive outreach of product samples via the new PR agency for blog reviews in the future.

The meeting was drawn to a close at 16:30

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I would like to thank Filofax for hosting the meeting and for taking time to listen to our views, concerns and ideas. Also thank you to Anita, Tracy, David, Kate and anyone else who sent in their ideas.

I will be reporting back to you in the coming months as things develop, I am sure you will support me in my work with Filofax to improve things for all of us.

02 December 2012

Reader Under the Spotlight - Wendy

Today I would like to introduce you to Wendy.

My name is Wendy Van Camp and I blog about writing, writing tools, and novels at No Wasted Ink. I'm 47 years old and have been married to the same wonderful guy for seventeen years. We make our home in Southern California. I'm a self-employed artisan jeweller and certified gemologist with a sideline of writing novels, short stories and articles. My life is full of travel on off-beaten paths to beautiful parks, mountain top forests, and resort hotels in the American Southwest. This is balanced by time creating jewellery or writing in my office studio.

Often times I live without electricity or cell phone service while I'm attending concerts, festivals, or conventions for my work. I've grown tired of experiencing tech fail while on the road.

This has been the reason behind my new love for the Filofax. Paper never runs out of batteries, the information doesn't get accidentally deleted, and using paper along with a fountain pen makes me feel happy. So I'm now journal binding, filling composition notebooks with research notes, re-learning penmanship/calligraphy, and happily using Filofax to organize all my creative pursuits in wonderful analog style. Paper is a good thing.

1. When did you buy your first Filofax and what was it?

I received my first Filofax in January of 2012. A fellow Nanowrimo writer from England owned a Filofax that she used as a writing journal. She was a true enabler! I fell in love with the quality leather and all the pockets and thought that it would be the perfect organizer for my own writer's journal. My husband bought me a Personal Crimson Malden as a late Christmas present. I use it everyday for novel research notes and to track the posts and marketing of my writing blog.

2. What other brands have you used or considered using?

I had always used Day-Timer in the past when I have used paper organizers. I had one when I was in college during the late 1980s, but lost it as I switched over to electronic PDAs or online calendars as I started my career. A few years ago, I bought a Day-Timer with a puffy plastic cover to use as a Flylady control journal, but due to its cheap construction I found that I did not like using it and eventually it found a home in a lower closet drawer. I tried to use this cheap binder for my writing journal briefly, but in the end I couldn't see myself using it.

3. Out of the organisers you own which is your current favourite (Style and Size)?

My favorite is the Personal Crimson Malden. I love the color and the feel of the leather. It has more pockets than I need, but I don't view this as bad.

4. How many Filofax organisers do you own?

I own two Filofax organizers currently. The above mentioned Personal Crimson Malden and a new Slimline Brown Holborn.

5. What do you use your Filofax for?

I am surprised at how well the Slimline Holborn is working as a wallet. The leather is very soft, but durable. The brown color is rich, but subdued enough to carry everyday. The size and thinness of the binder has turned out to be a good fit for my purse. I do not keep a diary in the Holborn as I prefer to use a pocket Moleskine for this task. The lack of diary pages helps to keep the binder slim enough to be useful. The Holborn holds my credit cards, cash, and a section for ToDos and Lists. I am compiling a travel directory in the back for hotels, resorts, restaurants that are color coded as to region so that I have that information when I travel. I eventually want to put in driving guides to some of the work locations that I re-visit each year to make finding parking or less known routes easier for me to remember. I don't like to store this information on my smartphone because I need to leave my phone off as I travel to conserve power. This allows me access to the information without worry about batteries, if my phone's apps are working or not, and everything is easy to find unlike the jumble that is my smartphone directory.

My Personal Crimson Malden is my writing journal. The diary is where I track what is being posted on my writing blog, I keep lists of blog ideas or other notes in a center section, and the back section is reserved for research notes, character sketches and other related information for my current novel project. The research notes are printed onto filofax paper via my Scrivener writing program. I keep the program and the printed notes in sync on a regular basis. I use the Malden to take notes at writing seminars as well, although lately I am thinking of developing another binder for that use alone. I might consider an A5 or a Filofax Flex combined with a notebook for this task next year.

6. What was the feature about Filofax you like most?

I love the feel of the leather and the classic good looks of the binders. I don't go for fashion and flash, I want something that feels good in my hand and is durable. A Filofax should last for years and keep looking stylish in an understated, conservative way.

7. If you could design your own Filofax what would it feature?

First, it would have a soft and good quality leather like my Malden or Holborn. Being touchable is a big selling point with me. I also like a good selection of color beyond basic black. My favorite colors are red, purple, brown, or blue. Second, I like to have plenty of pockets and fewer zipped pockets in the binder. The notebook pocket in the back is a big selling point to me. Finally, a pen loop that is a combination of leather on the top for looks and elastic in the back so I can fit a wide variety of pens in the binder.

8. How do you carry your Filofax?

My Malden is on my desk near my computer or in my laptop tote bag when I am writing on the go. My Holborn remains in my purse.

9. Which Filofax in the current range do you like the most? Are you going to buy it?

I am in love with the brown Regency in compact. The ostrich printed leather is beautiful and the pocket layout seems ideal for a wallet. However, due to its high price tag I decided to try the less expensive Slimline Holborn instead. As much as I would like to buy the Regency, unless it is gifted to me, I will pass on it due to the price. The Slimline Holborn has turned out better than my expectations and has fit the role I've chosen for it well.

10. What is the most you have ever spent on a Filofax? Which model?

The Crimson Malden was the most expensive. My husband paid full retail for it at Pens&Leather. I paid below retail for my Holborn from a vendor on eBay, but it was not a deep discount. The Slimline Holborn was in pristine condition and I have no complaints using eBay to purchase a Filofax as apposed to a retail vendor.

11. Turning to Philofaxy, what do you like the most?

I love the sense of community here. I enjoy viewing all the links to other people's blogs that also enjoy binders, stationary and Filofax. I have participated in the Skype chat a few times and like talking in real time with fellow Filofax lovers from all over the world. All the tips on the blog have helped me learn to use my binders more effectively and have given me new ideas on how to customize mine to make them more pleasing to use. I end up visiting this blog quite often.

12. And what do you not like about Philofaxy?

To be honest, there is nothing that I dislike about the Philofaxy blog. It has great content and is updated often. What is there not to love?

13. What was the last music album CD you bought or downloaded?

I'm still old-fashioned enough that I prefer to buy physical CDs. My last CD was purchased directly from the musicians at a local Highland Games where the band was performing live. It is "Ready for the Storm" by The Brown Sisters and George Cavanaugh.

Thank you Wendy for agreeing to go under our spotlight. As always if you would like to feature in a future Reader Under the Spotlight, please contact us at Philofaxy.