As a child of the 80's, the name Filofax automatically makes me think of yuppies (does anybody even use that word any more ?), proudly brandishing their Filofax personal organisers as the ultimate must-have accessory because nobody had mobile phones, PDAs, Blackberries, laptops or anything other electronic gadgets to show off yet ! When I was sent a Filofax Flex to review, I therefore wasn't expecting anything so discreet and girlie-girlie ! As soon as 10-year old Sophie saw it, she squealed and asked if she could have it.
The first thing that appealed to her was the bright pink (or magenta, as it is officially described) cover, but it is also available in black and slate. Once she started looking at all the little extras that we were sent, she soon realised just how useful it could be though. Described as a "flexible, modular personal stationery system", you basically fill it up with all the different stationery inserts you want. Sophie, very definitely a child of the noughties, said it was like buying an iPad and then downloading the different apps you want, but this time it's little paper pads instead of iPad apps ! That's actually a great way of describing it !
We were sent a selection of the stationery inserts to try out - 2011 planner, contacts (I notice it's not called an address book any more, because nobody needs addresses for snailmail any more, it's all emails, social media usernames and phone numbers !), pen holder, 2011/2012 diary and notebook. Inside the cover, there was already a notebook, jotpad and pen holder, which come automatically when you buy the cover. Afterwards, the choice is yours and Sophie had great fun deciding what to put where. As they say on the website : "There are more than a million ways to make your Flex your own – just choose a Cover and then whatever stationery inserts you need and put them in the position that best suits your lifestyle - bringing your notes, thoughts, ideas and lists of things to do together in one convenient place. It's as easy as 1, 2, 3....."
As a working mum, I found it a bit small (I have a big family planner stuffed with letters from school, appointments, work stuff and household paperwork on the go !) but Sophie loved the slimline size that was ideal for slipping in her pocket for writing notes and doodling on the go. It is actually available in three different sizes - pocket, slim and A5.
The little pockets are very handy for keeping safe little pieces of paper (such as till receipts or school dinner tickets) or travel cards. It's also great for constantly having somewhere to note down shopping lists and other important pieces of info, if you haven't been converted to the paperless gadgetry of electronic organisers.
star rating : 4/5
RRP : £17 to £27
for more information : http://www.filofax.co.uk/flex/about.asp
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I so loved my filofax when I was a student, it was so handy for keeping track of everything.
ReplyDeleteAlso as I am a child of the 80s I remember "yuppies" too, I get an image of a filofax in one hand and a great big brick like mobile phone in the other, lol. This looks great though and although I would probably never have used one before, I now find since my son has started school there is always so much to remember and parties to go to etc, so maybe I actually do need one!
ReplyDeleteOoooh! I used to have a filofax - brings back memories, but mine was boring black. what a great review product, my daughter would love this.
ReplyDelete@mumoffunkids
This also reminds me of the filofax that I once owned before the age of technology. I did love it though. Wonder what happened to it?
ReplyDelete