Stockholm Filofax Mini Meet 23 October 2013

Well, it finally happened. After attempting to meet at least three times before (our efforts being derailed by illness, babysitting and last-minute schedule changes), the three of us were all able to be in the same place at the same time today! ‘We’ are Susanna, who I know from the Philofaxy group and my blog, my daughter Amanda (who has my passion for all things Filofax), and myself.

We met at the coffee shop situated metres away from the Filofax section of NK (Sweden’s version of Harrods). You can see from the photographs that the coffee shop is very comfy and rustic, with sofas and armchairs to sink into, and you can sit as long as you want.

Susanna had brought with her:

Personal Ostrich in Buttercup – what a beautiful binder. The quill is beautiful (I come from ‘Ostrich country’ in South Africa so I know my quills!), the leather is puffy and soft yet firm and sturdy. The pocket constellation is beautiful with little pockets everywhere. It also has leather ring protectors and replaceable rings. Susanna has it set up beautifully to work in tandem with her…

….A5 Slimline Boston in Black – thinner and lighter than your average A5 and in the most beautiful soft nappa leather. Susanna has used this binder extensively and it is tossed around in her bag but it has not a mark on it. It looks brand new and flawless. Wow, I was totally sold. Not a mark on it and what gorgeous leather. Plus it is so nice and light. An idea solution for those who want an A5 without the weight.

Personal Amica Gillio in Green with brushed silver rings – this is the most beautiful colour and so smooth and sturdy. The colour is very hard to photograph (a little like the Aqua Malden) but it is a deep forest green. I don’t have a green Filofax and they don’t come up very often (I am not enamoured of the Original style, though I like the colour of the racing green, and the Tejus in green is gorgeous but hard to find). Susanna kindly allowed me to buy this binder from her at an extremely good price. Yay!

Personal Cross in Camel – Susanna bought this one for me as a gift to cheer me up because I was made redundant last month. I have always wanted a Camel Cross made before they were renamed the Classic because the leather did not peel. And this binder is lovely – it has the perfect symmetrical stitching and firm puffiness that the classic is known for and the Camel is such a gorgeous color. It already means so much to me because of the thought and caring behind it. It will be used to document my move from the place I have worked for 13 years into starting my own company, and maybe moving back into journalism or computers, or even into a totally new field.  I am sure it will bring me luck or good vibes. It will definitely make me feel good. Thank you Susanna!

Susanna also had Coleto pens with her and they are lovely. I had never seen one or used one before. I fell in love!

Amanda did not bring her Filofax with her. She has been using an A5 Bronze Domino snake for her studies for about three years now. For her birthday she asked for a Compact Filofax Temperley Violet. I rushed in to NK yesterday and they only had one left but it had been put aside for someone. Because the person had not come to collect it, and because the sales staff know me, the wonderful sales associate let me buy it. So today I gave Amanda her Temperley and we found out that it was AMANDA who had asked to have the Filofax put aside in the first place. So it was really meant to be hers! Susanna showed us how she uses a personal and an A5 and so Amanda can use her two together as well if she likes.

I took my:

Pocket and A5 Gillio Mia Caras and my Red Lizard Personal (which has my wonderful Bowie dividers made by Paula from Roses in December) for which I paid about 20% of the full price. It is so soft and the leather is as tough as nails. Susanna has its green sibling which she bought at a 70% discount. These are gorgeous Filofaxes but crushingly expensive if you pay full price. NK still have an Ostrich Buttercup in pocket size, an Ostrich Black in personal size and (they think) an Alligator Brown in personal size – all 70% off.

After we chatted and had ‘Show and Tell – The Filofax Edition’, we ate a delicious lunch and then went on a long tour of the NK Filofax department. We drooled at the prospect of the orange Osterleys which are on the way to NK, browsed the inserts and then pondered the Charlestons. There were not many Charlestons left and they apparently do not exist anywhere else, so I enabled Susanna to get a red A5 and then she enabled me with the brown A5. Thanks to loyalty points, a gift card and a sale of another Filofax earlier today I got a deep enough discount to be able to get that and also get a nice selection of inserts for Amanda.

After that we went to Åhléns (another department store) where I fell hard for the exotic Flex covers. I have always wanted to try one, particularly now that they have come out in leather (and such pretty colors). We had a look at the lovely blue Calipso (oh that gorgeous colour and the soft leather is divine) and browsed the inserts. Amanda got a lovely gold and black Filofax pen to go with her new Temperley, and some Filofax credit card holders as she is going to be using her Temperley as a wallet. We also browsed the Muji shelves and got some lovely To Do post-its. They didn’t have any stamps but maybe sometime soon they will come in.

After that we went to Svanströms where we looked at the Filofax Flex sale. They didn’t have much left unfortunately but it shows that people are buying them which is good, as it means there will be continued demand for them from Filofax and they may not discontinue them soon. My fear has been that Filofax would stop making them and that all the people who love the system would be stuck and not able to find refills. We browsed the pretty stationery and salivated over their nice selection of Paperblanks.

After that we parted ways with promises to meet again soon. And everyone who would like to join is welcome! We will make sure to let people know beforehand. We all speak Swedish and English so don’t worry if you only speak one or the other – we speak fluent Filofax as well!