In feature

A New Perspective on the Facebook Office

Author AnaPosted on 2 Comments

Art and communal space

After I wrote my post on the new Facebook office spaces, my friend Andy made me put my money where my mouth was and invited me to Facebook to tour the offices for myself. Since that was one of my most commented upon posts I couldn’t pass up the chance to see the campus for myself.

@awelfle shows me how to find my way around Facebook on the touchscreen. I can find his desk, the Sweet Shop or the Instagram offices now.

Alan Turing Art from Dominos

Was the campus overwhelmingly large? Yes. So much so that there are shuttle buses and bicycles to get people from building to building. But is also filled with light and art and posters and a sense of play. It was also a lot quieter than I expected it to be. People were very respectful of the open seating and kept their voices down in the open areas. They used the closed conference rooms and outdoor areas, the coffee shops and other communal areas for conversations. It was actually a very congenial environment and not at all what I was expecting.

Outside the Facebook coffeshop

There was so much art. And posters and graphics all pinned haphazardly to the walls which gave the space a casual vibe and made it feel partially like a college campus and partially like Disneyland for coders.

Even the stairs are artified

I also work in a large office with tons of cubicles and an ongoing attempt to have “open seating” despite the photo from the previous post, Facebook’s space actually has a warm comfortable vibe of a loft apartment rather than a corporate office that stripped all the walls out of the cubicles. Each employees space has personal touches that show their personality, some more than others, of course. Some folks work on large desktop machines while others work on laptops to be more mobile. Some people work on mobile apps and just wander around with their phone in their hands. What a way to function!

Outdoor area at Bldg 20

All in all, it was an inspiring day and I feel quite differently about the landscape, both inside and out, of the Facebook offices. And I’m supremely jealous that the weather is such in California that Facebook employees can essentially work outside in the roof garden 11 months out of the year. Makes me dread January in KC.

Rooftop gardens, Bldg 20

For even more photos, check out my full Facebook HQ album on Flickr. And yes, I’m eating my words a little now. At least they taste like asian noodle bowl and mint chocolate chip ice cream.

In feature

Laptop Bag Round-up: 15″ Edition

Author AnaPosted on 11 Comments

After multiple weeks of going into work on Saturdays and/or Sundays in an effort to catch-up on work, I finally broke down and requested a laptop for work. I’m giving up my trusty, giantess iMac 27″ that I’ve been using. I’ll miss the luxury of acres of screen real estate, but I’m hoping to reclaim a little bit more time at home.

Having a work laptop means seeking out a new carry-all bag that could fit a large 15″ MacBook Pro when needed. Thanks to the a shoutout on Twitter last week, I got lots of recommendations. If you’ve ever in the market for a laptop bag, I thought I’d share some of the recommendations I received. Many were recommended more than once, often with caveats of having withstood years of use and abuse and traveled hundred or thousands of miles. I was so glad to see that folks were so satisfied with their bags —  from so many different bags.

laptopbags

In no particular order:

  1. Cocoon SLIM Backpack with GRid IT Organization System $89.99 (via Cocoon)
  2. The Maker’s Bag which holds a 13″ laptop $130 (via Tom Bihn)
  3. Cote & Ciel Seine Bowler also only holds a 13″ laptop $195 (via Cote & Ciel)
  4. Waterfield Vitesse Messenger bag from $159 (via sfbags.com)
  5. The Cadet $160 (via Tom Bihn)
  6. Inateck Carrying Case $19.99 (via Amazon)
  7. Cote & Ciel Moselle Backpack only holds 13″ laptop $195 (via Cote & Ciel)
  8. Uptown Laptop TSA-Friendly Backpack 2015 $119 (via Timbuk2)

I absolutely loved how unique and interesting the Cote & Ciel bags looked but the ones I liked the best were too small for the behemoth laptop sadly. And many of the bags large enough to truly hold a 15″ laptop for me were just too big (I’m only 5’4″) or too business-y looking for days when I might not need to schlep the laptop around. In the end, I had a nice chat with the folks at Tom Bihn who assured me that I could squash a 15″ laptop into The Maker’s Bag though it is not recommended. I just need to get it from the office to my car to my house and back — and usually just on the weekends so I’m willing to take my chances. (Just don’t tell my IT dept I said that!). So I placed my order this morning, before I hopped on a plane for SF. I also ordered their tool/pen wrap which can double as a DPN keeper (the knitters will know what that is!). How cool is that? So I think I’ll have a great EDC and can cram the behemoth laptop in when I need to.

