Finsbury Compact review and set-up

I will start off by apologizing for the lack of creativity in the title. I couldn't come up with a single thing. Total block.
I did tell a few people that I would review and post on my new Finsbury compact that I purchased at the same time as my Malden. So here it is.

I LOVE this binder.....for the most part. I love the colour, the feel, the size, and most of the layout. I am not a fan of the pen loop, though it is elasticized, it is up a bit too far for me. But I did manage to find a pen to fit that I think is a pretty decent one. I am using the Zebra F-301 BP retractable pen.

The leather is not as soft as the compact Chameleon. The leather on the Finsbury I find is more textured, but I feel it is more durable. There is a small 'tear' in the leather in my Chameleon.

The overall layout is basically the same though.

The main difference between the two is the zipper pull at the back. In the Chameleon the zipper is concealed, in the Finsbury the zipper is exposed, so pages and other inserts tend to get caught in the pull itself. I fixed this problem for the most part by inserting a business card holder, and putting in a couple of business card type things to give it a bit of structure.

So without further ado, the pictures.....

Not quite true to colour, but close

The pen loop. See it's up pretty high.

The inside front cover. It has some address labels, a Tim Horton's card, some notes, and a Roots tag

My 'dashboard' I used the flyleaf that came with the Chameleon for this. I took it out of my A5 and I don't really use much, except the tabs on occasion, which are Martha Stewart by Avery.

On the back I used some washi tape and attached a sheet of the Martha Stewart by Avery little tear-drop stickies.

My first sheet of stickers. These are stickopotamus binder stickers. They come pre-punched for the binder, I love them, can't wait to get some more.

On the back of that sheet I have some Avery transparent sticky notes in yellow. They are pretty good. You can write on them and then stick them over top of other writing. There is an example further on.

This is a Martha Stewart by Avery double pocket document protector, I cut it and punched it to fit.

Inside it I keep some more Martha Stewart by Avery stickies, and some colour-coding stickers from the buck store.

Just another shot.

On the back of that pocket I have some of the transparent stickies in pink

Here is my finances page. It is from Day Runner I believe.

The top tabs I am using right now.

Here is my blogs list.

Here is a list of ideas I have my own blog.

This is an invite list to my son's Victory party. He BEAT cancer, so we have to celebrate of course.

I took a today divider and cut it in half. I think I used an personal one, but I honestly can't remember.

Here are the filofax stickers. I love them.

Here are some more colour coding stickers.

And on the back, some moleskine stickers

Here is one of the transparent stickies in use. Not perfect, but it is a good space saver, and they are useful. I also interleave a pocket sized note sheet if I need more space since I use the WPP layout.

A very fuzzy picture of the other half of the divider marking my notes section.

More stickopotomas stickers

And some more...see told ya I love them

I am using the fashion colours lined paper pack and the mixed pack of 100 sheets. Love it.

I am using a top tab to mark the blank pages

And some blank sheets

Top opening envelope with some more Martha Stewart stuff...I really like her line, can ya tell?

This is the top-loading business card holder I am using. I have a picture of my dad on the other side. The Relay for Life card I got at the relay this year. The other two cards I am going to use as encouragement notes to leave behind for people who need them.

Here is the back zipper. On the Chameleon it is covered by a flap of leather. This one is exposed, so the papers get caught.

Inside the back zipper

More Martha Stewart stuff, some pictures my sons drew, and some stickers....I love stickers!!!

just to show you how tight the front pocket is right now. Hoping it will get loser with time and use. I just have some extra pocket sized note sheets in there.


As you can tell, I try to utilize as much space as I can in this binder. I LOVE it!!! Now if they made one in the Malden design without a zipper, I might just have to get it. The compact size is wonderful, it fits in my handbag, which is the Modalu Bristol/Pippa bag (did not get it because Pippa Middleton used it, but I did find out about Modalu because she used it. I can do a reveiw if any of you would like, just let me know in the comments.)

As always thank you for checking out my blog. If you like what you see, please follow along, so you don't miss a post.