Yesterday I had some time to kill and I knew that NK department store (my favourite Stockholm shopping haunt for all things stationery) had begun their sale three hours previously. On sale days I usually go to the Filofaxes first, then the rest of the stationery section, up to the beauty hall and then across to the Mulberry concession (predictable – moi?). But yesterday I got chatting to the sales assistant in the stationery department about Rhodesian Ridgebacks and Filofaxes (he knows me well) so escaped with my credit cards intact….almost.
Must just say first that NK is Sweden’s answer to Harvey Nichols – rather posh. But in the stationery section the sales staff will spend hours with you even if what you need help with is deciding between brown or grey ink refills! They know their stuff, are as interested as you are, and treat you as though you are the only customer they will ever have, no matter how small your purchase may be. They get to know you and what you like and always let you know if things you would be interested in have come onto the floor (and sometimes even before then). I wish obnoxious snobby sales assistants in many posh shops would realise what a difference it makes.
Anyhoo….regarding Filofaxes….
I started out at the Flex section. Was pleased to see it was fully stocked with a wide selection of covers, all very nice looking. Glad to see they now have leather covers – I particularly liked the Tan natural leather cover and the purple – sorry, blackcurrant – leather lizard-print cover. I was very much afraid that the Flex range would be a damp squib – relegated to the bargain bin after a season of dwindling availability. It is nice to see that Filofax have obviously invested in this. That means that people who use the system are actually able to obtain refills and continue to use it.
I like the look of the Flex range and would have considered it except for the fact that I cannot use a bound planner – I need rings! I know that at least one intrepid Philofaxy reader has created a ring version of the Flex. Maybe Filofax should consider this in future, unless they consider it selling out of the Flex concept.
Filofax Keyrings
I meandered past the Adelphis, Osterleys and Regencies, thanking my lucky stars I had not fallen in love with any of them because my wallet couldn’t stand it. I had a chuckle at the battered looking IKATs looking lonely in their pariah status on the bottom shelf, all still unsold. Looked at the Chameleons (mmmm they look good in A5), wondered why anyone would buy a neon Filofax keyring…before opening one and developing a teeny crush on it. Two ended up in my basket (I chose a purple and an orange – my favourite colours and also because you could see the Filofax logo on the clasp) before I came to my senses and reluctantly returned them to the shelf. They are nice but my keyrings need to be more durable and my daughter would prefer a real Filofax to a Filofax keyring.
Then I headed over to the new section where I looked at the Calipso (meh for some reason), mourned the absence of the Saffiano (NK does not sell non-leather Filofaxes), which I love (the texture of the cover looks very like some of my Smythson notebooks without the price tag – and in fantastic colors)—-
and then I POUNCED on the Originals.
I love these – they are light, the colours are gorgeous (I kept fondling the fluorescent pink A5 for some reason, which is odd as I usually only buy classic colors) and the popper is lovely with it’s little retro-style button. The one thing that was both very nice and also not so nice was the plastic cover. This makes them look pristine and very luxe on the shelves. It also prevents some other shopper from putting their sweaty mitts on your baby before you get to touch it for the first time. However, it also prevents one from feeling the cover and seeing how it will hold up to wear. Once that baby is out of its protective wrapping, I have a feeling it may show every bang and dent or feel weird to the touch. I hate things feeling too smooth (I am weird that way) so it would have been nice to have a ‘tester’ version on the shelf. They are extremely well priced for a leather product, though the simplicity gives me a little ‘craft market’ vibe. It would tie in well with the current trend for Cambridge Satchels, though. I was not enamoured of the brown and the black (gave me Metropol deja vu) but I loved the green one. It is so hard to find handbags and binders in deep green for some reason. Which is odd because dark green it is almost a neutral. I reckon there should be way more green and navy blue out there but colour snobs tend to look down on them for some reason. That, however, is another post entirely.
Then I found my Mecca – the Reduced Decos
—- they had them in all the sizes – Slimline in Ebony and Ruby, Personal in Ebony and Ruby, Pocket in Amethyst. Half price plus I had NK clubcard points adding up to another thirty percent off. So of course I just had to get the…..
Personal Ebony Deco
Was torn between that and the Pocket Amethyst because I am a purple girl but in the end size won out. More about this binder here
