I always enjoy the start of a new season, and the transition to autumn is a favourite. The arrival of cooler weather gives me permission to unpack my favourite wooly jumpers and treat myself to a shiny new pair of shoes. I’m looking forward to kicking my way through piles of autumn leaves, cooking Sunday roast dinners and watching movies with my kids in front of the fire.
And of course, this also feels like the moment to create a cosy desk setup that feels welcoming and warm on cold rainy days, somewhere I had hide away and get my head down for the kind of deep work that I have missed over the summer. I thoroughly enjoyed all the happy diversions of sunny days, but now I am ready for some seriously productive afternoons with a strong cup of coffee and cosy lighting, letting the ideas flow uninterrupted, with my favourite pen in hand and some gorgeously smooth paper to write on.
These are some of the things on my desk this autumn:
Coffee cups from Musango, Leech Pottery and Supergroup
I get great joy from my coffee cups, and those who know me well know that this is a gift I always love to receive (as long as they pick a good one!). I like the different shapes and sizes, and when I open the cupboard in the morning I often have a strong pull towards one more than another — I particularly like the Leech Pottery mug for my morning coffee (always made strong with an Italian stovetop pot). My most recent addition is the jumbo red Supergroup mug, which is my current go-to for a mug of tea in the afternoon, but I also have their tiny one in brown which is perfect for an occasional espresso hit.
Mark+Fold Diary
I find the new season, and a new school year, always mark a moment when I look ahead to the next quarter, and into next year. I look at when holidays fall, when we might go away, start booking in family gatherings and big work deadlines. I get great comfort from turning the pages and making sense of what lies ahead. Plotting things in and fixing them down, sort of makes you feel a little more in control and like you’re piecing things together. For me, doing this on rich warm white pages with a really nice inky pen just adds so much to the process, it makes what could feel like admin into something far richer and more personal. It’s one of those things where it’s the process itself I value, it fixes things in my mind — a good example of something AI most certainly could not do for me! In fact, if someone presented me with a diary already filled in with all the dates I’d be really annoyed! I want blank pages to fill in myself!
Brass objects
I’ve always loved brass. More than gold it has that sort of matt, muted finish, and I like the weight of solid brass in my hands. Over the years, we’ve gradually added to our collection of brass items in the Mark+Fold range. The solid brass sharpener was a real favourite at the pop-up shop recently — everyone picked it up and said ‘wow it’s so heavy and satisfying to hold!’ But my personal favourite is, and will always be, the Carl Auböck Giant Paperclip, I think it’s just unbeatable in terms of design and form and the implicit humour of having something so ridiculously and extravagantly over-sized, it just brings me endless joy.
Artemide Tolomeo Mega Lamp
In one of the first studios I worked at in my twenties. I sat next to a couple of graphic designers in a little bank of desks, and we had this lamp poised above us — we used to call it ‘the happy lamp’ because the light it gives off is such a beautiful glow, and it’s dimmable. On a drab morning in autumn or winter, we would say to each other ‘shall we put on the happy lamp’? And it always cheered us up. So years later when we were stocked at SCP, and they had one in stock, I had to have it!
Notebook in Flint
I often joke that I only set up a stationary brand because I really wanted a lifetime supply of notebooks! And that is sort of true. But I tend to just use whichever one I can lay my hands on these days — if we have a Lichen Lined notebook from a recent photoshoot I might use that, or a slight second. But this month I decided to treat myself and have my actual favourite: the Flint Plain Notebook. This is basically the notebook that started it all — only back in 2015 our first notebook was called the Mark One and it had a few extra extravagant details, but in essence this is the same one.
Scented candle from Perfumer H
I had the pleasure of working with Lyn Harris on a project many years ago when I worked in a branding agency, and I got to know about her story and her unique skills as one of the only British ‘noses’ trained with the world’s best in Grasse. I think her scents are in a league of their own and I love the Pine and Ivy as autumn starts to transition into winter. It makes my desk a very welcoming place to be. The hand-blown glass by Michael Ruh Studio is refillable, making this not only a sustainable option but a pleasing annual ritual as the season rolls around once again.
