Carrie and Danielle - Latest Comments in What would improve your work space?

Re: What would improve your work space?

angela — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 05:37:10 -0000

I don't have a perfect working space, I have my oun home office furniture but something doesn't fit and I don't know what... all my furniture is new but I think I need to rearrange it, I need to find a way to make it fit, only this way I can enjoy working. Any tips?

Re: What would improve your work space?

tiberiu — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 09:38:02 -0000

Hello. My name is Tiberiu and I'm a brach manager in Romania for an advertising company. The most important improvement I would like to make is buying some new scanners because the old ones just don't seem to be reliable any more.

Re: What would improve your work space?

Lisa M. — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 15:24:57 -0000

Gawdah - LIGHTING! I am lucky to work on the waterfront with beautiful views, but the god awful FLORESCENT tube lighting is an eyeball zapper...not to mention, its fake rays are not doing anything flattering for some of my more pasty-faced co-workers (me included, ahem). What nut invented these?

Re: What would improve your work space?

Dolly Hopkins — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 11:16:25 -0000

In my loctation of work there is a lot of construction dust and general dirt and I always have to wipe things down. We painted the floor a beautiful blue and unfortunately it show's the dirt big time.
I need a twice a week cleaner - that is affordable. Any help on that front would be greatly appreciated.

Re: What would improve your work space?

Vanessa Rae — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 13:29:45 -0000

I would love to be a professional blogger ( I could certainly consider myself one on my own terms but it would be lovely to be paid well for it!) which means a good desk space, inspiration board, chair, scanner/printer, widows with lots of natural light and a great camera. The hardest part about starting a good blogging schedule is inspiring myself to get out there and live my life- to have something to write about. I would want a home office that is my own little haven, a space that inspired me to live my best life and gave me a comforting space to come home to and write about my life at the end of each day.

Re: What would improve your work space?

Colleen — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 00:35:36 -0000

I think I need a personal organizer. I have the most beautiful studio with all the right stuff. Each time I do a project it goes from tidy to trashed. I just need to make it a time priority. Artists are messy!

Re: What would improve your work space?

Ngonzi Truth Crushshon — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 14:37:55 -0000

Artwork at my job....and the bright colors in my home office are great!!! Maybe I could use more organizational tools (files, bookshelving units, labels so I could find what I'm looking for, etc) for all my papers, books and other junk...

Re: What would improve your work space?

Jamie Wilson — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 09:20:29 -0000

Sit on a Humanscale Freedom chair before you spend money on an Aeron.

You'll thank me for it.

Re: What would improve your work space?

Emily-Sarah — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 08:47:19 -0000

Wow! I gave up reading all the replies -- and yet I'm adding to the deluge. Whitline Ink is in the midst of moving offices, and it's exciting how I'm using my Style Statement (Genuine Heritage) to thoughtfully and deliberately create my new (smaller!) office, both in large and small ways: plastic trash can? I think not! I'll have one room as all mine in a 1950s house that has a delightful "cottage" feel, complete with Brazilian hardwood floors, fresh paint ... and a lovely view of two huge oak trees out my office's front window. A lot of what I do is "creative" and so having a more naturally creative environment, atmosphere, and space will be, I hope, revolutionary. Or at least rejuvenating!

I have to share a portion of one interview from a current project I'm writing on female entrepreneurs (for a college alumni magazine): This alumna, Jill Rossi, began her own interior design firm in 2002. On her website (www.jillrossi.com) she writes, "The spaces we inhabit and the objects with which we surround ourselves have a direct impact on our emotional well-being. By creating positive, nurturing environments these places can serve as constant wellsprings of positive experience in our lives."

Something Jill said during our interview that struck a chord with me is that "One of my biggest pet peeves is lifestyle magazines. People subscribe to a lifestyle and then go through as a checklist, getting items without putting thought into what their bringing into their lives." Not that magazines aren't a great source of inspiration, but we shouldn't be content to reproduce someone else's vision without injecting our own. "Cultivate a lifestyle that nurtures you. YOU can create your own lifestyle that's reflective of you, not a marketing agency."

Jill provides staging services for people selling homes. (Where less is always more, and clutter-free is key.) When she was having part of her own home renovated, she packed everything away in that room -- every picture, every nicknack. Afterward, she said, "We moved the furniture back but no things. It was wonderful. Peaceful." She said sometimes that removing everything, even if only temporarily, can help neutralize a room and give you a new perspective (and you can put more thought into what goes back).

Re: What would improve your work space?