Should I need to transport my laptop for a business trip I have an enormous Timbuk2 backpack that I bought for a trip to China a few years back that’s so big I could use it as a sleeping bag in a pinch.

Big shout out to everyone on Twitter who helped me on my hunt: Arman, Lee, Tindra, Ray, Calligraphy Nut, A Better Desk, Carmina, Dave, Jojo, Sandra, Ken, Brad and Daniel and even the folks at Tom Bihn!

In podcast

Art Supply Posse Ep. 12 Back To School

Author AnaPosted on 1 Comment

This week on Art Supply Posse we talk about back-to-school rituals, the smell of freshly sharpened pencils and do a little follow-up about the A-word. It’s not our most art supply-centric episode – we’ll be back in our 1-subject notebooks next week. Also, we had a little recording issue so if the sound quality is a little off, that’s why. Our apologies, just grab your sketch tools and doodle through the episode and you won’t notice a thing!

In Link Love

Link Love: Write It, Sketch It, Ink It, Plan It, Then Photograph It

Author AnaPosted on 1 Comment

rp_link-anaPens:

Ink:

Pencils:

Paper & Notebooks:

Planners & Organizers:

Art & Art Supplies:

Other Interesting Things:

In news

Housekeeping: Keeping My Head Above The Rising Ink

Author AnaPosted on

housekeepingJust wanted to post a quick “housekeeping” post to let you know what’s going on around here.

First, I added some new links in the Guide Sheets to some other awesome resources from Leigh Reyes and Ink Journal. GO now and check them out! I plan on adding more guide sheet options in the future but Leigh and Tom have created so cool things that are definitely worth trying out.

Next, I reclaimed my mini GorillaPod from Bob so I’m hoping to add some videos to Instagram in the coming weeks. I’ll try to remember to post them here too but you may want to make sure you’re following me on Instagram to see any videos, stories and pen show silliness as it happens.

Finally, I know I am WAY behind on product reviews but have faith, as soon as I’m back from San Francisco there will be an avalanche of reviews. I have a metric ton of inks to review, about a gross of pencils, some fountain pens (both my own and loaners), some notebooks and sketchbooks and many Ask The Desk questions queued up to be answered. I have not forgotten, I’ve just gotten behind on EVERYTHING from laundry to work to life itself. So, don’t despair. I’ll get back to a more regular schedule in the next couple weeks.

If you have any questions, Ask The Desk topics or things you’re dying for my to review ASAP, drop me a line at chair (at) wellappointeddesk (dot) com and I’ll put them on the top of my list.

In Ask The Desk

Ask The Desk: Karas Kustoms RETRAKT/Cross Selectip Hack

Author AnaPosted on 3 Comments

rp_askthedesk_hdr211111-1-1-1-1.png

My favorite pen is the superb Cross Selectip rollerball. Sadly, all but two of the Cross pens that take this refill (and I’ve got a BUNCH) require you to uncap it to use it. Only the diminutive Cross Click, which is too small for my hand, and the Cross Edge, which I find impossible to open with one hand, operates without a cap. I’m looking for a pocket pen I can operate with one hand – either push-button or twist – that takes the Cross Selectip rollerball refill. Does anyone else make one? Thanks, Gary

The new Ti Arto Kickstater project from Big Idea Design claims to accommodate 200+ refills would be perfect but it, too, is a capped pen. So, I turn to the Karas Kustoms RETRAKT and a little refill hacking to solve your problem. The RETRAKT is available in aluminum and brass and is a wider barrel pen body, comparable in width to a Sharpie permanent marker so should feel quite substantial in the hand. I use and aluminum barrel version which is weighty but can be opened and closed with one hand. My husband has a heavier model with a brass grip section if you want something even more substantial. Prices for the RETRAKT start at $55.

