Filofax
Encyclopedia
Filofax is a company based in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
that produces a range of well known personal organizer
Personal organizer
A personal organizer, day planner, personal analog assistant, or personal planner is a small book/binder, designed to be portable, usually containing a diary, calendar, address book, and other sections usually including blank paper. It may also include pages with useful information, such as maps,...
wallets. The organizers are traditionally leather
Leather
Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry.-Forms:...
bound and have a six-ring loose-leaf binder system. The design originated at Lefax
Lefax
Lefax was a company founded in 1910 by J. C. Parker in Philadelphia that produced a range of personal organisers. In its early days, the biggest customers were power plant engineers whose technical handbooks had grown too big to carry....
, a United States company based in Philadelphia who exported products into the UK. The company also markets a range of personal leather goods and luggage
Luggage
Baggage is any number of bags, cases and containers which hold a traveller's articles during transit.Luggage is more or less the same concept as "baggage", but is normally used in relation to the personal luggage of a specific person or persons Baggage is any number of bags, cases and containers...
under the "Filofax" brand.
The name originates from an abbreviation of the phrase "file of facts". This name for the product was first coined when the UK company was founded in 1921. The popularity of the Filofax personal organiser grew enormously during the early 1980s due to its association with Yuppie Culture
Yuppie
Yuppie is a term that refers to a member of the upper middle class or upper class in their 20s or 30s. It first came into use in the early-1980s and largely faded from American popular culture in the late-1980s, due to the 1987 stock market crash and the early 1990s recession...
, where it was regarded as a "must-have" accessory, in the days before electronic organisers
Electronic organizer
An electric organizer is a small calculator-sized computer, often with an in-built diary application but few other functions such as an address book and calendar. It normally has a small alphanumeric keypad and an LCD screen of one, two or three lines....
.
The company was known as Norman & Hill until the mid-1980s when it renamed itself, calling itself after its most popular product. For much of its life it was based in South Woodford, East London. In the early 1980s it moved to Barkingside, Essex. In the early 1990s it moved its offices back to London and subcontracted its warehouse operation to Crick in Northamptonshire.
Famous devotees of the Filofax products include Lord Lichfield
Patrick Anson, 5th Earl of Lichfield
Thomas Patrick John Anson, 5th Earl of Lichfield was an English photographer. He inherited the Earldom of Lichfield in 1960 from his paternal grandfather. In his professional practice he was known as Patrick Lichfield.- Career :Lord Lichfield was educated at Harrow and Sandhurst, and joined the...
, Len Deighton
Len Deighton
Leonard Cyril Deighton is a British military historian, cookery writer, and novelist. He is perhaps most famous for his spy novel The IPCRESS File, which was made into a film starring Michael Caine....
and Diane Keaton
Diane Keaton
Diane Keaton is an American film actress, director, producer, and screenwriter. Keaton began her career on stage, and made her screen debut in 1970...
who even had a product named after her, the DK Coin Holder.
Filofax is part of the UK-based Letts
Thomas Letts
Thomas Letts was an English stationer and printer who popularised the diary. He was born at Stockwell, London, the son of John Letts, a bookbinder and printer of the Royal Exchange...
Group. In 2006, Phoenix Equity Partners
Phoenix Equity Partners
Phoenix Equity Partners is a leading United Kingdom mid-market private equity firm.Phoenix manages funds exceeding £900 million on behalf of leading institutions and other investors from around the world...
led a secondary buy out of the business. The deal provided an exit for private equity
Private equity
Private equity, in finance, is an asset class consisting of equity securities in operating companies that are not publicly traded on a stock exchange....
firm Dunedin Capital Partners.
Chris Heron
Chris Heron designed a range of accessories to fit Filofax which were sold all over the world for many years. One of these calculators won a design award at The Museum of Modern Art in New York for 20 century design in 1995. He has been involved in a number of multinational businesses in business development and marketing roles, employed and as a consultant.Heron is currently a Director of Sujiivana Design Limited and The Profit Partnership and is consulting on Knowledge Transfer Partnerships on behalf of Ashcroft International and Business development at the University of East London.
Other meanings
Filofax is also the UK name of the 1990 James BelushiJames Belushi
James Adam "Jim" Belushi is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is the younger brother of comic actor John Belushi.-Early life:Belushi was born in Chicago...
comedy film Taking Care of Business, which is based around a Filofax personal organiser (and thus one's entire identity) being stolen.
See also
- Electronic organizerElectronic organizerAn electric organizer is a small calculator-sized computer, often with an in-built diary application but few other functions such as an address book and calendar. It normally has a small alphanumeric keypad and an LCD screen of one, two or three lines....
- Personal digital assistantPersonal digital assistantA personal digital assistant , also known as a palmtop computer, or personal data assistant, is a mobile device that functions as a personal information manager. Current PDAs often have the ability to connect to the Internet...
(PDA) - Personal organizerPersonal organizerA personal organizer, day planner, personal analog assistant, or personal planner is a small book/binder, designed to be portable, usually containing a diary, calendar, address book, and other sections usually including blank paper. It may also include pages with useful information, such as maps,...
- Personal Information ManagerPersonal digital assistantA personal digital assistant , also known as a palmtop computer, or personal data assistant, is a mobile device that functions as a personal information manager. Current PDAs often have the ability to connect to the Internet...
(PIM)