Welcome to the Workspace Series—glimpses into the offices, desks, and other work and play environments of our Forum members and the TOM BIHN crew.

Forum name: adalangdon

What do you do? (If it's your professional workspace, what's your job; if it's your hobby workspace, what's your hobby?)

I’m currently a student. By the time this gets published, I’ll be working as a trainee lawyer. This area, which is part of my bedroom, serves as both a hobby and professional workspace for myself and my partner. My hobbies are drawing and fountain pen collecting (plus a bit of amateur nib fixing on the side); neither need a dedicated work space at the moment so I’m happy to do both at the same desk.

What sorts of things went into the planning of your workspace?

Minimal planning, actually! My partner and I have a “dorm room” mentality when it comes to work—we like working in our room, mainly out of habit. We decided that the desks should be located near the sliding door to our balcony (located on the right hand side in the photo), but everything else was added when the need or desire arose; e.g., the IKEA bookshelf was only added 6 months ago. (Neither of us enjoy planning anything related to interior … so we have a pretty relaxed approach.)

What are some of the important items/tools in or aspects of your workspace? 

Desk: My teak desk (the one on the left) was purchased by my mother in the 1970s and has a nice vintage look. It does a lot of organizing for me, though it could definitely do with a tiny spring-cleaning—I have a few books shelved there since college that I no longer read. I love the fact that it has slots for books, a small central drawer for important items like bank tokens, and lots of space to put various organizers. And everything is within easy reach!

IKEA bookshelf: This no-frills shelf holds all the law reference books currently in use, and some books on drawing. It’s a god-send because our room doesn’t have dedicated book storage space, and without it my partner would have a moat of books around his desk.

My blue cloth bucket: At the extreme right of this picture is a blue cloth bucket with a collapsible metal frame containing all my art supplies—charcoal, pencils, drawing paper, markers. It’s a great replacement for the old cardboard box that I used to use for supplies, as it’s easy to transport and extremely sturdy.

Organizers: I have a set of white lidded containers that I use to store hair accessories and other stuff that’s not used as often, so that dust is kept out. I also repurpose containers as storage. There’s a Crabtree & Evelyn biscuit tin that holds pen refills and the black box is an old and very sturdy gift box that now holds ink bottles. You can also see a TOM BIHN Deluxe Spiff Kit hanging on the right. It’s used exclusively for fountain pen fixing stuff (loupes, grit paper, bulb syringe, forceps, etc.) and it’s been perfect for that purpose.