Just as a pre-warning: I had been awake for about 30 hours when the Meet-up started. We never made it to bed the night before our flight. I was really hoping I didn't fall asleep at the dinner table! But once I met this group, I was wired! I didn't come down from my Filo high for hours!
B and I were a few minutes late to Sam Flax- the train system in NY is crazy! But as soon as I walked up, I spotted a group of people standing right in front of a Filo display. Couldn't have been more obvious that this is where I belonged!
We eventually made it into the store, where the managers were kind enough to open the display cases for easy browsing. Filos were passed back and forth, and I was able to see many models I'd never seen in person including the Deco. As beautiful as it was, I don't think I'd ever own one (gasp). It was just so perfect I don't think I'd ever use it- I'd just put it on a shelf and stare!
There were way more Filos and inserts than I have ever seen in person- I could easily have done some serious damage to my credit card had B not been there to moderate!
Much like Kanalt mentioned, I was WAY to consumed with the day, the people, and the Filos to actually take photos (oops) but I did manage to get a few! Here's the group outside of Sam Flax with our purchases:
Back Row: Karensa, Susan, Dasha, Mimi, Me!
Front Row: Nan, Michele, Helen
We finally made it over to the restaurant after we had all put the lovely Filos back in their cases. Le Pain Quotidien- which most of us found delicious. I think just B and Kanalt's DH were disappointed with the dinner selection- but they were both promised "real food" later on. I'm pretty sure B offended our waiter when he jokingly asked for a bacon cheeseburger!
I tweeted about how proud I was that we actually managed to order drinks before delving into the Filos, but I may have spoke to soon! Not much after drinks arrived, the Filos began to circulate. I wish I had more pictures of the Filos and Filofaxers browsing and drooling, but I was so amazed myself that I completely forgot! I did manage to get a shot of our collection, an impressive 25 Filos:
I really can't say enough about the amazing people who I shared this meet-up with. I think that Nan put it best; despite our short time together, I feel like I'd known every one for years. This group really is amazing and I am just truly so thankful I was able to make it to this fantastic event.
As incredible as the evening was, it had to come to a close. After dinner, a few of us went to a potentially debt-inducing Japanese stationery shop, where I DIDN'T buy a thing! I was so proud. But pretty soon after that, it was already time to say goodbye. Maybe it was because I was sleep deprived, but I felt like I blinked and the night was over.
Now, what was in that bag I had outside Sam Flax? Did I already buy a new binder???
Nope! I am way too much in love with Malden to even think about cheating with another binder. But I did manage to get a few new goodies:
My goal purchase was a 2012 year planner, although I quickly lost hope when I arrived- 2011 inserts were everywhere! But after some perusing, I managed to spot two 2012 inserts, a vertical and horizontal year planner. I have the 2011 horizontal year planner now, and love the layout, but hate the tiny boxes for writing. So I went outside my comfort zone and bought the vertical year planner, which as you can tell has a pretty decent amount of space for writing on each day.
I also bought a notepad, which I want to try in the Malden since it has the space. I'll have to rearrange my set-up a bit, since I wasn't sure if I wanted to bother with a notepad. I figure worst case I can always pull it apart and just use it as notepaper. I also returned to my junior high days and grabbed a few jelly roll pens! The day planner sheets are a freebie- we all brought a few things to dinner that we were looking to get rid of. I gave my financial planning sheets to Colie, and she was nice enough to let me try these in return!
Well, even though I caught up on my sleep, a long day of wandering NYC today has made me pretty tired. If you are into street photography, I'd recommend checking out B's blog, where he just posted some pictures of our trip so far. Of course I am biased, but I find his work incredible.
Stay tuned, as I am working on another post about Malden's experiences in New York!