The Planner That Wasn’t: The Second NYC Philofaxy Meet Up

Yesterday we had the second New York City Philofaxy Meet Up, only a few months after thefirst one.

My day started with a train ride to New York from Long Island.  Once there, my husband and I walked around for a while, just enjoying the beautiful weather that was bestowed on the wonderful day.  Just one block before Sam Flax (our meet up point and the Filofax retailer), we stopped at Barnes and Noble for a rest, a latte and a treat.  During this time, I experienced two fun things:

1.  A conversation between an employee and a customer – “Are you looking for something like At-a-Glance or something more like a Filofax?”  I had to contain myself from jumping up and inviting this unsuspecting woman for a day she’d never forget.  I don’t know what the customer said because I was too busy relaying this first statement to my husband.

2.  A guy sat at the table next to us and I noticed that he was toting a Timbuk2 messenger bag, the same brand of my choice bag for the day (more on this bag in another post).

Things were off to a great start.  Then, we got a text from Zoe, saying she was settled in her hotel and it was time to meet—yay!  Hubby and I started off towards the hotel, met Zoe and her guy, and off we went to meet the rest of the crew at Sam Flax.

Let the fun and games begin!

The group consisted of Colie (justenoughsalt), Mimi, Ingabambina, Zoe, Nan, and me.

I had a very small list of items to buy while there.  First and foremost, I wanted to check out the Flex—I was thinking I would purchase one for work.  After picking up a cover and a weekly insert pack, I perused the collection of binders with the rest of the crew.  Although the Filofax NYC rep had said that the new items would not be available until the end of the month, we were lucky enough to spot the Enigma and the Regency.  The Osterley was not to be seen anywhere.  (The Enigma is the only one currently listed on the US website, so none of us knew what to expect as far as pricing is concerned.)  It was cool to see these binders, though I had no intension of buying any of them. 

Until…

What I didn’t know was that the Regency comes in a compact size.  In addition to that, the pockets are breathtaking, the leather beautiful, and the thing lies perfectly flat.  Since I am soin love with the compact size, this thing immediately caught my attention.  What made me choke was the price tag—at $190, it’s not something I would have ever bought, no matter how much I loved it.  But those Philofaxers are a persuasive bunch.  I so wanted to buy the binder, and for a long time I walked around with it, just holding it, feeling it, opening it and wishing somehow I could buy it.  I was so incredibly close to buying it, but after a few texts with my husband, I had to put it back.  He said, “Use your best judgment, but how long will it be until this one sits on the shelf with the others and you’re off to another new one?”  Damn it, I hate when he’s right.  I have such a guilty conscious over such things.  I was very sad to put it back, but put it back I did.  In fact, I also put back the Flex, pretty much punishing myself for wanting to buy that as well, because truth be told, my library buys each staff member a calendar for the following year, so it’s not like I don’t already have one waiting to be used for this very purpose.

I bought nothing.

After a few more pouts and a couple of cries, we left the store and headed to Le Pain Quotidien.  Along the way, Mimi said me, “You look so sad.”  And I was, but it wouldn’t be long before I got over it.  At LPQ we had lunch, spread out our Filos, passed them around, talked about how we use them, and had a lovely afternoon. 

First thing I did was indulge in liquid goodness.


From then on, the pictures speak for themselves:



Colie and Mimi discussing
 




Nan with her Pocket Topaz (I believe)



The Enigma

Dividers sent from Jotje to Colie



A rainbow of love


Nan with her *new* A5 Cherry Classic binder

The array

The pile

Will the UK meet up result in more binders?




A row of beauty

These people kept giving us such looks




For my part of show and tell, I brought my Compact Chameleon, my Knitting Binder, and my Happiness Binder.  Since Malden is currently an archiving binder, he stayed home, and thus managed to stay out of trouble, unlike May’s debacle.

We did not have the same waiter as last time, though he was on duty.  It wasn't until we pulled out the Filos that he stopped dead in his tracks and looked at them, looked at us.  You could see his brain firing away.  I said, "You remember us don't you?"  He said, "Yes.  I didn't recognize you ladies at first.  But now that you brought out the books, I remember."

