27 April 2008

Order arrived!

Recently, I ordered a bunch of refills from The Daily Planner. Along with the things I really needed (To Do pages in both A5 and Personal formats), I ordered several items I didn't need. Why? I wanted to experiment with Filofax products I'd never used before to round out my experience and collection, and to report to all of you on this blog.

Today I'll start with an insert called "Erasable Marker Memo" on the Web site and on the invoice, and "Most Used Telephone Numbers" on the package. It's a single sheet of plastic, about the same weight and flexibility as a dishwashing-liquid bottle. In other words, quite a bit thicker and stiffer than paper.

The insert is ©1995, and the packaging seems to be from the same era. (The more recent packaging is mostly white with only a little dark blue.) Also, it was made in the UK, which makes it a rare find these days.

The front of the form reads "Most Used Telephone Numbers" (as shown), and the back says "Messages," with just a page of blank lines below.

The instructions read, "Write in pencil or non-permanent marker. Erase with rubber eraser or damp cloth."

Just testing it briefly, pencil marks look lighter than on paper, and erase easily. Marker also appeared fainter, and rubbed off easily with just a finger -- no water needed! That leads me to believe just as I suspected -- that marker would smudge more easily than pencil.

I would love to use a form like this as a To-Do list for ad-hoc tasks, or capturing temporary notes. But it would also be great for its intended purpose, since the numbers we call most often change from time to time, as family and friends' phone numbers (or relationships) change from time to time.

7 comments:

  1. I would think that it would be possible to duplicate the functionality of this insert with some mylar drafting film, for those who can't find this product.

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  2. The range of refills and types of pages available from Filofax these days is somewhat reduced compared to what was available in the 1980's and 1990's. Of course the company has changed hands I think since then so it's not surprising that they have streamlined the product range.

    Also back then there was only the Personal size and Deskfax size..

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  3. Oooh, Amper, what a great DIY idea! I have a feeling that a lot of our readers are going to pick up on it!

    Thanks for your input, Steve. You're right that there are fewer types of refills available now. :( Placing orders like this, perhaps I'm doing my part to show there's still a market for more!

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  4. To say that the range of refills today is reduced compared to the early 1990s doesn't really do it justice. The old Filofax catalogues used to have pages and pages of different refills ranging from papers for the military, the clergy, tourists/travellers as well as many specific business papers like the "Free Form" papers. Today the range of papers is fairly generic with task specific papers being almost completely absent.

    I do recall Filofax having bibliographic papers, papers to plan TV and fitness schedules and even a paper to allow anglers to record their catches. How well they sold of how useful they ever were is something only the company itself probably knows. They were mostly obliterated the company's reorganisation in 1994.

    The original Deskfax was an odd format in that it was really just a double width Filofax (personal) size page. It still had a decent range of papers and was much more interoperable with the standard Filofax than any of the current sizes are.

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  5. I totally agree, inserts were much more interesting back then. I have and still use a birdwatchers life list by Filofax from the mid 1980's. Beat that!

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  6. Aside from not producing a bird watching insert Filofax have just invited me to "Step into Spring" with an Urban folder featuring "distressed leather trim" which changes to "distressed leather-look trim" on the click through. Didn't Spring start in March? http://www.filofax.co.uk/store/SEURLF/ASP/SFS/DISPLAY./SIZEID.3/RANGEID.114/DSIZEID.3/SFE/organiser.htm?MailoutID=130&UserID=17029&opt_in=-1&DataTable=130_1&customerType=11

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  7. That's funny, Andrzej! Yes, someone at Filofax needs to use his or her Filofax to keep track of the seasons. At least, May isn't the time one "steps into" spring!

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