What’s on your desk, Cameron Faulkner?

3 months ago 9

Cameron Faulkner describes himself arsenic “a New York City transplant who’s lived successful Brooklyn since 2012.” He continues, “When I’m not astatine work, I effort to get arsenic acold distant from my machine arsenic I tin (I don’t ever succeed), spending clip with my wife, 15-month-old son, and 2 cats. I bask walking around, playing video games, drinking coffee, and keeping myself engaged with a never-ending database of tasks.”

He is presently commerce exertion astatine The Verge, wherever helium helps different commerce writers find bully deals, edits their work, and writes astir gaming accessories, monitors, and different amusive gadgets worthy knowing about. He is besides the archetypal Verge staffer to beryllium featured doubly connected What’s connected Your Desk — and here’s why.

When you archetypal talked to america astir your location bureau space, it was 2021 and you were moving retired of a workplace apartment. What’s changed?

Yep, we upgraded to a abstraction wherever I person my ain bureau that isn’t 5 feet distant from my bed. Now it’s 10 feet away. A workplace flat is similar a furnace to forge your narration and your organizational skills. While I succeeded astatine the narration part, it was ever a situation to unrecorded minimally capable truthful arsenic to support things comparatively clutter-free, particularly since we besides had 2 cats successful the mix. Needless to say, I don’t peculiarly miss it — though my table setup is adjacent to the erstwhile 1 arsenic it was before.

Could you archer america astir your table and chair?

The table that I’m utilizing is simply a Fully Jarvis Bamboo Standing Desk, and it’s the benignant of happening that I emotion due to the fact that I ne'er person to deliberation astir it, oregon cleanable it often. I promote anyone who’s funny astir a lasting table to springiness it a shot. There are immoderate days / weeks / seasons erstwhile I usage it portion sitting, but it’s bully to person the flexibility to basal if I privation to support my humor flowing. I bought this table from Fully earlier that institution was acquired by Knoll, which was aboriginal acquired by Herman Miller. That said, the Jarvis bamboo lasting table is inactive disposable to bargain done Herman Miller, but I’m not definite if its physique prime and diagnostic acceptable are the same.

As if I haven’t already said Herman Miller enough, the seat is the Sayl from that company. It’s breathable and comfortable.

Insta360 Link

Where to Buy:

Here’s the agelong one: archer america astir the assorted tech devices you’re using. (And delight beryllium circumstantial astir the model, etc.)

My tech setup has changed a spot since my past WOYD quality successful 2021, but mostly successful incremental ways.

I person the aforesaid dual show setup (the 27-inch Acer Nitro XV272U and the 27-inch LG 27GL650F-B). My webcam got a large improvement. It’s the Insta360 Link. I reviewed it for The Verge backmost successful 2022, but the 1 I person is personally owned. I don’t instrumentality vantage of the gimbal oregon gesture-based controls arsenic overmuch arsenic I thought I would — I conscionable deliberation it produces a nice, cleanable image.

I besides got a acceptable of Kanto YU2 desktop speakers that person conscionable the benignant of minimalist plan that I’m looking for. Those link to my machine via USB, but besides person talker cablegram inputs for usage with a receiver oregon a grounds player. Fun fact: they besides link via USB to my Nintendo Switch 2, and I bask listening to crippled audio done them erstwhile I’m having a speedy handheld gaming league astatine my desk.

Kinesis Freestyle Edge RGB

Two hands, each connected a fractional of a divided keyboard

Where to Buy:

Do you similar the divided keyboard?

I’ll ne'er spell backmost to mean keyboards aft buying this split ergonomic exemplary from Kinesis. It’s a gaming keyboard, technically, truthful it has mechanical cardinal switches and programmable LEDs nether each key. I couldn’t find different divided keyboard suitable for gaming astatine the clip erstwhile I bought it (at least, not 1 with a plan that didn’t look atrocious), and I’ve been blessed with this model. The downside is that it’s present a batch tougher for maine to find merit successful laptop keyboards, since they rapidly springiness maine wrist pain.

Initially, astir radical I speech to astir these keyboards are of the sentiment that they’d ne'er fig retired however to usage one, and that anyone who does is not from this planet. It does look strange, I’ll springiness them that. But I deliberation that they’re a much earthy mode to type, since you tin clasp your arms and wrists much comfortably alternatively of contorting them unnaturally to benignant connected a row-based keyboard.

I emotion that grouping of tchotchkes: the small integrative eggs, the 1960s-style timer, the soil creation ornament.

Welcome to the fidget country of my desk. The bluish sphere that looks a small spot similar the aged AT&T logo spins astir connected a base. It’s truthful satisfying to clasp and tinker with. The reddish ovum is nary different than Silly Putty, which I’m often molding into assorted shapes off-camera during calls. The timer is simply a Pomodoro timer, and I usage it erstwhile I request immoderate uninterrupted clip to absorption connected a task (all acknowledgment to this 2022 piece from Victoria Song that inspired maine to bargain one). Lastly, the soil creation show was a acquisition during Polygon’s 2024 concealed santa extravaganza. We each got unneurotic implicit Zoom and had a acquisition exchange. We had a batch of amusive implicit there. Anyway, the soil creation show is truthful soothing, and I emotion rotating it to spot however the specks autumn otherwise each time. It’s simple, yet beautiful.

Tell america astir the poster with the 2 radical (you and your wife?) walking by a decorated wall.

I realized astatine immoderate constituent successful the past fewer months that I person an abundance of unfastened partition abstraction and a clump of photos that I emotion to look backmost on. So, wherefore not enactment much memories up connected the wall? The 1 that I chose present is simply a photograph from our engagement shoot, which was taken successful beforehand of a graffiti-covered gathering that has since been bulldozed. I conscionable thought it was a bully photograph backmost successful the day, but it has evolved into a reminder that things tin alteration astir us, and sometimes wrong us, but that we’re committed to walking unneurotic passim the journey. I’m truly gladsome that I get to look astatine it each clip I locomotion into the bureau earlier work.

A poster showing a graffiti’d partition with 2 radical successful beforehand of it walking manus successful hand.

I recognize there’s a large communicative down the coin / currency postulation that you support successful your desk.

Yes! My gramps gave maine his coin postulation earlier helium passed, and it’s 1 of those things wherever I privation I would person asked what made him instrumentality it up arsenic a hobby, and however helium obtained immoderate of this stuff. I cognize helium ne'er went connected the net (bless his heart), and helium ne'er mentioned going to shops oregon auctions to look for obscure Buffalo nickels from the aboriginal 1900s. Based connected however broad it is, it’s wide to maine that helium truly loved doing it.

Now, I support it adjacent my table to propulsion retired and analyse immoderate clip I request to suffer myself successful history, oregon successful reasoning astir my grandfather. I wonderment astir each of the hands passim clip that these coins and bills passed through. Conceptually, I hatred wealth and each of the powerfulness that billionaires who person a batch of it tin wield (often to antagonistic effect), but I truly bask handling this aged currency. It’s mislaid to clip and is nary longer accepted arsenic ineligible tender successful society, but it inactive holds a batch of worth to me.