I think with Filofax itself moving away from its core market and into ill-advised high fashion collaborations, the core market will take on the ‘Filofaxers, doing it for themselves‘ motto and increasingly customise and create their own binders.

This is not a Filofax binder and does not have Filofax rings but could be made with a filofax ring set which are easily available for purchase on Etsy. EDITED TO ADD: Steve Morton of Philofaxy has let me know that it should be compatible with Filofax personal size. Thank you Steve!

I think these binders are stunning, particularly the green one. They are all made by kikosattic – she does not use a machine in her work so every stitch is done by hand. She had another one for sale a while ago which was in stunning violet croco-print lined with mint-green. Each scale had been carved by hand. What a work of art it was!

Violet one of a kind binder cover

She also does custom orders and has almost 5000 admirers on Etsy so she is very popular!

I see this green one has now been sold. I do hope it went to a lovely Filofax lover who found it on here and fell in love with it! I imagine it being loved and providing many years of stalwart service

This is not the most photogenic of Filofaxes (rather like me, poor thing). It was my first expensive Filofax. It has been a hardy workhorse though it has shown more wear than I would have liked to the clasp. Very little wear elsewhere, though the mottled pattern makes it look quite shabby in the pics.

The leather on the Amazonas is puffy and bumpy – more 3D than exotic than alligator/croc print usually is. Each binder has its own pattern of bumps. Generally this binder has worn well except over the clasp where the colour has faded a little.

I love the fact that it is full-leather and I like the more interesting zipper-pull (though I could think of way better ones. Why are Filofax zipper-pulls so BORING?) but I don’t like the 25mm rings.

Yesterday’s post on Akiko from kikosattic on Etsy was very popular so today I thought I would update with on a selection of organiser binders she has sold recently. They are all absolutely stunning and I have asked her to custom design two for me. I will keep you posted on the process. I have also asked her if she would write a short article on her binders for my blog with some extra photographs. I was delighted to find out that she is a Filofax user herself though apparently she uses a plain black one.

These binders are all beautiful. I particularly love the contrast linings and the metal corners. But my favourite thing in each of these is the leather ring-protector on either side of the rings. The only Filofax I have seen with this recently is the Ostrich.

As I mentioned above, she does custom orders so if you see anything you like you can just ask if she could make another one. And naturally you could change the size, how the pockets looked or the closure to suit yourself.

The first one is violet with green and gold lining and the scales on the cover are handcut. Find a full description here

This one is ‘Celestial’ – silver, gold and sky blue

This beauty is called Gothic Stone and is made from very rare leather

Here is a red and black hand stitched one

This one is absolutely stunning and is called Black Rose

I don’t get any commission or perks from any of the sellers I endorse on Etsy. I just think it is really affirming in these days of mass production and brands who ignore their customers to find artisans creating lovely things for decent prices. The one-to-one communication and participation in the progress of your item makes everything really special. I buy most of my handmade books and jewellery from Etsy and I have never had a bad transaction. The quality is nearly always outstanding.

And to end us off, here is Peach Gardenia

This is one of my few personal size Filofaxes. I loved that it was cheap and cheerful, hardy and unusual with its silicone strap. I wish they had made it in more sizes and colourways. The strap has lasted well and this one can really be thrown about and battered without worrying that it will come to any harm. It is also nice and light

I have always loved Pippa’s binders (see her Etsy shop here), which is why I asked her to write about them in a guest post. The binders are compatible with Filofax personal size paper, which is 17×9.5cm, with the six holes.

Here is Pippa’s own blog, The Leathercraft Shed, where she describes the work that goes into making one of these beautiful organisers and lets us follow the process with her .I have always hankered after the woven ones and now I know why – look at that stunner in the header photograph! Thank you Pippa for this very interesting post and now – over to you  :)

‘I made my first personal organiser when I was about eighteen!  I got into leathercraft after learning how to mend broken bridles and saddlery from a correspondence course and used to mend all the broken tack from a couple of local riding schools.  From there, I discovered decorative leather and began making leather belts and keyrings and dog collars which I used to sell at craft fairs.  At some point, I must have studied the personal organiser that I had and I made my first organisers to sell.

I have always LOVED stationery, even just browsing stationery catalogues.  My first organiser was a cardboard one with Dennis the Menace on the front and I used it all the time for schoolwork planning.  When I was in my teens, I was given a proper organiser and I still used it right up to recently, when I decided it was time to replace it with one of my own leather ones.

