Friendly Intimacy: The Fifth Philofaxy NYC Meet Up

Yesterday we had a Philofaxy meet up in New York City.  We met at 1 pm at Sam Flax on Third Avenue, shopped a little, and then headed off to Le Pain Quotidien for lunch and filo chat.   There were five of us (Josh, Juan, Michele, Raquel, and myself), all of whom had attended meet ups before, though not at the same time.  Since we were all veterans to the practice, it was easy and fun, much like meeting old friends (and of course, we were!).

I was a little early, arriving in the area around 12:30 pm.  So my husband and I went to Barnes & Noble for a bit.  By the time we got to Sam Flax around 12:55, everyone was already there.  So off my husband went to the Apple Store (and stopping at the Ferrari store as well—just to look), and I joined the rest of the group for some Filo shopping fun.

First, I did manage to remember to get a photo of the window display.

Notice Josh’s reflection in the glass.

Then we went in and made a beeline right for the Filofax display.

They didn’t have too much in the way of new items, though we did find the Saffiano.  Some binders were on sale, 50% off.  If I remember correctly, Raquel found a mini Finsbury for $15!

Josh found two of the Finsbury model, each with a different clasp.

This is been a topic of discussion lately.

I don’t think anyone bought a binder, though some did buy inserts and accessories.  I bought some colored notepaper, financial sheets, and two business card holders (these are for a special project I’m working on, to be revealed in the future).  I also bought a 5x5 picture frame since I’ve been looking for one, and for some reason, they are hard to find, at least the style I was looking for.  I also bought a pack of Nag Notes to use to politely ask my husband to do something specific for me.  (I love Knock Knock’s stationery supplies.)  His response when I showed him: “Oh shit, I’m in trouble.”  The first note was dedicated to his paper piles.  (But he’s a good sport about it—he wouldn’t even look at his pile without a nag note on it.  In fact, he told me it was missing.)

After enjoying our lunch at LPQ, we brought out the Filos.  Because we had a small group this time, the pile was small, but definitely not lacking in style or color.

Yes, the binder on the top is one of the twins.  I will have a full review coming this week—I promise!

Michele showed us her lovely, lovely Lizard binder (it was a gift from her other half—he’s a keeper!).

Josh showed us his Franklin Covey binder (I forget the exact name of it).

This thing is a workhorse!  Look at how big it is.  I might have referred to it as “Fatty” at one point.  Here he is, as compared with a compact:

It is very handsome though, and hopefully it will help Josh organize his work information.

Raquel brought her Dakota, which I had never seen in person before.

I love this binder.  If only they made it in a compact size…

Here are some other random pictures I took:

The famous line up:

The famous stack:

Though we were a small group, we had a lot of fun.  We were all able to chat with each other and hear each other without having to get up and move around a lot.

I’m sure we’ll be doing another meet up in the future.  I’ll keep you all posted!