I've ordered the Norfolk Filofax...

A planner for me has to either be super slim for portability or super fat for stuffability. I don't like the in-betweens, they seem like missed opportunities... with 30mm rings, the personal-size Norfolk Filofax was just too tempting!

Impulse shopping at its finest

Admittedly, this was a bit of an impulse buy. What can I say, it was Christmas day, not to mention it's been the first time I'd spent Christmas alone, so I needed a pick-me-up. 

I've been eyeing this collection up since it hit the Filofax website. I've spent a few weeks ogling pics on Instagram, and I've watched every single video that's out right now on YouTube – standard – But I had decided that I wasn't going to invest as it doesn't have gold rings.

I've been completely spoilt by gold rings since buying the Centennial Original (personal size in charcoal) for my birthday in 2021. I honestly thought I'd never be able to purchase another planner again unless it had the same gold rings – which is weird for me because I'm not really a gold person.

However... Christmas day came, and I thought I was going to be okay...

It turned out to be a terrible day though, because seriously, what's the point in Christmas when you're nearly 40, childless (if you don't count your furbabies) and you're spending it by yourself? The only thing I could think of to make the day feel better was to blow a hundred quid on something pretty. It was a terribly delightful moment of weakness. So far I have no regrets.

Besides, a brand new planner will be like a brand new start to the new year – right? It made perfect sense at the time, I was under the influence of a bottle of Port.

My choice...

I've gone for the personal size in 'sage', which seems to be the favourite in the planner community from what I've seen online. I might have been persuaded to go for the lavender if it was spring or the almond if it was autumn. The lavender in particular is playing on my mind... Who knows, if they're still around come spring or autumn, my collection may expand – I'll probably need cheering up again mid-Feb.

I'm a crazy plant lady though, so 'sage' just made sense as an all-year-rounder. It looks like a pretty shade of green from what I can tell online, although I'm nervous to see if I'll like it in person. What I'm hoping for is a calming, muted colour with nature vibes to go with my current inserts, accessories and witchy-earth-girl personality.

I've always got on best with personal-sized planners. I like the fact that you can get the 'economy' pack of plain paper refills, which don't seem to be available in the other sizes. I also like that the personal size doesn't take up your entire desk when opened up like the A5, and I don't need the portability of the pocket anymore as I work from home.

(I have 2 A5 Filofaxes - My Aqua Chameleon, the original love of my life, and The Classic Croc, my dirty kinky affair! I'm currently using my Classic Croc to house important documents, but my poor Chameleon is boxed. I must come up with a new use for it for 2023 – if you have any ideas, leave them in the comments!)

The MAIN thing that convinced me to buy my new Norfolk planner though (aside from the bottle of Port and all the misery) was the opportunity to have 30mm rings in a personal-size planner. A planner for me has to either be super slim for portability or super fat for stuffability. I don't like the in-betweens, they seem like missed opportunities.

I'm also looking forward to finding out if all the extra pockets will be useful for me. I've been using my Centennial Original, and my pet peeve about the Originals is the useless (in my opinion) interior design...

I think the jot-pad slots at the back of the Originals are pointless, especially as they don't even sell replacements on the Filofax website. I also find the elastic band on the inside of the front cover to be a pointless feature as I've never found a legitimate use for it. Okay, rant over.

What I do like about the originals though is the flatability, the retro design and stitching, and the simple 'single piece of leather' design. Let's face it – they're just very cool. I'd be very interested to know your opinions on the Originals, so feel free to comment below!

You can watch my earlier rants on the Original Filofax – PART 1 and PART 2.

Back to The Norfolk...

I'll have a lot more to say about the Norfolk Filofax when I actually receive it. 

You can expect a full Filofancy review...

(I've noticed I get more and more critical of Filofax purchases the older I get – in the early Filofancy days I was totally in love with all of them, and I gave orgasmic reviews, but the griping has increased over the years. I guess I just know what I want now, and boy, are my expectations high!)

In the meantime, feel free to enjoy some other Filofax reviews...

• The Centennial Collection
• The Garden Collection
• Classic Croc Filofax

For earlier posts, check out my Contents Page and go exploring!

Let me know in the comments if there is anything in particular that you're interested in seeing on the blog, as I want to start posting more content, and it would be great to know what you want to see. 

I'm also REALLY keen to hear from anyone who has purchased anything from the current Norfolk collection, or who is thinking about it, so please share your thoughts... And subscribe to the Filofancy blog to get notified of when I publish the review of my new Norfolk Filofax! Find me on Instagram and Youtube.

It's Filofancy's 10th Anniversary Today!

I thought it would be fun to celebrate Filofancy's 10th Anniversary by exploring the blog to rediscover some of my really old posts.

The very first post I published on this blog was all the way back in 2012. I can't believe it was exactly 10 years ago today. 

I have come and gone over the years in terms of actually writing and publishing content, but the blog has always remained online, and it has been lovely to see a steady flow of visitors still discovering the blog and enjoying my posts.

I have a great contents page that makes it easy to browse through my older posts, but I wanted to pull out a few of my favourites and talk about them today. So here are 4 Filofancy posts from the past...

Filofax Vlog: The Arrival of My A5 Aqua Chameleon Filofax

This post always makes me giggle! It is short and sweet and describes the arrival in the post of the Filofax that triggered my planner obsession and inspired the creation of the Filofancy blog. 

It also has a link in it to my very first Filofax vlog on Youtube - which is highly embarrassing, but also rather lovely to look back on. I'm so young and silly. My enthusiasm is refreshing. 