Above and below are a couple of photos of the organiser that I made and use for myself.  I made a similar one as a gift for my midwife after the birth of my sixth (and last!) baby in 2011 and I like it so much that I made another for my Etsy shop, but decided to keep it instead as a kind of memento to all my beloved babies and pregnancies.  I have still kept my old, very battered organiser that I had from my teens and I keep the old diary inserts in there as I can’t bear to bin it!  I just love my organiser, I love the smell of the leather and the weight of it in my hand.  It has got a little scratched because I like to carry it around with me in my handbag, but that’s the great thing about real leather, it just suits getting scratched and seems to improve with use.  I will give my organiser a wipe over with some wax and a polish and it will smarten it up again.

I don’t have such a lot of time for leathercraft at present as I home educate my children and my youngest is only 16 months old, but I hope to have more time in the future.  I would like to explore making larger (A5 sized) organisers with more pockets inside and a place for a pen and I would like to try different designs too.  I used to draw a lot and paint with oil paints, but found it a bit stressful, so I now use my sketches for my leather designs instead which is much more fun.  I want to try sketching hares to see how this translates on to leather as, like horses, I find them fascinating and such graceful animals to study.

At some point, I’d like to find a shop that will stock my leathercraft as I currently only sell online, via Etsy.  I think I need to build my stock up a lot more to be able to do this though, so it’ something for the future.’

I have written about kikosattic on Etsy several times (links below) because I love Akiko’s binders. They are functional and well-made yet also beautiful and unusual. I asked her to tell us a little about her binders and why she makes them. And of course, about her own Filofax (a plain black one) So, over to you Akiko:

A patchwork of Akiko’s Binders!

‘About my binder making, I started it seriously about 6 or 7years ago. I have been making only binders (in my leather work) for some years. The reason I started to make binders is that I couldn’t find my favorite binder when I needed it very much. There were very nice and beautiful brand/factory made binders, but to me they were too ordinary and I thought it was not very fun as I love things which are different and unusual. So I started to make binders which are unique and fun. But at the same time I always try to make my binders “not” to be like very handmade looking…I mean I’d like to make my binders’ quality good and sharp as if it’s selling at a department store. Because most of my customers are adult people who love leather or special stationery, so I’d like them to use it with confidence. At first (in my country), I had been making only simple designs, and so about 80% of my binder’s buyers were male, so eventually I added another lovely design and decoration for female buyers and for my enjoyment.

I want to introduce more binders on my Etsy shop in the future if I have more time for it.

I was given my small black Filofax binder from my father. I love it but actually I just keep it as I always have to use my own handmade binder to test the durability and practicality. so I’m still using my first handmade binder. ‘

Thank you Akiko!

See my previous posts about Akiko’s binders here and here - they really are works of art!

Today at a staff meeting I took photos of the various systems we use. I had my A5 Malden stuffed to the gills and heavy as a brick, the colleague seated next to me had an iPad and my boss, opposite me, had the Filofax he has had for over twenty years – as usual stuffed so full that it defies the laws of physics! He received it as a Christmas present from his previous employer. Now that is a nice idea!

High noon for the battle of the organizers

High Noon part 2 – battle between the traditional and the new-fangled

There was an interesting discussion on Philofaxy about this during the week.

I handle quite a bit of sensitive information and have usually signed a non-disclosure agreement so the way I deal with this is:

1. All my bookings are in code. I never write a client’s name anywhere.

2. All door entry and alarm codes are written in obscure places and in code. One way of doing this would be to write the numbers as ‘one digit on’ – so 2146 would be 3257

3. I can write backwards and upside down, I can get by in about 8 languages and I know 2 different versions of shorthand (one of them very obscure) so I usually write only initials (usually in different order) where necessary then combine several of the above depending on how sensitive the information is. The easiest for me is to use T-Line shorthand.

4. Any secret papers I work with are returned on site to be shredded. I don’t write anything down (thank heavens for a photographic memory!)

5. the usb stick I carry in my Filofax is password-protected and most of the information on it is encrypted.

6. I never leave my Filofax anywhere. Because I need it every minute of every day it is always with me. The only way I could lose it is if I was robbed or burgled and hopefully numbers 1 – 5 would help me there.

Sweden is very transparent so a lot of information is in the public domain – you can legally find out almost everything about someone except their medical records. So for this reason much of the personal information I have in my Filofax is available to everyone and is therefore of no interest. You also have to show your ID card many times a day so that would prevent someone from stealing my identity as easily as in other countries. I never have bank cards anywhere in my Filofax.