Outside, we got a group picture, minus the few who opted out of the photos.

Nan, Colie, Me, Mimi

With binders

My Grape Domino - what I purchased at the first meet up


After lunch, some of use headed back to Sam Flax for more perusing.  At this time, my husband had rejoined us, so I showed him the binder.  His response, in the flattest voice possible, “It’s wonderful.”  Once again, back that planner went, more crying and pouting ensued.  (At this point, I will put money aside, and depending on the price from Pens and Leather when it finally appears, I may buy the Compact Regency then—we shall see.)  I did buy some inserts for my friend, and a pack of vertical monthly inserts for me (whoopee doo dah).

After the rest of the group disbanded, my husband and I had a lovely dinner with Zoe and her guy.  We had great conversation and delicious food at Connelly’s, despite the long wait for our food to arrive, and Zoe’s having to wait even long since they added shrimp to her dish, which she’s allergic to and which she told them not to add.  That resulted in a free meal for her and a free round of drinks for all of us, however, so all was not lost.

Despite my disappointment at not buying a binder I didn’t even know I wanted, I had a great time!  I am looking forward to the next meet up!

Comments

  1. Great post and lots of great photos too many thanks.

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  2. Wonderful chronicle of a lovely day! Those piles are impressive. Love the Malden and Chameleon shot and Nan with her A5 Cherry. And a Green Piccadilly after all (Colie, yes?).

    Thanks for sharing your day with us! Now we just have to make a July Maine (or Vermont!) meet up happen. Right?!

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  3. Thanks Steve and Sandra!

    Sandra - yes, Yes, and YES!!!

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  4. I LOVE THE GREEN ONE!! I want to know what it's stuffed with!!!!!
    Glad y'all had fun :D
    Damn, I'm the ONLY ONE in the southwest huh? That tells ya somethin' don't it? :o(

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  5. Oh, also, I think it's hilarious how those people are staring at y'all and the stack of binders, hahahahaha just too funny.

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  6. Rori - When you have the chance, you can come visit NY and we'll plan something! Those people were too funny - they just couldn't understand what we were up to, and WHY.

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  7. So how many organisers are there in the 'pile'

    Steve

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  8. Great post! You all looked like you had such a great time. I won't be buying any filofaxes next week either!

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  9. Wonderful post and write up! Giggled out loud at the couple staring at you guys (and all the Filofaxes). Looks like a fun day...

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  10. Odd thing I've just noticed, when you click on the photos they are shown smaller than on the page itself.

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  11. Thank you for so many pictures! My camera was a casualty of Irene, so I don't have any of my own.

    I love the picture where we can see the gruff Upper East Siders giving us the evil eye. So New York! (Although I confess, we have more than our fair share of people like that in Boston.)

    It sounds like you also had fun before and after the meetup. Once again, I wish I had spent more time in the city.

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  12. Rori: You are not the only one in the southwest! I live in Santa Fe, NM. Where do you live? Let's get together for our own, or we can fly to NY!

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  13. i also want a regency! i wasn't at all interested until rooey had her spotlight with her buttercup ostrich. that thing was beautiful adn it aged so nicely! it made me look at all the binders again and i looked at the regency and looked at it again, asked some questions about it, and got no response which only made me more interested.... and then decided i'd rather have that one than the osterly for my birthday, and then zoe tweeted about it,,,, and answered the questions that i had about it... yeah. i hope that in a couple of months we'll have brand spanking new matching binders again!

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  14. Steve - I counted 27 in the pile, 2 more than we had last time, even with less people. How did that happen? As for the pictures, I just noticed that today as well. Perhaps this is a new thing with Blogger/Picasa?

    CP - Yes, we did have a great time. I wasn't planning on buying any either, and though I didn't, I sure did want to.

    GTC - We all laughed at the couple eyeing us. It was just too funny - now I feel like I'm in a cult, shunning those who do not understand. ;)

    Nan - It was so great to see you again. If you want any of the photos, I can email them to you. Just let me know.

    Mywormy - If you and Rori do a meet up, someone must write about it. I love hearing about other people's meet ups!