If you are interested, head over to the post, but don't forget to come back to finish reading this one! (All of the links in this post will open in a new window, so it's easy for you to return.)

How to Create a Unique Dashboard for your Filofax - The Filofancy Way!

Don't you just love how grainy and vintage my photos look from old blog posts? Camera phones were nothing in comparison to what they are now. 

I love this old post, along with many of the other "creative ideas" posts that are peppered throughout the blog. Back in the day dashboards were considered a new idea, and I really did think that my "Filofancy" dashboard idea was truly innovative. 

It's a bit embarrassing how this outdated post is actually one of the most viewed posts on the blog. My attempts at SEO must be on target for this post. 

Head back in time to read more about my so-called creative-genius! Just remember... we're talking a whole decade ago... so be kind in the comments...

Aston Filofax and Holborn Zipped - First Impressions

The story of how I fell in love with a Filofax while standing in the middle of Paperchase is actually kind of hilarious, and 100% true. Sometimes I wonder if people reading my blog must think I exaggerate my feelings for Filofax planners, but the fact remains, I just tell it how it is. 

You can read my little love story here, its a tiny bit cringy, but I remember it like it was yesterday, and it always makes me smile. Comment while you are over there if you have a Filofax Love story to tell!

The Time I Bought My Sister A Filofax... And KEPT It!

Perhaps one of the most bonkers things I have done since becoming obsessed with Filofaxes was when I bought a Filofax for my sister, fell in love and ended up keeping it, and then had to purchase the exact same one to give to her! 

This is a funny blog post describing that experience, with a link to a charming little video I made, in which I waffle on about how I have fallen for the Filofax and how much I really didn't want to give it to my sister. But for some reason, I decided to edit it so that you can't hear me talking, and the footage is sped up and dubbed with a quirky tune. 

It's still fun to watch though, especially now that you know what I'm actually talking about behind the music! Click here for the blog post -  It's worth it just to see how gorgeous the Filofax is.

Looking To The Future...

Well, we have had a good look into Filofancy's past, but about the future of the blog? Will we still be here in ten years time to celebrate another decade of writing about planners, journals, and stationery? Will I have my act together by then and be posting more regular and more relevant content? Or will Filofancy remain a little historical archive of memory-lane posts? 

Only time will tell... but if you subscribe to my blog for notifications of new posts you can continue to follow the Filofancy journey. 

Keep scrolling down to sign up blog notifications via email...

Did You Know Filofancy Is On Instagram?

So excited to celebrate Filofancy's first humble milestone on Instagram... We've finally got to 100 Followers!

It's true, Filofancy has been on Instagram for ages... but the account had been left sad and neglected for some time. I decided to change that. 

Recently I have been taking a more consistent and thoughtful approach to posting content on Instagram and engaging with other accounts, and it looks like it is paying off. It was very satisfying to see the number "100" appear at the top of my Instagram account this weekend.

To celebrate reaching my first 100 followers, I thought I would share a blog post showing some of my recent Instagrams posts, hoping to entice you to head over to Instagram and follow me too.

I am very much enjoying the houseplants theme that is emerging in my new planner. I absolutely love plants... perhaps even as much as I love planners. So it makes sense to merge the two and helps to make me feel more at home in my new planner, which I am still getting used to.

I am trying to think of a section that I can add to my planner that is dedicated to my houseplants. If you have any ideas let me know in the comments!

My pets (especially my cat Figpig) like to photobomb my planner pics. Often I don't notice that there is an animal limb or nose in the photo until I come to edit them, so I am learning to integrate my pets into the content instead of reshooting. 

Above you can see my naughty cat's paws. He was told off for walking all over my planner whilst I was trying to photograph it, and he clearly resorted to ruining my pic with his paws. But it actually turned out quite cute so I didn't crop them out.

I am attempting to develop a bit of Instagram aesthetic by utilising attractive props that have nothing to do with planning whatsoever. Then later I attempt to link it in to make it sound like including the prop was totally intentional. 

The shot at the top of this blog post of my planners stacked on a dish, for example, is very cute, but also quite random. So I clumsily attempted to connect the concept of a "platter of planners" to the fact that it was posted on Sunday when I should have been enjoying a Sunday roast or platter of chicken, but of course, being a crazy planner girl, I am enjoying a platter of planners (geddit?) 

I guess there is a reason that I have not been hired in any creative marketing kind of role. My ideas are a bit far-fetched.

I hope you head over to enjoy a daily dose of planner pics from me. I will be posting all sorts, from decorated planners to functional inserts, so you can get plenty of ideas for your own planner. I'm am even trying to get my head around Instagram Stories, Reels, and TV... Who knew social media was so complicated? 

Let me know in the comments what you like to see on your favourite Instagram accounts so that I can create more content that you will love.

I am also interested to know what your favourite planner content platforms are? Are you into the good old fashioned blog content? Do you enjoy watching planner flips and set-up videos on Youtube? Do you need a daily dose of #plannerlove on Instagram? Are you a "Facebook Groups" kinda person? Or are you super trendy (and young) and it's all about TikTok? 

At the moment Filofancy is purely a blog and Instagram account, with a very dormant Youtube account! 

Thanks for reading and commenting... feel free to share this post if you enjoyed it x

If you are thinking of purchasing any Filofax products and you have enjoyed reading my blog, click here to be taken to the Filofax website, and I will receive a lovely bit of revenue (at no extra cost to you) on any purchases that you make. Your support is always appreciated! 

Thank you, Zara M. | Filofancy, Life On Paper

Images & Illustrations by Zara M.