Regarding passwords I have three in use at any one time – one for high security stuff (Paypal, Ebay, Gmail, the server at work), one for medium (Amazon, online shopping sites) and one for low (sites I register on but don’t use). And I change them once a month. And don’t write them down. I also use LastPass and the Apple Keychain to remember ones I cannot change so often. For anything I do have to write down I use a code (letters instead of numbers, one number on (as above).

You are never totally safe anywhere but I try

Yesterday I switched from my grey A5 Malden to my Cinnamon A5 Siena. The Siena has 25mm rings as against the Malden’s 30mm rings but everything fitted in really well.

I like the Siena in Cinnamon because it is a gorgeous colour and is very very soft and smooth. I also adore the gold rings – I am not a silver person at all.

In my Siena I have

• 3 Today Rulers (as page markers for my calendar, my notes and my general sections instead of dividers)
• 3 x 3 months of WOTP diary pages. 1 for my bookings, 1 for notes relating to each booking and 1 spare.
• 25 pages of lined notepaper in white
• 1 notepad in external slot
• 1 usb drive in front slot
• 1 pen in front loop
• 2 world maps
• 2 clear card sheets holding client business cards, membership cards and stamps
• 1 zippered plastic pocket
• 10 clear plastic pockets holding invoices, bills to pay, articles for translation and discussion, lesson ideas. These are the heart of my Filofax
• 1 paper punch/ruler
• printed pages punched and folded – attendance registers, assignment briefings, invoice and contact details.

Burde A5 Business Refills. I like the timeslots in boxes as it controls my scribbles.

Full but not overfull

A5 Siena in Cinnamon. My usb stick goes in the front pocket together with receipts.

This last pic is purposely fuzzy as a lot of my work is confidential but you can see how I use my plastic sleeves for my work.

To the left

• the green paper is part of the Swedish Parliament tour I teach which remains to be translated from Swedish into English.
• behind the green sheet are three articles – one to be translated, one to be summarised and one to be debated.

To the right

• an assignment briefing for one of my clients. These papers are confidential so I whacked something on top of it. The briefings contain contact details, invoice details, attendance registers and course details for each of my clients (I have about 30 of these on the go at any one time).
• the horoscope is for one of my students who is very interested in them – we usually take the first or last five minutes of a class to discuss this – either as a warm up or a cool down.

My Filofax is always with me. For obvious reasons it is never out of my sight or my hands. If I have loose papers I mislay them or forget them at home. This way things weigh the same overall but are all safe.

If I could create my own FrankenFilofax it would have:

• The 30mm rings of a Malden
• The gold rings of a Siena
• The colour of a Teal Baroque
• The durable leather of a Kendal
• The inside embossing of a Baroque
• The zipper pull of a Siena
• The inside zipped pocket of a Malden
• The lightness of a Domino
• The strength of a Metropol
• The stitching of a Belmont
• The leather lining of a Siena
• The inside pocket configuration of the Belmont

What would YOUR Frankenfilo look like? I am dying to know!

I took a look at my favourite sellers on Etsy this week and found a gorgeous binder by Akiko from kikosattic. She does lovely work with everything done by hand and the most beautiful details. Akiko is a Filofax fan so her binders are Filofax compatible. Read my interview with her here

This binder features very lovely and unique leather.

I think this red is very nice! it’s just like a dark red apple.
The pattern is unique and cute. It’s like…tiles. Many small squares.
The texture is also strange, it’s the middle of glossy and mat.
This leather itself is made in Italy.

This binder is completely my handmade, handstitched. No machine is used at all.
4 pockets. Inside of thems are fully lined with dark gold liner.
All edges are filed, trimmed and coated with jade green.
Stitch isalso jade green.

The binder is very strong as it has a sturdy (but thin and soft) pad inside.
I put it even in the band, so it doesn’t get worn out easily.
You can use it for many years!

+++++MEASUREMENTS (approximately)+++++
height: 14.5cm
width: 10cm
ring size: 15mm
suitable papaer size : B7 (about 12.6 x 8cm)
If you need paper, please ask me.

This item comes in a gift box .

Link to the item here

Thanks to Colin D Shanahan from the Vintage Filofax Users Group on Facebook. Join today if you love vintage Filofaxes….when they REALLY knew what they were doing! I have posted two versions of some of the ‘famous Filofaxes’ as some are closer views and maybe easier to read.

