Pen Heaven Filofax Holborn Personal Organiser Review

Reviewed by Sian Manning

First of all, I would just like to take a minute to let you know how beautifully gift wrapped the Filofax came, it was stunning. Perfectly wrapped in a gorgeous swirly silver wrap with a matching gift tag and possibly the best hand tied bow I have ever seen. It was so beautiful that I didn’t want to open it, if you are looking for a gift with WOW factor wrapping you could not go wrong here!

Once you peel back the paper, if you are anything like me, super carefully so you don’t damage it, inside is the Filofax, first in a dust sleeve box, then in the hard protective Filofax branded box and inside the box, in a thin felt sleeve to protect it from any further knocks and finally a branded thick plastic wrap to save it from any scratches. The plastic sleeve also gives you or your recipient one final indication of how special the Filofax is with a sticker stating that it is Nubuck Luxury Leather and a Special Edition as well as the product name and details on the back.

Once you get through all the protective layers you get to see the beauty that they are protecting and the reason why so much care and attention has been given to making sure it reaches you in the best quality possible.

The leather of the main part is the softest, most luxurious and leathery smelling leather (great if you are like my mum and love that smell) but not overpowering if you don’t! The contrasting leather accent is a harder, stiffer material, yet still beautiful design feature, this darker colour is form and functionality together beautifully, to add strength over the front and also to be the strong closure for the popper to hold it all together. It is also subtly branded with the trademark F on the spine and Filofax on the front. Aesthetically, male or female recipient it is beautiful, understated and a luxury addition to your stationery and planning.

Once you open it up the quality continues, inside on the left you see again the 2 tones of leather beautifully used together with multiple pockets, perfect for business cards, bank cards, receipts or any other useful or must be kept bits of paper. There are 2 large full-length pockets and 7 business card sized pockets. At the bottom is the Filofax branding giving you the details of the design and size, really handy to have so easy to find so that you can order the right size imports as and when they are needed. On the inside back cover are 2 more full length pockets and a full-length zip compartment. The pen loop is also here and although it looks small it is elasticated and does stretch well to hold a chunky pen if that is what you prefer.

Included in the Filofax are a number of different useful, multipurpose papers and accessories; dividers, to do lists, lined paper, squared paper, plain paper, contact sheets and multicoloured lined paper, a ruler and a plastic pouch that anything of importance can be stored in.

There is also a week on 2 pages diary that includes lots of useful pages of notable dates, religious festivals, more notes pages and also something that I didn’t know Filofax offered – a personal organiser registration form. This means that if you lose your organiser and it is found by someone who hands it in they will get a reward and your organiser will be returned back to you!

For anyone that hasn’t owned a Filofax the joy of them is that you can design the layout exactly as you want it, by opening the ring binder and moving the pages, you can have notes at the front and diary at the back, or to-do lists at the front with pink paper after, any combination that suits you is doable. The ruler is easily moveable and acts as a bookmark to easily get you to the page you need. It is more than just a diary, but can just be a diary if you prefer, you can use it to organise as much of your life as you like or as little. In a world where everything is online it is a pleasure to have something tangible to see and hold, to actually write in and to flick through pages.

This would make the perfect gift for Father’s Day, a great gift for the dad that likes to get everything all in one place, or the best gift for a slightly disorganised dad to help him get a little more organised, for a dad who needs it in the boardroom (it will not look out of place), or the retired dad that appreciates quality. It is beautifully made, will suit all tastes and will last for many many years to come and for any siblings needing to get a present they can get a beautiful pen to go with it, as a Bic biro just wouldn’t look right.

You can also have it embossed with initials or a personal message meaning it really will be a one of a kind gift.

And please opt for the gift wrapping (£2.75) you won’t regret it and you and whoever you buy it for will be impressed from the second they see it.

Rating: 5/5

RRP: £89

For more information or to buy visit www.penheaven.co.uk.