Kirsty — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 08:47:05 -0000

Go for it Kate! Get a pepper...cut it into strips...keep it in the fridge...munch on that.

Re: What would improve your work space?

Barb — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 02:03:39 -0000

Other than an assistant to remind me where I was going on my last tangeant...a big desk clear of clutter and my notebook readily avilable for taking notes on my next big idea...currently on a counter in my kitchen under my 2-yr old's sippy cup and a sample of a new garment bag! And maybe a nice fountain in the corner.

Re: What would improve your work space?

Lori_from_Texas — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 23:39:13 -0000

Love the french doors leading into a garden. That is exactly what my work space needs. Thanks!

Re: What would improve your work space?

Jane — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 23:16:25 -0000

some aesthetically-pleasing desk accessories, as opposed to the company-issue, creaky black plastic "organizer" that I have now.

Re: What would improve your work space?

alligator_kate — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 22:39:45 -0000

As I work for myself... beyond having an office outside of the apartment, which I am working on achieving, it would be healthy lunches lovingly prepared for myself in the morning, or the night before, so that when I am inspired to go go go... I don't burn out by skipping lunch or eating whatever is easiest, which usually doesn't involve green things. I think I will start implementing this change right away.

Re: What would improve your work space?

Beth C. — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 22:28:12 -0000

Four walls, a HUGE window looking out onto a lush garden, a door, a sign that reads "Don't Speak to the Animals," white paint on the walls and lots of Vera Bradley's Pinwheel Pink office stuff (the pattern makes me happy and VB gives a portion of proceeds to breast cancer research).

Re: What would improve your work space?

SRead — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 21:39:43 -0000

I have managed to create an inspired oasis of a small and narrow space that still needs more natural light and somehow is a magnate for others so I totally relate to Danielle's desire to have "sound proof walls, a moat,... etc". Now that I am happy with the space itself I crave new & different work!

Re: What would improve your work space?

actionpotential — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 21:35:24 -0000

An object imbued with spirit or energy that reminds me that it is safe for me to be playful with creativity. It could be anything, really...it all depends on how it feels. Like a comfort object, but one that helps me feel safe with the yang, outpouring, action energy of creativity.

The world hasn't always been safe for me, and my psyche has built an elaborate defensive fortress around some major traumas (on top of being taught not to trust my Self), resulting in a PAINFUL artistic block that has lasted for 8 years. With therapy and the help of my True Self, I am overcoming! Still, small, young parts of me can be terrified of speaking (of telling their truth, in any way), and a creativity token is whatever symbol or object that I decide will help me with this.

Re: What would improve your work space?

Daniel Gibbons — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 20:25:29 -0000

Another Apple 23" HD display.

Re: What would improve your work space?

Danielle LaPorte — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 19:00:18 -0000

I'll rent the space next door to you -- sounds divine!

Re: What would improve your work space?

Danielle LaPorte — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 18:59:26 -0000

what a creativity totem?

Re: What would improve your work space?

Danielle LaPorte — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 18:58:18 -0000

I just came across these great images of INSPIRED WORK SPACES today!
http://inspiredology.com/inspiring-work-environ...

Re: What would improve your work space?

Marie Leona — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 17:53:22 -0000

If I could just declutter it!!!! I have such an overhaul to do that it is overwhelming.

Re: What would improve your work space?

jennb — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 16:46:42 -0000

Im a stay at home mom right now. So a dishwasher that works would be great.

Re: What would improve your work space?

Jessi — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 16:20:57 -0000

An orchid, a window, more photos of places I've been and places to go, more music, a tazer to hold interrupters at bay and my cats to "keep the papers from escaping".

Re: What would improve your work space?

actionpotential — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 16:02:56 -0000

Ooh, definitely timely. I just started clearing out the stacks and stacks of messy boxes I have stashed underneath my desk.

For now: Clean/toss/reorganize paperwork and art supplies. Buy bulletin boards and a shelf for over the desk. Little boxes from Ikea for all the little odds and ends. Workable filing system.

Also, a plant and a creativity totem for my desk. I'm not sure what I'm looking for yet, but I'll know it when I see it.

In the future: Someday I would LOVE to have a whole room for a library/studio. Two walls with floor to ceiling bookshelves (with a ladder!). Skylights and huge windows, looking out into leafy trees. A white leather Eames lounge chair (man looks like everyone dreams of one of these!). A large farmhouse-style table for writing and art-making. A vintage typewriter. Millions of canvases and a whole wall of bulletin boards for a massive, constantly-shifting inspiration and story board.
mmmyes.