See extracts from Tarzan’s Filofax here

Hitchcock’s Filofax

Armstrong’s Filofax

God’s Filofax

Scrooge’s Filofax

Tom’s Filofax

Armstrong’s Filofax

Caesar’s Filofax

Hitchcock’s Filofax

Tarzan’s Filofax

ET’s Filofax

Tutankamun’s Filofax

I will shortly be taking possession of a Temperley Violet Filofax. I have not been a fan of Temperley’s collaborations with Filofax and I am still not a huge fan. But I wanted a Filofax to match my Aspinal Purple Croc A5 Five-Year Diary and this is the only one I can find.

Here is my Aspinal Five-Year. It is a lovely book – heavy cream paper with gorgeous silver gilt edges to the paper. Extremely well made. I have a matching pen holder.

I used my A5 Siena for four months this year until back problems yet again forced me to downsize. How did I downsize? By carrying two months’ worth of calendar pages with me. How did that end up? In disaster! I work with classified information and I accidentally threw my calendar into the disposal unit for secret material, where it was instantly shredded to dot-sized pieces. And I don’t remember my calendar from hour to hour so I was lost, totally lost. A kind friend offered to get me a Temperley Violet, which is smaller and matches my 5-year!

Have not received it yet so here are some stock photos. I will photograph and put up mine as soon as I get it.

• ransparent flyleaf
• Temperley for Filofax front sheet
• Note from Alice Temperley
• Illustrated 2013 calendar block pages
• Illustrated star signs and Chinese zodiac years
• Birthday pages
• To do lists
• Addresses and contacts
• A-Z indices – black with gold text
• Subject indices – black with gold text
• Week on one page luxury cotton cream diary, multilanguage
• Black page marker/ruler with gold print
• Vintage world map
• London Underground map
• Dress size measurement chart and care card

I had a comment a few weeks ago asking for tips on blogging.

First off I am no expert. I don’t have a gazillion readers or make money from my blog. But I have loyal followers and regular readers so for what it’s worth, here goes.

This is my third blog. My first one was about handbags and was on Typepad from about 2004. I was a senior moderator on the Handbag.com discussion forums so I had a very large reader base coming through there. When I left Handbag I had had enough of the internet (internet fatigue!) and so took a break from everything internet-related apart from what I needed to do at work.

My work then asked me to do their social media for them because I had experience. I did this for a year (on WordPress, Facebook and Twitter) but found it difficult to do it as part of my job because it is time-consuming in itself and I was already working full-time as a teacher. I found the blog creeping in to my private time and about fifteen months ago, I burned out.

I had had a dormant wordpress blog which I had registered a year previously (because I liked the name thisbugslife.com and I had the chance to buy the name) so as I got better I started writing about things that interest me. Part of my burnout was that I was unable to concentrate, let alone read or write. So I made it part of my therapy – writing short bits as often as I could about things I cared about. And I think that was key. No pressure. And just doing it for myself.

Tips:

