The Verge’s favorite home office memorabilia

Back to Mad Men These days, the only thing that can distract from the business apathy of the workplace might be a photo of your family or a coffee mug with a funny saying. But these days, especially when we work from home, we can have interesting, weird, or beautiful things on our desks.

We asked our people here The Verge what they have on their desks or in their offices they just keep for the hell of it – because they love it, because it means something special, or just because. Here are some of the responses we received.

Antonio G. Di Benedetto, commercial writer / deals

Last year, my wife and I were forced to say goodbye to one of our two beloved cats, Pouncey. He was a caring companion of over 11 years that my wife adopted as a cat shortly before we started dating, making him the star of our relationship. That made it all the more painful when our farewell to him, due to his declining health, came sooner than expected. But on top of all the pictures and videos we have to remind us of our best girl (sorry to our eight-month-old daughter), I’m given a heart-warming reminder of Pouncey every time I sit down at my desk.

When I received my Meletrix Zoom75 mechanical keyboard from a long-awaited team pre-order last year, I opted for the built-in LCD accessory because – well, why not? And, perhaps surprisingly, when I built my board with that little screen inside, I asked myself, “Okay, what do I do with this thing?” So, I left it showing something boring like the battery level.

After Pouncey passed, I rethought the GIF feature and decided to put a cute clip of our girl on there. The GIF was a photo shoot of a random day, and if you look closely, you can see her eyes widen in wonder as soon as she sees me taking her picture. We now call it Pouncey’s Keyboard, and even though it’s sad to see her nod her head on my desk and not be able to feel her soft fur or hear her gentle nudges, I love seeing our “Pouncey girl” every day.

Sean Hollister, senior editor

Whenever I feel a little tired, I have an extra life sitting on my desk. My family bought this for me The Legend of Zelda heart bowl one year ago, so we combine their love, too! (It’s less important if you’re buying it for yourself, so I’d recommend giving it instead.) It glows when you press the front button, and that’s it. Two AA batteries won’t power it for months on end, so turn it off when you’re feeling happy again! You can also import a Tears of the Kingdom version based on the new game.

Allison Johnson, reviewer

I get cold feet about putting nails in the wall in my office (which, luckily, is also my bedroom). So, I end up with a bunch of little things that I want to put on the wall but can’t commit to, like my kid’s doodles or the tech event badge mess in my desk drawer. But lately, I’ve been kicking the strip, putting hooks and clips around the house, and started using them to decorate the wall behind my desk.

Clothespin type clips are fine; I can swap out a new piece of cute baby artwork whenever I want, and I don’t have to commit to its placement. That comes in handy when I want to rearrange my office – er, bedroom – and I’ve never had a problem getting them off the wall without damage.

Adi Robertson, senior technology and policy editor

I keep a paper planner and notepad(s) to track issues and meetings, and the TWSBI Eco (in shiny gold with burgundy Noodler ink) is my favorite writing tool of all. An attractively priced fountain pen that’s easy to fill, and feels great to play with.

I’m not really one for desk food, but I love this amiibo link The Legend of Zelda: Tears of Empire. I’m inspired by how Link seems to be using his Ultrahand powers to create a better world around him. If he can do it, maybe I can too, though I may have to make things happen without a magic arm.

Kylie Robison, senior AI reporter

My Moleskine notebook keeps track of my entire life – I go through two a year. This is where I keep my weekly and monthly calendars, as well as any general meeting resource/notes. I use small pens because they are the best, and I keep them in a Kirby pencil case that I even showed off. The Verge videos (see above). I recently redid my entire home office, and part of that was a lot of decorating, my favorite being the LED Majora Mask.

Barbara Krasnoff, reviewing editor

I love Dorothy Parker, both for her writing and her tough personality. I even bought a bottle of gin because it was named after him (and, to tell you the truth, it wasn’t a bad part). So, when I saw him among a bunch of famous finger puppets at a book fair a few years ago, I had to buy it. The Parker puppet has a small magnet on the back of its head, so it can easily hang on any metal surface. I actually brought it with me when I started working at The Vergeand when I accidentally left it at the office when it was closed in 2020, I didn’t say anything. Luckily, Dorothy hung in there throughout the pandemic, and now she’s back in my home office, giving me a sarcastic grin.

Victoria Song, senior reviewer

Some time back, my friend gave me this cat-shaped desk holder as a souvenir from Beijing. At first, I didn’t know what to make of it. Then, I started putting moving notes on it, and surprisingly, that worked. After a while, I started posting or writing memes from time to time. (Why, yes, me he did write Vice President Kamala Harris’ entire coconut tree speech on a Post-It in one week.) When I really need energy, I stick to a postcard of my favorite K-pop artist.

This only holds one note at a time, which helps me stay creative week after week. Most importantly, it reminds me to take a break and laugh at myself whenever I think too much of myself. I don’t know where to find this desk note holder, but you can find tons of fun ones on Amazon and Etsy.