From notebooks and Pantone swatches to mascots and stress balls, we catch up with six creatives to ask them about the items integral to their working practices.
What’s the most important thing on your desk?
Nan Na Hvass, Hvass&Hannibal
Right now, it must be my notebook. I'm doing a residency at a printmaking studio, and I am constantly noting down etching times and trying to keep track of test strips and printing procedures. So I'm not in the usual environment of our studio, where the most important thing probably would be my computer, sadly. The second most important thing is always a good cup of tea, preferably a black tea with milk.
hvasshannibal.dk
Eike König, Hort
My desk is like the internet in 3D. It’s full of important and not-so-important things. If you search for something special, you can’t find it. But then it turns up when you aren't thinking about it anymore. It’s alive, acting like a satellite part of my identity. It's chaotic, but not a mess. There's still a structure I can read and feel comfortable with. The most important thing is that I can use my tablet and my keyboard.
hort.org.uk
James Webb, Webb & Webb
There are so many ‘important’ things on my desk that it feels like I’m camping out in a small patch in the middle. In no order, a copy of Make It Bigger by Paula Scher that I was looking at for fore edge printing, two Pantone books, a stack of business cards a client liked, numerous estimates and site plans for a signage job and a picture of the cat dressed in a Spurs scarf. Next week will be different, except the cat. He stays.
webbandwebb.co.uk
Scot Bendall, La Boca
The most important thing on my desk is the incessantly-smiley, canary-yellow stress ball, who watches me through ever-hopeful eyes as I endeavour to work through the day. Unfortunately, he doesn’t volunteer his intended function of stress relief often, but despite this, he still holds a prominent position amongst the cold-spirited Hard Drives that commandeer most of the space. It’s comforting to me how he unfailingly bounces back to shape, no matter how compressed he gets. And, he smiles, a LOT. I can be a miserable bugger, so seeing his grin is the perfect reminder of nights (and days) spent in other places, largely thanks to the side-effects of Acid House on my youth. And last, but perhaps most important of all, he’s circular and yellow. My favourite shape and colour.
laboca.co.uk
Camilla Parsons, Outline Editions
My desk is a wherever I am, so the most important thing on it is my trusty bag, into which I pile a laptop, Moleskine notebook, artists cards and a handful of pencils whenever I rush off to my next meeting. I’m always out meeting artists, illustrators and clients, so I’ll work anywhere that’s got good coffee and Wi-Fi. I bought the bag on a beach in Koh Lanta, Thailand, and it brings back lovely memories. Its bright colours bring a hint of sunshine into the gloomiest of London days.
outline-editions.co.uk
Shaun Bowen, B&B Studio
Wilfred – B&B Studio’s in-house whippet – tends to sit under our desks rather than on them, but he’s certainly more important than anything else in the vicinity. The truth is that desks and computers aren't really too conducive to genuine creativity, so Wilfred gives us the chance to get out for a walk around Shoreditch, clear our heads and see what’s happening. He might not be as controllable as a Google image search, but he’s a million times more inspiring.
bandb-studio.co.uk