BaROCK! (or: The Great Mini - Summer Edition)

I have been enchanted by the Filofax Baroque ever sinceI first saw it and read about it. It's amazing with all the embossing on the inside, isn't it? I wonder how this pattern is done onto leather, it reminds me of an enchanted forest. I wish my photographing abilities were better so I could capture it in all its complexity, but thankfully Doris; Amanda and Amber from the links above and below have done fabulous job, so definitely check their work!

I certainly agree with fellow philofaxers that Baroque is a line that should be kept and further developed. However, it is on verge of extinction now and, naturally, this is a call for me to preserve it, I guess! :)

Not long ago Doris wrote this amazing post and it turned me from a Baroque-admirer-from-a-far to a woman-on-a-mission.
Funnily enough, just a couple of days later an exactly the same mini in fuchsia pink appeared on eBay and I even didn't have much competition!

I have already shared with you my positive experience with using a mini as my wallet and I cannot imagine replacing it with an ordinary wallet ever again. So I thought such a Baroque would be a perfect summer edition of it, to replace the thick black Balmoral that will be my wallet for the darker months of the year.

Here it is:

Truly, the leather is equisitely soft and pliable (Malden cannot compare to it!), but I wish at least a part of the gorgeous embossing from the inside had spilled on the outside as well, I find it a bit plain.

The layout of the pockets is similar to the Malden, I hear (as I don't have a mini Malden), and it is cute, but not very practical for the coins, as other owners of it have stated, too: it is hard to get the coins out of the pocket, especially once you put your credit cards into the pockets. And I really got spoilt with the Balmoral which has a great pocket at the back, with popper closing that makes it a fabulous wallet!

I also miss the whole width pocket for bank notes that the Balmoral has, but hey, not a big deal, really.

To compensate for it, there is a notepad pocket on the back of the Baroque, which replaced all my to-do and expense sheets, so there are only cards in the plastic envelopes left in; I put a sticky notes pad in it instead to track my expenses and write my shopping lists - this way I can stick a shopping list on the cover of the Filofax when in store, which will come in handy.

So the final verdict is: if I had to choose between the Balmoral and the Baroque mini as a wallet, I'd definitely stay with the Balmoral. The Great Judge (my DH) was very clear about it when sticking his fingers into the coin pocket and searching for the coins in a hurry: "This is a disaster!" :)

However, the beautiful feminine looks of the binder are just irresistible, and the binder is a sheer pleasure to look at...  and I so honestly and wholeheartedly believe that Filofaxes aren't just about being practical!
So - this one will stay with me, definitely:)