(last edited on April 29, 2014 at 1:28 am)
I’ve been drooling over the latest Levenger catalog, which features upscale furniture and gear for the discerning bookworm. Here’s a few of the things that caught my eye:
The Scooter Laptop Stand with a single-pole support that you can draw real close; your legs slide by on either side of the pole. Adjustable height via foot pedal, ergonomically designed! And since it’s from Herman Miller, I’m inclined to believe that it’s a solid piece of furniture, unlike those deathtraps sold at the local mega-officemart. It certainly costs enough…
This 3×5 Card Bleacher is for organizing 3×5 index cards in a storyboard format! There are slots that hold the cards, and places for your pens! Levenger also sells a lot of other gear for managing 3×5 cards, such as their pocket briefcase. I hadn’t thought about using 3×5 cards as the basis for organization, but it would be perfect for my kitchen gear mashup project…
The Circa Notebook System uses Rolodex-style rings so you can easily insert and remove paper, and it’s designed to fold over flat. It looks awesome; no surprise it won 2005 Organizing Industry Product of the Year from the International Association of Professional Organizers. Levenger also sells a paper punch so you can convert any kind of paper to the system. This is exactly what I need for the next phase of The Printable CEO system. The basic notebook is $16.00, which is a little pricey, but not outrageous.
This Folding Editor’s Desk is allegedly modeled after inclined writing desks used by scribes. What I like about the design is the back shelf, which can be used to support reference books you’re referring to as you write. When I’m assembling custom reference material, I often get buried in multiple source books; I’ll have to look into building something similar.
This Carousel Book Shelf/Stand would look awesome rotating in my fantasy library, wouldn’t it? Levenger sells all kinds of neat library furniture, like a circulation manager table for newspapers with rounded shelves that keep magazines from sliding out. Nifty!
I am not a fan of poker, but I could get into Read ‘Em. It uses poker rules, but instead of going for the straight flush you spell words using letter cards. The longest word spelled with most letters of the same suit wins!
The Inka Pen is a compact all-weather pressurized pen that can fit on your keychain; it’s 3″ closed and 5″ open. According to the site, it’s designed by engineer Greg Adelman, who needed a reliable pen while at sea deploying research instrumentation[.] It apparently even writes underwater. Makes my classic Fisher Space Pen seem a little less shiny…time for an upgrade, I think.
There’s more cool stuff on the Levenger website…send away for your catalog! There are also a few retail locations: one’s in Boston’s Prudential Center, two are in Chicago, and one is in Del Ray, Florida. I’m going to have to check out the Boston location and see if this stuff is really any good.
7 Comments
my experience is if you look around you can find the same quality elsewhere, often for considerably less, though I must say that I almost always end up purchasing from them anyway. [circa is similar to rollabind (i think clairefontaine makes one too) and i’ve found the page darts elsewhere though the cost difference is only about 3cents each]. i’m searching for their pencil-like highlighters, mainly because i am too impatient for shipping.
i’m still drooling over a “lite” briefcase they had in ‘96…
overall i’ve been happy with what i’ve bought from them over the past decade.
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That Editor’s Desk would actually be really useful in the kitchen. I’m always making annotations to recipes.
Those circa notebooks are pretty slick. I wish I saw that before christmas to add it to my list.. $94 for a leather bound notebook… someday :) What about converting your printable CEO into an OSX widget with a built in timer?
bookgirl: Thanks for the insights and alternative sources! Now I’m wondering what other catalogs I’ve been missing! Yargh! It appears that Circa is made by Rollabind, except for the paper, so that’s very exciting. Not sure what the page darts are though.
beth: hey, now that’s a great idea! One of those dictionary desks might be useful for the kitchen too…tall, narrow, can fit in the corner…
Jim: Yeah, they’re pricey :-) The PCEO as an OSX Widget is a neat idea… I think you’ve just given me the focus for the OS X coding portion of 2006 (that is, learning how to do it :-)
Yeah I’ve been wanting to make one but still have yet to really look into it. If I can and you want help I will be willing to assist :)
Jim: I just may take you up on that! I need a crash course in Mac OS X development! :-)
I’ve been to the outlet store in DelRay and it’s awfully nice. The best computer stand/desks I’ve seen are in the lounge at Franklin Pierce Law Center (Concord NH), but they are neutral and functional, not woody and warm.