Office Furniture & Supplies

Remember the pencil sharpener attached to the edge of the chalkboard in your 2nd grade classroom? Probably not, but X-Acto, the company most likely responsible for that product is seventy-five years old and still going strong. For those of you who like to kick it old-school, you can still get a brand new vintage-looking pencil sharpener. 

Check out the X-Acto 1001 Ranger 55 heavy-duty pencil sharpener.   All-metal construction with steele dual cutters will ensure your pencils are sharp and ready to scribble your brain droppings all over the place.  Mounting screws are for wall or desk mount.  Purchase at a reseller for about $29.99: Click Here

X-Acto also manufactures a vacuum mount sharpener complete with chrome and a sturdy build. Available at numerous resellers ranging from $23 - $29: Click Here 

Leather and technology are an odd combination, mixing old world with new age.   However, Restoration Hardware has put together a handsome combination of the two eras in the form of a steamer trunk office.  When I came across this desk piece I thought it might be ideal for some of our readers. Writers so often love the nostalgia of  traditional  office settings, but don’t want to be fettered by antiquated technology. 

The Mayfair Steamer Secretary Trunk is a reproduction of an antique steamer trunk with over 3,000 hand-hammered brass nail heads.  If your main room doubles as an office and entertaining space, you can literally close up shop, allowing for privacy and additional room for guests.   Window placement in your loft or house might cause "glaring issues" with your computer screen at certain times of the day.  The Mayfair Steamer stands on wheels for easy mobility - so you can position your office away from the sun, the kids, or your spouse???  

Price: $3995

 

Let me begin by describing the writer’s meme - and by all accounts it is a meme, particularly for fiction writers. 

You sit in front of a computer for blocks of hours, but you’re not really "present".  Your body is there in front of your computer, but your attention, your vision, your emotions - are carrying on in a world inside your head.  This world is the place where your characters reside.  There’s a time warp that’s almost indescribable.  You feel as though you’ve been writing for 30 minutes but the clock shows you’ve been at it for hours.  Quite often, the only thing that pulls you out of this world is a numbing in the wrist or a sharp pain in the back.   

Enter the benefits of ergonomics for writers.  ANYTHING that helps you stay in "that world" is a good thing.  That world is where you are at your best.  In that world you are not creating, you are an observer…a journalist.  Your character’s thoughts, feelings, actions and dialogue are coming through you, and the keyboard and onto your computer screen.  The longer you stay in that world, the better writer you become (remember my article on Outliers?). 

So often when purchasing computer equipment, ergonomics is considered an afterthought - and ergonomic mice – well they are like the "after” gadget.  Just like the backup hard drive "after" your system has already crashed.  Or the protective eyewear "after" you’ve scratched your cornea.  Or the brain bucket “after” you have spilled your brains on the asphalt.  I have been using the ergonomic mice described below for over a month, and I realize the mindset surrounding ergonomic mice should not be an “after”thought at all.  They should be more reflective of seatbelts. What I mean by this is, “Would you buy a new car that didn’t come with seatbelts as standard equipment?”  Heck no!  

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Smart Furniture takes an innovative approach to  a  staple in office furniture - the bookshelf.  There’s a lot of creative artistry that goes into book cover design, so why not display your books as…wall art???

The base of the Concealed Floating Bookshelves tuck indiscreetly between the pages, offering the appearance of a floating stack of books.  I can imagine an entire wall covered with floating books. Each shelf is made of powder-coated steel.  The large wall-mount is $11.50 and the small wall-mount is $8.99 and holds the same weight.  There’s your conversation piece; now just add wine.

If you want to mix it up, Smart Furniture also offers what they call a Flybrary.  Much like the  Concealed Floating Bookshelves, the books are suspended to the wall with invisible shelves, but the spine faces up.  Priced at $30, the Flybrary is engineered to hold up to 20 lbs.  For those of you taking a modern approach to your office setup, these creative bookshelves might be just the right touch.

I wrote at length about the advantages of netbooks for writers several months after these gadgets first stormed the scene. With the current state of the economy, the Founders’ Blog is getting more and more inquiries about the capabilities of these new computers. In response, I’ve taken the time to graphically depict what a productive office setup might look like as it relates to gadgets/technology and the netbook.

