deskblogger

Chris

My Curiosity for Natural Curiosities…

Chris is the owner of Moss.  I’ve known about Moss for several years and had only experienced it once in that time.  Then this past holiday season (Christmas that is), I happened to be in Forest Park, and so I stepped in for what I thought was going to be a quick peek.  At first glance the space looked quite spare so I thought I’d be on my way in a short time, but then in a moment I found myself there for an hour!   Moss is now part of my routine whenever out that way, and each time not only do I manage to end up there for an extended visit, I often come away with some unanticipated treasure, as well as some flora or fauna I have not seen previously.

I was thrilled on one of the visits when Chris and I began talking about her desk, and intrigued to see it…as it is out of view, and rightfully so!

It is where she sketches and draws from her collection of inspirations, and where she occasionally opens her laptop to peruse the internet for design purposes & additional inspiration.  It is her “think tank” space, and where she enjoys her lunch.  It also serves as a secondary surface for over-spill of floral stuff.

This desk was the first piece of Chinese furniture she bought when the shop first opened.  She admits it’s more formal & ornate than her usual rustic leanings.  And although there have been plenty of offers, she knows whole heartily that she cannot part with it.

The other notable surface in Chris’s shop is her work-table.  This to me is the centerpiece of the shop, and is the first place I go to when I walk in.  There will be any number of visual delights from several ginormous leaves umbrella-ing over the table, remnants of some arrangement in process, or exotic dried leaves or pods cast into a long wooden African bowl at the edge of the table.

A visit to Moss graciously feeds my never-ending curiosity for natural curiosities.  Getting to see her desk…simply a plus!

Moss is located @ 7405 Madison, Forest Park, IL… There isn’t a website, so I can only suggest you experience it in person!

Alyson

Alyson lives in Napa.  I was lucky enough to be in San Francisco recently and drove up to be with her for one very short & sweet afternoon.  She had recently moved (again) and mentioned before I arrived that her workbench was in the same room as her desk, and how efficient this new set-up will be.  I was really looking forward to see how it all came together.

I have known Alyson for many years.  She has been my constant postal and paper muse, and when we are together we enjoy ourselves endlessly by organizing her various collections of postage, stationery, printed samples, postcards, wrapping papers, glassine envelopes, address labels, ribbons, etc! 

Alyson’s workspace has always fascinated me.  Scattered about are envelopes she has received in the mail, to the envelopes she has hand-folded to send.  There always seems to be some papery object or envelope that piques my curiosity and inspires.

Her workbench has had quite a journey coming into its current state of being, so to speak, so I thought it be best explained in Alyson’s own words -

“In its former life, my 88 inch long workbench was the kitchen counter and undercabinetry in a house I was remodeling. It turned out to be solid wood, and Jason, my clever contractor, commented that it would make a great workbench. Once I grasped that he meant “a great workbench for a person who loves paper,” I became cautiously optimistic. Maybe, just maybe, my days, no, my decades, of inadvertently defacing dining tables were about to be behind me.

We removed the drawer fronts and the doors and stained the whole thing. I found drawer pulls at Target, and lined all seven drawers with black-and-white checked contact paper that makes me particularly happy because it reminds me of the linoleum at See’s Candies stores. I lined the bottom of the big lefthand compartment with contact paper featuring linecuts of Victorian conservatoriana. As the benchification progressed, I became moderately ecstatic.

The top was covered with three resealable cutting mats. A fourth mat fit perfectly in the recess where the kitchen cutting board had been. (And a 24 inch metal rule slid right in on top of that mat, protruding just a fraction of an inch.) When all was done and installed, my ecstasy approached incredulity — or maybe incred-enza-ulity — over this piece of recycled furniture that holds so many things I hold dear.

As for the glass-fronted cabinet above the workbench: I acquired it at United States Stamp Company (postage stamps, not rubber stamps) in downtown San Francisco in the spring of 1997, when owner Warren Sankey was remodeling. The four little umbrellas are vintage, from Japan. My 30 inch metal rule rests atop this cabinet, but I am thinking about putting a hook for it at the end of the workbench. My shorter metal rules (three 12-inchers, one each 15 and 18) stack nicely just inside the right edge of the top drawer.

On March 29, 2010, a.k.a. Moving Day, my workbench underwent some unscheduled surgery at about 1 o’clock in the afternoon… when my movers, who had already balanced it up two outdoor flights of stairs, discovered that — even though the door to the office had been taken off its hinges — the workbench couldn’t make its way into the room. After the movers had unsuccessfully tried every kuhnceivable approach, I realized that I probably had only two options: let the workbench become the dominant piece of furniture in my new, compact living room, or accept that I had to give it up. Dark, darker than the darkest chocolate, moment.

And then Layne asked, “How would you feel if we took the base off? It will be ruined in the process, your workbench will be six inches lower, but it will fit into the room, and then we can lift it back up later if you want, on little feet.”

Prying of nails, whacking of wood, and in a matter of minutes, surely no less grandly than the gods entered Valhalla, my workbench was wheeled into its new home. Where we are both so happy.”

For more on Alyson’s writing, wrapping & postal musings, go to:  http://www.kuhncierge.com & http://feltandwire.com

This is Alyson’s desk which sits opposite the workbench.

Hannah & Layla

This one’s easy!

Hannah & Layla are my nieces. They are 16 and 13 years young. Here’s what they have to say about their desks, beginning with Hannah:

BZ: What do you like most about your desk?

H: It has character. 

BZ: What do you do at your desk?

H: Homework, listen to music, draw.

BZ: What’s your favourite thing on your desk?

H: My ultraviolet light.

Hannah’s thoughts on her desk:

“It totally explains me”.

