It’s a (Small) Philofaxy World: The New York City Meet Up

As most of you know, yesterday was the New York City Philofaxy meet up.

It. Was. Fabulous.

I can only speak for myself here, but I think it was a very big success. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. So let’s start at the beginning…

My husband and I arrived in New York a little earlier than the group planned. I wanted to be sure that we wouldn’t run into a time crunch and since I’m someone who likes to arrive on time, this was part of the plan. It allowed for a small breather before the meeting. So we stopped at a Starbucks to fuel up and check in on Twitter, where the world it seems, was waiting with baited breath for updates. (By the way, I absolutely loved that people from around the country and the world were so interested in what was happening in New York.)

Malden stops to fuel up before the big event.

You can also see my iPod Touch with the Twitter feed on the right.

We all met at Sam Flax on Third Avenue. I was the first to arrive at the scene (well, my husband and myself). We stood in front of the Filofax display to make it obvious who we were and what our purpose was. Little by little the attendees started to arrive.

Back row, left to right: Karensa, Me, Dasha, Mimi, Jordan 
Front row, left to right: Nan, Michele, Helen

And then it was time to shop. The store itself is fairly big, but the Filofax area is pretty small, and there are many display cases in front of the actual Filo display, so it was a little tight. But we managed it. Thanks to Colie, the staff knew we were coming, and so upon our arrival, they unlocked the display case so that we were free to peruse the stock at will. There were many binders to look at, hold, feel, and smell. And trust me when I say that we did. There was a good selection of inserts, however there was very little for 2012 and no new binders, since they will not arrive in the US until late July/early August. Many of the personal size accessories were out of stock, so I was unable to get what I was really after, which was blank tabs. However, I did get one of the two binders bought.

I bought a personal Grape Domino. It wasn’t until after I bought it and we were headed off to dinner that I realized that I broke my vow to not buy a new binder for all of 2011. The thought never even crossed my mind. This turned out to be a good thing though, because if I had remembered, I probably would not have bought the binder. But oh well, c’est la vie. I have a specific use for this binder, but that’s another post entirely.

Personal Grape Domino with sticky notes

I also bought a pack of special sticky notes for my husband. He was the one to point them out. He thought they were funny. He’ll probably regret showing them to me, as I fully intend to use them.

I believe most, if not all of us bought something, whether it be a new binder, new inserts, or new pens we tried to hide from our significant other. Someone even bought a Crimson Malden (swoon).

After fully wearing ourselves out in Sam Flax (not to mention the staff there), we headed over to Le Pain Quotidien for dinner. This was a perfect place for us to eat. There was a large table with plenty of room to move from one end to another. Plus, there weren’t too many other customers there, so the noise level was at a minimum. There was enough space for all of us, all of the food, and all of our Filofax gear. As soon as drinks were ordered, the Filos and Filo supplies appeared. We passed around everyone’s Filos and accessories and pens. Here are the highlights:

The Filos appear – this is my stack: 

Ochre Malden (the color seen here is pretty much what it is), 

Jade Finchley (The Happiness Binder), and Black Malden.

You can also see the famous Frixion pens on the left.

This is Colie’s storage tin. Love it!

Sorry for the fuzziness. Our waiter (seen on the right) is a
Moleskine user but he does have a planner at home. He
couldn’t tell us the brand of it, however.

The entire pile, a total of 25.

Sadly, I didn’t get as many pictures as I would have liked, only because I was so involved with the discussion that I forgot all about taking pictures.

We did find out how small the world (or at least New York) is. One of the attendees works with a relative of mine. And two of the attendees went to the same high school, though they did not graduate the same year. It’s amazing how everyone seems to be connected in some way.

As I said, I had a wonderful time. Thank you to everyone who attended and help plan the event. And a special thank you to Steve, who gave me tips and suggestions for embarking on this adventure. I am looking forward to our next meet up!

The first-ever NYC Philofaxy meet up group.

And later this week, a special post regarding Malden's adventure!