selectip-hack-1

When you purchase a Cross Selectip rollerball refill, it comes with a little plastic cap. Keep this! It is the key to my little hack. Though I suspect a rubber band or string could be used as an alternative. I cut the wide part off and used about 1/8″ or 3mm of the plastic sheath as a spacer between the base of the refill and spring to provide a bit more length to the refill barrel for the spring to travel along. I also needed to shave a little bit of the nubs off the blue cap in order to fit into the barrel of the RETRAKT. You might find a little more plastic is better (or a little less) but there is more than enough left from the cap to experiment a bit.

selectip-hack-2

This last photo shows the Cross Selectip rollerball refill fully extended, with my little plastic mod and the spring inside. Voila! As Tom at Goldspot Pens likes to tease, I’ll hack any pen and any refill.

selectip-hack-3

In feature

DC Pen Show Goodies Round-Up & SF Pen Show Prep

Author AnaPosted on 13 Comments

DC-haul

I can’t believe how long it’s taken me to finally be able to write up the “haul” part of the DC Supershow post. I really didn’t buy a lot of stuff in DC. Amazingly, it was mostly inks and paper. I still came home with a ton of goodies!

Ink:

Paper:

Pens:

Swag & Misc. Goodies:

  • Aurora Pocket Notebook
  • Aurora Pen Nib Paper Clip
  • MurberDraws Printed M&Ms
  • Fountain Pen Day Button
  • Fountain Pen Day Bookmark
  • Pen Addict Button
  • Music Note Tea Spoon Infuser

Not Pictured: Robert Oster Aqua Ink (I left it at work) that I bought from Federalist Pens and my Cross Century II Selectip Rollerball which was laser engraved with “The Well-Appointed Desk” by Goldspot Pens that took a walk at the KC Comic Con last week. It was a lovely shade of supersuit blue too.

Thanks to all my friends who brought me treats and goodies and everyone who brought treats and goodies to Brad, Lisa, Father Kyle and Matt as well which were graciously shared amongst us all throughout the weekend. The doughnuts were particularly amazing!

I’ve started the “packing” part for the San Francisco International Pen Show. It’s all happening so fast! I will be hopping on a jet plane (or two) on Thursday morning and heading to San Francisco for the SF Pen Show this weekend. I’ll be attending the Pen Addict Meetup on Friday Night (7-9pm) and helping out the Anderson Pens table on Saturday but this trip will be mostly leisurely. Since I’m working on Saturday, I’ll miss the Planner Meet-Up on Saturday afternoon so I hope someone attends and takes lots of pictures. I would love to see what everyone is using. Or at least, bring your planner, Traveler’s Notebook or Bullet Journal to the bar later so I can live vicariously later. I’ll be checking in with the Pen Addict Slack Pen Show thread so feel free to PM me there or earburn me if you’re looking for a doodle buddy at the bar.

I’m bringing what’s left of my red/blue pencils to SF, so if you would like one, find me at the Blogger Meet-Up on Friday and say “weirdo” to score one. I don’t have a ton left so find me early to get one.

On Sunday, Amanda McKay is hosting a letter writing social which sounds fun. And Michael Sull will be teaching Spencerian Script. If you have the time and the chance, take his classes. He’s amazing. You can find the whole seminar schedule here.

My shopping plans for SF are not extensive. There are a few vintage pens I’d like to look for and I’d like to play with the ink testing station. This year the ink testing station will have 686 inks to try! But mostly, I’m looking forward to meeting people and spending time with like minded people. It really does make the miles and the long hours or work that I put in worth it.

Leave a note in the comments if you’ll be at the show and let me know if there’s anything you’d like me to bring for you to check out.

Also, if you would like anything from my shop to be hand delivered place your order before Wednesday at 10pm CST and use the SFPICKUP for free shipping thanks to my luggage (fingers crossed that SWAir gets me and my bag to SF in a timely fashion).

PS: My suitcase will also be transporting other artistic awesomeness for the pen show so be prepared!

Some items were gifts. Other items were purchased with my own money. Links are provided to vendors where they were either purchased or from whom they were provided (when available) as a courtesy should you want to purchase them yourself. When I do more extensive reviews I will be more specific as to which items were purchased and which were gifts. Mostly, I just wanted to show all my fun stuff.