Travel Technology - Non-Tech But Not Sure Where Else to Post

My question does not pertain to anything technological, but since most of you are business travelers, I think you can help me.

I need to buy a portfolio (those leather folders with a notepad and a place for business cards, maybe... nothing elaborately large) on VERY short notice - tomorrow morning!

I live in downtown Chicago, so any of the stores on Michigan Ave are reached easily enough, but because of my time constraint, I don't want to walk in and out of a dozen places that don't sell these things. Tried searching FT and google but not finding any manufacturer names. :( Can someone who has bought a portfolio around here tell me where to go?

thanks much!!

When I was in college I needed one for interviews the next day with several accounting firms.

I went to my local Kinkos, and they had plenty of padfolios. Even ones in school colors!

Oh, and the Kinkos by school was 24 hours.

My question does not pertain to anything technological, but since most of you are business travelers, I think you can help me.

I need to buy a portfolio (those leather folders with a notepad and a place for business cards, maybe... nothing elaborately large) on VERY short notice - tomorrow morning!

I live in downtown Chicago, so any of the stores on Michigan Ave are reached easily enough, but because of my time constraint, I don't want to walk in and out of a dozen places that don't sell these things. Tried searching FT and google but not finding any manufacturer names. :( Can someone who has bought a portfolio around here tell me where to go?

thanks much!!

These stores should have them:

Franklin Covey
Chicago Place
700 North Michigan Ave #209
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 944-1492
Hours: M - F 10 am - 7 pm
Sat 10 am - 6 pm


Kaehler Travelworks
900 North Michigan shopping center
6th Floor
Chicago, IL 60611
Phone (312) 951-8106


I KNOW Kaehler has several of them so they might be your best bet to start.

Thanks, both of you, those are great suggestions! I know Tumi carries them on the website, but not sure if the store in Water Tower does. Anyway, I'm already a little Tumi'd out w/ my suitcase and laptop case, so not sure if a Tumi portfolio would have made me look a little obsessed or what. Plus, Tumi sees fit to charge ~$200 for one of these things! :eek:

Thanks, both of you, those are great suggestions! I know Tumi carries them on the website, but not sure if the store in Water Tower does. Anyway, I'm already a little Tumi'd out w/ my suitcase and laptop case, so not sure if a Tumi portfolio would have made me look a little obsessed or what. Plus, Tumi sees fit to charge ~$200 for one of these things! :eek:


The Tumi store in Watertower place is just a co-branded Kaehler travelworks but they do carry the largest selection of Tumi of any store I've been to (they are a flasgship store).

They have one for $125 ;)

http://www.tumi.com/wallets_accessories/agenda_planners/category_search/deluxe_letter_pad/product_detail/index.cfm?modelid=62724

Staples, Office Max, Office Depot, have one sent to your house, they are cheap there.

Staples, Office Max, Office Depot, have one sent to your house, they are cheap there.

Hmmm... from the post:

need to buy a portfolio (those leather folders with a notepad and a place for business cards, maybe... nothing elaborately large) on VERY short notice - tomorrow morning!

I know some stores do express shipping, but nothing THAT fast...

Everyone, muchas gracias for all your great ideas. My important mtg got postponed, which gave me some time to hunt down my dream portfolio, all up and down Michigan Ave.

In the end, I ended up w/ a $140 leather Tumi portfolio, from the Tumi store in WaterTower (after observing people who were walking around with Tumi wallets, Tumi umbrellas, Tumi nose rings, etc., I felt like I wasn't overdoing it to be carting around a suitcase, briefcase, and portfolio).

However... without a doubt, Kahler's was the place to go (THANK YOU, ScottC) - selections from Tumi, Bosca, Lodis, a few others, mostly in the $125 - $175 range.

I did scope out a few other places whilst looking... and in case anyone else ever searches on this forum for this topic, here is my definitive list:

Kinko's - had a selection of nylon and "pleather" portfolios and planners, several different sizes (basically matches the franklin planner sizes). Pretty cheap ($25), but probably would have passed had I been in truly dire straits.

CVS/ Walgreen's - believe it or not, you can buy a portfolio here, too! These are very cheap (< $10), nylon, and probably wouldn't fool anyone, but they are certainly a step up from walking into a mtg w/ a hello kitty notebook. :)

Franklin Covey - never made it to the store, but I have a franklin planner from way back when, and everything i saw online would make it seem that this is what you are going to get if you go inside. The planners are very nice, good quality leather, pages are well-organized for 7 habits devotees. But - for my purposes, a binder was too bulky, so I didn't bother going into the store.

Kahler's - as I mentioned above, great selection, but definitely on the higher end of the price scale. Variey of colors (black, mahogony, camel, purple, teal - yes, all leather!), anything that isn't in the store can be ordered in about a week.

Tumi - since I procrastinated and waited once again until the last minute to get a portfolio, the 1-week turnaround on out-of-stock items was going to be a risky game to play. I wanted something black in brushed leather, letter-sized, and there wasn't anything at Kahler's, so I headed across the street to WaterTower. for $140, I got exactly what I wanted at Tumi. Yes, it says Tumi in the corner, but it's embossed, not a tag placed on it. And like I said, in a world where people bust out w/ Tumi umbrellas, I don't feel like SO much of a label snob.

And that's my $0.02. Hope someone finds it helpful someday, and thanks again to everyone who helped me!

They also give these things away at various conferences. Some are actually quite nice.