Layla’s Desk - 

BZ: What do you like most about your desk?

L: I like how it’s set up.

BZ: What do you do at your desk?

L: Projects….like drawing, origami, and making little stables for my little horses.

BZ:  What’s your favourite thing on your desk?

L: All of my mini stuff.

 Layla’s thoughts on her desk:

“When I don’t have anything to do, I make up projects”

Christine

Where there’s a desk there are drawers!

Christine’s desk is a solid oak, circa 1930’s schoolteacher’s desk & weighs in at approximately 400 lbs, without it’s contents.

She believes that the previous owner didn’t want to move it because of its weight, and she got a great deal.  Thing is, when she moved from the apartment where she acquired the desk to where she lives currently, she had to move it!  But there was no doubt, it’s a fabulous desk and she was not leaving it behind!

For Christine, this desk & the room it occupies are her sanctuary.  The desk is substantial, and takes up about half of the 10 x 10’ room it resides in, but it’s a perfect fit!   In this little room, there’s an east-facing window, and two doorways; one leads to the living room, the other into the dining room.  The remainder of wall space is filled with shelving.  It’s an office come true.  

The first thing to catch my attention was her Rolodex, of course!   She acquired it years ago on one of her first days working at a well-known public relations firm.  While settling in, a fellow co-worker directed her to the supply room for the usual accoutrements, and there it was!   She scooped it up without hesitation, and has been unable to part with it ever since.   While her iphone is fully loaded with contacts info, this Rolodex is her preferred method of looking up addresses & phone-numbers.

And then there were drawers…six to be exact.  Three on the right, and three on the left, filled to the brim with all things paper.  My favourite is the one chock-a-block with cards & envelopes, three rows worth, wow!   Christine loves to correspond, sending little notes in the mail. 

I asked Christine to list 5 things she cannot do without at her desk.

1. Post-it notes

2. iphone charger

3. reading glasses

4. gel pen

5. telephone

Betsy

Betsy and I met recently through Greer Chicago.  We both agree that Greer is the best destination in town for the latest in papery products, beautiful pens and pencils.  We connected instantaneously! 

In our initial conversations about Betsy’s desk it sounded remarkably small.  I tried to imagine how she spent her time there, but figured I would understand once I saw it.

The child-size desk was designed and built by her grandfather nearly 80 years ago as a gift for her father (he was age six at the time). Originally it was painted black with ornate gold trim. Her father thinks it was given to him so that he would study more often!  It was passed down to Betsy when she was six years old.  In later years it belonged to her sister who is 13 years her junior. 

Ten years ago it was returned to Betsy in a large cardboard box for her grandchildren to use when they visited.  When it arrived Betsy’s husband restored and painted it.  The desk was the first place her grandchildren, Noah & Ava, would go to when they came for a visit.  They filled the cubbyholes with their treasures, art supplies & books.  Now that Noah & Ava are older, the desk is Betsy’s again!

It’s situated in a petite room, perfect for this petite desk. When you walk into the room you are enveloped by books from floor to ceiling.  In front of the books on most of the shelves is her collection of personal & playful trinkets.  The desk sits in front of a western facing window, so in the afternoon the light & warmth stream in. For this very reason Betsy enjoys countless hours in the library {as I refer to it} gathering inspiration from her beautiful collection of books.

Beside the desk is a black leather chair where she goes to read, write in her journal, doodle or chat on the phone with friends.

Betsy spends countless hours on the phone at work, and when she is on the phone she doodles!  She showed me several file folders packed full of her collected scraps of papers and cocktail napkins - her favourite doodling surface.  She had many notebooks & sketchbooks stacked under the desk all filled with beautiful rhythmic flowy lines, colourful shapes, & beautiful quotes  – such an inspiration!

There were more than several doodles I thought were magnificent and suggested that they be framed.  I’m thrilled she’s considering it.

Betsy’s thoughts on her desk:

My desk takes me back to that unspoiled core of my childhood – from the uninhibited flow of creativity to the scent of Crayolas and newly sharpened pencils.  From lined tablets and Golden Books, to my Mickey Mouse pencil box and my little brown composition book.  My favourite area of the desk are the little cubbyholes that you can fill with treasures.  And when I sit by the desk, my creativity seems to flow.

My Desk

My life revolves around my desk…it’s the first place I go to in the morning, the first place I go to when I come home.  I find it endlessly satisfying to be at my desk.

The desk is in our dining room, it is in fact our former dining table. It measures 39” x 62” x 29”. My husband purchased it 30 years ago when he was in South Africa . It had been a teachers’ desk in its original life and has JM121 {for Johannesburg Municipal 121} stamped in the wood at the top of one of the legs.

The narrow left and right drawers extend the full depth of the table on either side of where I sit. The drawer on the right holds three business card boxes the length of a pen, held together with butterfly clips, neatly separating pencils from pens. Post-its, erasers, sharpeners, etc., remain free to roam in the undivided space. The left drawer holds scissors, a cloth to dust my computer screen, scrap paper, and several rulers. The drawer on the right is my favourite.

For me, the desk & its contents are the nexus of my creative life & my work life. It keeps me in the flow of what I value most— Writing. Whether it’s a list for the day, a letter to a friend, a scribble or a doodle. Always by hand.

The permanent fixtures on my desk are things I want to be surrounded by and reminded of daily. They include: Our Italian wedding photo, correspondence from friends, stacks of hand-bound books, photos of leaves, lots of coloured pencils. I prop my favourite postcards between my tiny Buddha and a letterbox I constructed & covered in Japanese paper. The letterbox is the centerpiece of the desk…as if everything that surrounds it becomes part of it.