Let’s quickly eliminate a few skepticisms about netbooks. While a netbook is not as powerful as a laptop, it is adequate for a writer’s needs. Can a netbook run MS Word? Yes. What about Final Draft? Yes. Movie Magic? Of course. Writers have it easy - we deal with text, the whole text and nothin’ but the text. And netbooks are perfectly capable of running text-driven applications. I do caution a few things: before buying, make certain you purchase a netbook with at least 1GB of ram if it’s running Windows XP and at least 2GB of ram if it’s running Vista. Keep pictures and music to a minimum unless you are using the netbook to transport the files to the web. [click to continue...]

Embody by Herman Miller

One of our most popular articles has just received an update.  Click here to find more ergonomic chairs to help increase your productivity, as well as updated links and a peek at the all new Embody chair by Herman Miller.  

A company out of Oregon called Woodfold has created one of those Maxwell Smart-products that is very appealing to almost any geek’s palate.  If you have the means (residential setup) for this product line, I highly envy you.  Imagine it - your own hidden writing sanctum. 

Woodfold’s Bookcase Door System serves two functions: it’s a bookshelf and an entryway to whatever lies beyond its bounds.  Perhaps it serves as a portal to a safe or a paint-splattered art studio. My personal favorite is a secret writing den where you conspire writing the next James Bond sequel or the next great Da Vinci Code.

In June of this year Founders’ Blog posted a very popular article about ergonomic chairs. What followed were numerous emails asking detailed questions about specific models.   The article was written to encourage writers to invest in their health when setting up a home work environment, not so much to profess ourselves pundits on the subject of ergonomic chairs.  Nonetheless, we’ve gone ahead and gathered a handful of videos on the internet that showcase some of the features of specific models. We are happy with the response to the June article and again want to encourage all writers to invest in two things: good computer equipment and a great chair.

Chris Pirillo uses the Grahl ergonomic chair and explains the importance of investing in a high quality chair.

Thorough review of the SwingSeat - very innovative product. Try it out and if you don’t like it, you get your money back including S&H.

Difficulty finding a BodyBilt video that showcases the entire chair. One of the best features is the seat - modeled after the old, farmer, tractor saddles.

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There is an insightful article over at Guardian News and Media which has researched the working spaces of 68 famous writers. Within the article each modern writer elaborates on their choice of space, furniture and gadgets. Posthumous articles by various journalists cover the work spaces of writers such as Virginia Wolf and Rudyard Kipling. It’s interesting to see some of the geek’dm, and antiquated work spaces used by the best.  

Having just posted an article myself about the best ergonomic chairs for writers, I offer Sarah Waters (Author of Tipping the Velvet) the prize for best chair.  She also has several maps plastering the walls which qualify as art in my office as well.  Charles Darwin’s Victorian digs surprised me, as I expected to see a bunch of dead specimens in jars and carcasses hanging from the wall. 

Check out  the article and see where the musings of many great writers have taken place.

Sarah Waters’ Writing Room

Grahl Synchron 5

UPDATE: Videos - Best Ergonomic Chairs for Writers 

UPDATE 2: Refreshed Article December 5th 2008 with better links and more chairs. Plus, check out the all new Embody chair by Herman Miller.

This article has become so popular that we are going to continue to update it and post the updated links on the Home page, linking back to the original article. Godspeed in your search for the perfect chair!

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Every writer should invest in two things – good computer equipment and a great chair.  Forget the desk. A desk just holds stuff.  I don’t care if you use two barrels and slab of oak to create a desk. As long as the height is conducive to your body type. 

It’s 2008 and people find themselves sitting in front of a computer all day long, including writers. Unfortunately, proper seating can be the last thing writers think about.  You pick the cheapest or the prettiest chair from your local IKEA or office supply store and you live to regret it.  Invest in your health and give your body the proper support it needs to create that blockbuster!

Things to consider when buying a chair:

• Free range of adjustable motion (height, seat, back, arms)
• Upper and lower lumbar support (executive series)
• Adjustable headrest
• Durable material (it’s a long-term investment)

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