• Regarding platform I think blogger and WordPress are the best. Blogger is far easier to use but if you have experience of internet forums or communities, the interface is pretty similar.
• Don’t make your first question about blogging ‘how can I make money?’ A few years ago bloggers were few and far between so there was a huge market. Now the market is saturated so in order to make money you have to have a niche subject and extreme ambition and motivation. Making money will only come (if at all) after you are established.
• Write about what interests you.
• Don’t put pressure on yourself. If your muse fails then give it a break and come back when it does.
• Write regularly – even if your posts are short it’s something. What I do is, when I am on a roll I write as many posts as are in me and schedule them for days and weeks ahead, instead of posting them all at once and overwhelming people.
• Don’t write too many or too few posts. I tend to go through periods where I post too often but I can’t help it and figure that as long as it doesn’t happen every day I won’t annoy people.
• Use the free features available to you such as themes suited to your topic, and all the widgets that come with them.
• Use the help feature or the online support staff. They will not be able to help you immediately but they always do in a pretty reasonable time-frame.
• If you find it is what you want to do, even as a serious hobby, you can register your own domain name, buy extra space, remove ads, buy premium themes. They are inexpensive.
• Use other social media to publicize your blog – twitter and Facebook are good at this. Pinterest is also good as long as you don’t mind (NOTE CAREFULLY) losing control of your photographs. You will never know who has repinned or where it has ended up. So if you want to keep control of them, put a very clear note on your blog that you do not allow pinning from it. And then check in your stats to see if any are coming from Pinterest, follow them back and ask them to remove your photo.
• Comment on other blogs you like. This often leads to them checking out your site.
• Joined networked blog sites so that your blog is seen by more people.
• If you write about hobbies or special interest sites, or if you buy things you like, drop a line to forums or customer care and let them know about your blog.
• Interview people who are interested in the same things you are.
• Respond to comments
• This is personal of course, but comments on my blog have to be manually approved before they appear on my blog. This is to avoid spam. But once I have approved someone once they are then free to post and be published immediately. Spammers are the mosquitoes and flies of the internet.
• Don’t get defensive or nasty if responding to critical comments – particularly if you are writing on controversial topics. Getting into flame wars with anonymous strangers who don’t agree with you is not worth your effort and you may lose regular readers.
• Be aware that what you write can be seen by the whole world. Don’t make personal attacks, air dirty laundry or take cheap shots because everyone can see them. It’s up to you to choose whether to be anonymous on your blog but you are always traceable.
• Use the statistics feature to know your readers and your traffic. For example:
• Use tags effectively to increase traffic and see which posts bring viewers to your site, and:
• If you see links to forums follow them back to see who has posted your link and why. Maybe you can answer questions or post more links for clarification. If it is somewhere you don’t want it you can ask to have it removed. Policy may differ but you can always try.
• The posts which attract most traffic to my site are about spelling aloud, Filofaxes, Boerboels and handbags.
• I would recommend following Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s motto of ‘Act first and break things’. Don’t be scared to start blogging; don’t wait until you have mastered everything; don’t agonise over perfection in your posts. Try and come back and fix later if necessary. You will learn as you go along.
• Use features like scheduling posts in advance and being able to password-protect certain posts to optimise your blog. I can pop up lesson plans which are only visible to my students for example.
• Carry a notebook with you to write down inspiration as it hits. Keep lists of topics for when you have an idea drought or don’t have time to write immediately

Some of my favourite blogs are in niche areas:

Advanced Style - photographs of stylish older people

CarrotBox Ring Blog - rings of every kind, style, shape or form plus a shop.

Philofaxy - all about Filofaxes (this is a blog with a very active bustling community)

Plannerisms – all about Planners

Purseblog – about handbags

Bagsnob - about handbags

Bag Bliss - about handbags

Bag Lady – about handbags

Beading Gem – about jewellery and jewellery making

Regretsy - about funny items available on Etsy

I have posted several bag blogs above – if you look at them you will see how they have pretty much become complete for-profit sites. But they began as hobby blogs and it took a lot of unpaid effort and love to make them grow.

As from February this year Regretsy is now only an archive but it is still one of my favourite blogs of all time.

Dear Filofax

I have had to return two Filofaxes with faulty ring mechanisms recently. One of those times the Filofax with faulty rings was replaced TWICE with more faulty rings.

Firstly  it seems a bit odd that high end Filofaxes which cost a fortune have shoddy rings when Filofaxes which are decades old (and certainly never cost up to £500) have rings which are still going strong. Given that you are aware of this problem surely even if the ring manufacturer cannot be replaced, your quality control can be tightened?

I have some suggestions for alternate uses for faulty ring mechanisms:

1. Paper Shredder - trying to use a Filofax with dicky rings leads to automatic paper shredding. But wall-mounting a faulty ring mechanism and opening and shutting the rings over the paper while pulling will be more effective.

2. Jewellery hanger – mount horizontally and use the gaping rings to hold rings, chains, necklaces, earrings.

3. Hammer - use back of ring mechanism to hammer tacks and nails

4. Towel Holder – mount mechanism horizontally, leave rings open and hang towels on them.

5. Torture Device – snap on any sensitive part of the body

6. Game - open rings and toss the rings used for keyrings over each ring. First to complete the set wins the game.

7. Stationery holder – use to store paperclips, rolls of string and tape

8. Knitting Aid – use the mechanism for wrapping wool. No need for a second set of hands.

9. Belt hanger - hang belts by the buckles.

10. Plant Aid – train topiary around the rings

11. Coffee Mug Hanger - hang from rings

12. Kitchen Utensil Hanger - anything with looped handle can be hung from the rings.

But Filofax, please I beg you

One of the most popular items on my blog is the diet sheet above, which is part of my Losing Weight The Filofax Way series. Just to let you all know that I am in the process of recreating it, and soon will have a version available for download from my blog. It will probably start out A4 but you can shrink it to your specs or use a guillotine to resize for whatever Filofax you are using. I am hoping to do it when I am on holiday next month.