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  15. SNARLing - Oh, to have matching compact binders again - that would be great! I'll have to start saving immediately. =)

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  16. I love this post! Makes me realllllly want to go to a meet too! Had a giggle at the people giving the eye at the binders - bet they're just jealous :)

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  17. Hi Kanalt, If we do, I will certainly write about our meet up!

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  18. Angela - Are in you in a location where other Philofaxers are? As a relative newbie at organizing the event, it's not difficult to do... Just a thought. =)

    Mywormy - I will hold you to that! ;)

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  19. I want a meet up! Snarling? Laurie? Other fellow Hoosiers/Midwesterners?

    I also want some of those scrumptious tab dividers from Jotje. Where do you get them? How do I get my hand grubby litle hands on some?

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  20. OHHH! The meeting sound so much fun! I hope I can join some day! I need to start up a blog about filofaxes soon!

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  21. I'm glad you all had such a fun time, and proud that you were able to walk away!!! Hopefully I can make the next one, or let's get to planning a Chi-town meet-up so you can come visit us Midwesterners!

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  22. Loved to read that detailed account of the day. And the inner struggle you had to fight over the Regency. You're some strong woman, and I guess will all can empathize with the painful disappointment afterwards.
    However, if you lay aside 1 Dollar each day, not more, you will have the money together sooner than later. Without really having to sacrifice much! Should I ever see a steal-of-a-deal on US Ebay for a compact Regency, I will let you know ;-)

    P.S. I think the pocket Nan is holding is an Aqua Finsbury, not a Topaz.

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  23. Great post and GREAT meet up! Thank you so incredibly much for all your planning : )

    We had such a blast...although I fear my checkbook will take a while to recover! Imagine...if I had eaten that shrimp, you may have "inherited" the shopping bag...hehehe!

    Can't wait until next time <3 to all of you xoxo

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  24. Tere - Ooo, please let us know when your blog is up and running. I love reading any Filofax blog!

    J - Maybe next time you can join us again. And I'd love to make it to a Midwest meet up (assuming I can convince DH).

    Jotje - I can't tell you what an inner struggle I had. It was awful (I can buy it. No I can't. Yes you can. No I shouldn't. On and on and on.) I do plan on putting money aside, though it will probably be $10 a week or something like that. I definitely can't buy it until the new year so that gives me time to START saving at the very least. And thanks for the look out on ebay - I should try that too, though in my experience, new binders are just as much on ebay as they are on the websites.

    Zoe - I am so glad you made it to NYC! And hopefully you will be able to make the future meet ups as well. If ever there comes a time (for whatever reason), I would love to "inherit" your collection (or at least the regency). ;) But perish the thought!

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  25. Kpreddie - I don't know where Jotje got the tabs. But I believe she's in the Netherlands? (Please forgive me if I'm wrong on the location, Jotje - I can't remember exactly where everyone is.) And depending on where in the Midwest you are, you also have J and Sandra in the same region, in addition to SNARLing.

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  26. 1) What a great post!! I'm glad you all had such a great time.

    2) Who bought the Enigma???

    3) Is that an Amethyst Deco I see in the third and fourth photos of The Pile, in the middle of the right column? And what's the purple one just to the left of it? Finchley?

    4) I LOVE how the other people are looking at you like you're nuts but trying not to be too obvious about it!!!

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  27. Thanks Laurie! Zoe will be getting the Enigma for Christmas (though obviously she knows about it). The binder you're referring to belongs to Mimi. It's not a Deco, though I'm don't recall exactly what it is - maybe this is the Topaz? I know someone had a Topaz. I originally thought it was Nan, but maybe it's Mimi. And yes, there was a purple Finchley. As for the other people, I wouldn't say they were trying not to be obvious. At points, they were more than obvious. We all thought it was funny rather than rude, but as far as crazy things in NYC goes, this was pretty tame. It just goes back to how people who aren't involved just don't understand!

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  28. For the record, I'm holding a turquoise Finsbury, not a Topaz.

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  29. Ah, okay. That answers the question. Maybe the Topaz belongs to Mimi then. Thanks!

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