If anyone needs a tool to measure weight loss progress in the meantime, below is an Excel worksheet that will calculate your progress for you. It turns your weight every Monday into a graph for you. This is from 2004 but you can just change the years and days (less of a faff than it sounds if you take it day by day). You can use it to track different eating plans and record your meals.

Weight Loss Progress Spreadsheet 2004

I have a soft spot for orange accessories (particularly on the tangerine end of the spectrum) – they add a pop of bright colour without being too in your face. Orange can be casual or smart and it is one of the few bright colours that is unisex. It is just as appropriate in autumn as it is in summer and it is a classic colour rather than a trendy one. One of my favorite handbags is orange and my dream Hermés Birkin is orange. The closest I have to that is Hermés scarves and a scarf holder that I wear as a ring, and they all came in the gorgeous orange Hermés boxes….drool. But, I digresss….

One of my favourite Filofaxes of all time is my orange A5 Finsbury – it was not pricey and I bought it at the end of the only season it was available and I am so glad I did. It is really tough and pretty and bright. Makes me smile on the worst day, is easy to spot and works well during all four seasons. If I had to cut my collection down to one – this is the one I would choose. It is not the most expensive but it is my favourite.

The Filofax Original comes in a fluourescent orange – a bit bright for me but if you do flourescent (in anything), orange always works. The pink version also really caught my eye.

The Calipso comes in a burnt orange – a nice toned down version of the above two Filofaxes.

An orange Osterley. I like the brown better – maybe it is to do with the pattern? But this is also a lovely color

Cult Pens have the Faber Castell organisers below. They are compatible with Filofax. Interestingly, they do NOT come up on a site search for Faber-Castell, but DO come up on a site search for Filofax.

I am not really a patent leather person myself (have had bad experiences with patent leather shoes and handbags wearing really badly) but I like the colour of this one. And the credit card constellation inside is very practical. That is how I like my credit card slots to work. A bit pricey for a small organiser but Faber-Castell are good quality.

I generally stick to black or brown for my Filofaxes but I always make a beeline for orange if it is available.

I usually use black rulers and dividers in my Filofax. For my Deco though, I am using clear tabbed flyleaves and clear rulers instead. It feels good – a change is as good as a holiday. I usually use three rulers – one to mark my place in my calendar, one to mark my place in my notes and one to mark my place in my lesson plans.

I bought these at Åhléns City, a Stockholm department store. Shortly after I left after buying them, I received a Facebook message from a fellow Philofaxer. It read ‘Were you in Åhléns City about an hour ago?’ She had been perusing the Filofaxes at the same time I was standing in the queue to pay for my Filofax items. Even though we have never met, she had recognised me! Every time I look at my clear rulers and flyleaves I will think of how small the world really is. Go Philofaxy. And Susanna – you rock!

Speaking of which, I am in London for a couple of weeks towards the end of July. If any Filofax fans out there would like to meet up, I’m game!

I have always loved the Deco, but it was not available in A5 (the size I usually use) and it was rather pricey at £200. The most expensive Filofax I have is my A5 Siena in Cinnamon, and  most expensive non-Filofax is my Mulberry Agenda planner so I figured I didn’t need another pricey binder.

I recently started using Personal again because the A5 was getting too heavy to carry and I started having back trouble. Then the local department store had their 50% off sale a few weeks ago (knocking the Decos from £200 down to £100) and I had £50 in points vouchers so I went for it. They only had the Ebony color in the Personal Size. I have always loved the Amethyst but there was only a Pocket one so I went for Ebony instead – at £50 it would have been rude not to.

I have been using it for a couple of weeks now and I absolutely love it. The clasp is beautiful, the leather is firm yet smooshy and slightly puffy. It is suprisingly hardwearing – I toss it in my bag to tumble around with everything else and it comes up smelling like roses. The rings are the perfect size – can be stuffed but does not become a brick like my A5s did.

View of the pages towards the end of the Deco- stickers, a Deco picture from the front cover of the little Filofax booklet that was inside the credit card pocket, my Filofax Botanics pen, and some bits of paper with notes scribbled on them. The pen is actually purple (to the blue end of the spectrum) but the camera does not seem to pick it up. The Deco has a lovely pen loop – half Deco leather and half elastic. So it looks good but fits several sizes of pen.

My WOTP vertical calendar. Very quiet booking-wise as I am on holiday so just a few to dos. The little dots represent medication reminders, birthdays and the window cleaner who is coming tomorrow.

Front inside page – I have a small booklet in the front slip pocket, together with my bonus card for my ‘charm of the month’ club (I collect charm bracelets). On the right hand side is my name, home address and the various web addresses I need to remember for work – mainly the invoicing system and our remote webmail. I also have the various codes for my phone voicemail system. Always forget which buttons to press. I use blank notepaper for these kinds of pages.

The back of the Deco – pristine with perfect stitching and not a scratch.

WOTP horizontal layout – I usually use the WOTP vertical for my bookings and the WOTP horizontal just behind it for notes.

Deliberately blurred – I type up lists and just stick them to notepaper. It is easier and quicker. I have just ordered a personal sized hole punch so then I can just whack them straight into the Filo without having to stick them on to anything.

Clear zipped pocket at back holds my calculator and a magnifier. The rings are too full for them to fit on the rings

That long strap keeping everything firmly in. The bottom corner goes to the right a little because of the large zipper pull on the plastic pocket

Top view – full but everything fits in nicely.

It is stuffed but the strap is nice and long and everything fits in perfectly. You can see I separate my sections with clear tabbed flyleaves

Hope you have enjoyed the tour of my Deco as much as I did. I really can recommend it. Extremely well made and a joy to use.

My Filofax statistics:

1. Biggest  – A5 Grey Malden
2. Smallest - Mini Teal Baroque
3. Fattest - A5 Brown Kendal
4. Thinnest - Compact Violet Temperley
5. Oldest - A5 Black Metropol
6. Newest - Personal Ebony Deco
7. Cheapest - Personal Aqua Mode
8. Most Expensive - A5 Cinnamon Siena; Oak Mulberry Agenda
9. Most battered - A5 Black Metropol
10. Most colourful – A5 Orange Finsbury
11. Most unusual – A5 Bronze Snake Domino
12. Favourite - Personal Ebony Deco
13. Used the longest – Oak Mulberry Agenda
14. Average length of time in one Filofax - 6 weeks
15. Non-Filofax Binders- Aspinal A5 in Purple Croc, Ordning och Reda in burgundy leather, Oak Mulberry Agenda
16. On the way – A5 Gillio Mia Cara in Epoca Gold
17. If I had to use one for the rest of my life – A5 Orange Finsbury
18. Regret not buying – Personal Teal Baroque
19. Most hardwearing – A5 Bronze Domino Snake
20. Highest quality/most beautifully made Filofax – Personal Brown Belmont
21. Total number of Filofaxes – 18
22. Number of A5 size - 11
23. Number of Personal size 5
24. Number of Compact size - 1
25. Number of Pocket size - 0
26. Number of Mini size - 1
27. Favourite internal feature – zipped pocket –  inside front cover of A5 Malden
28. Favourite pocket configuration – A5 Siena 
29. Favourite size – A5
30. Favourite Calendar Format – Week on Two Pages Vertical Cream Cotton
31. Biggest Bargain – £195 Personal Ebony Deco for £50 brand new
32. Best place to buy them (bricks and mortar) – NK in Stockholm
33. Best place to buy them (online) - Ebay
34. Filofaxes I have multiples of – A5 Grey Malden, A5 Cinnamon Siena, Personal Brown Belmont, Aqua Mode, A5 Bronze Domino Snake
35. Heaviest – A5 Brown Kendal
36. Lightest – A5 Bronze Domino Snake
37. Dream Filofax – A5 Purple Baroque with gold embossing inside
38. Dream collaboration – Mulberry and Filofax
39. Years using Filofax – 29
40. On wishlist – nicer zipper tags, gold rings, metal zippers
41. Biggest Filofax sin – overstuffing
42. Favourite ruler color – transparent
43. Favourite dividers – transparent tabbed flyleaves
44. Most value for money - Finsbury
45. Most overpriced – The Affair, The Guinea
46. Really didn’t like – The Affair, The IKAT, The Guinea, The Apex
47. Would like to try – The Flex
48. Best Pen for Filofax – Frixion Rollerball
49. Favourite Classic Binder – Duplex
50. What I do with binders I don’t want – give them to my daughter