Sell your soul to the company but keep your sense of style Justin Fantl
Sell your soul to the company but keep your sense of style
Timeless The company that gave Dieter Rams his start also designed this watch; that connection is obvious in its clean lines and industrial aesthetic. The 40-mm timepiece has a three-hand quartz chronograph movement, water resistance up to 30 meters, and looks good too. It's the epitome of German form and function. Braun Classic BN0035 Watch | $350
Set a Course PapaFoxTrot's cute little wooden toys are modeled after our biggest industrial machines, like this 15-inch version of the Asia, one of the largest double-hulled supertankers ever built. The real ship could whisk 3 million barrels of oil across the ocean at 16.5 knots; this version is stationary, and carries a lot less. PapaFoxTrot Wooden Boat TI Asia | $156
Accounting Assistant Dieter Rams' 1987 calculator may not be able to graph a quadratic equation into a parabola, but it has real longevity. Its simple interface is so classic that it was the inspiration for Apple's first iPhone calculator. So unless you're running a hedge fund, or maybe a meth lab, this is all you need to total receipts at tax time. Braun ET66 Calculator | $50
Clean Slate This is a desk for thoughtful concentration, not digital distractions. A single drawer will hide the tools you need but don't always want to expose. Blu Dot calls it a pencil drawer, but it works just as well for pens, a phone, or even Adobe Ink. Plus, it can be placed on the left or right side of the desk. Blu Dot Stash Desk | $399
Itchy and Scratchy Your fork is too short to reach back itches, and besides that's gross, man, just gross. Hit those hard-to-reach spots in elegant style with this beech-handled back scratcher. Its metal hand extends up to 20 inches, which is good news for you and your cutlery. Kikkerland Back Scratcher | $7
Balancing Act Like a high-wire Jenga, this game relies on finding just the right balance. The 24 rubber-tipped wires hang from a stand like colorful branches on a miniature tree. One wrong move and they'll topple over into a heap of metal. But even that will look pretty cool on your desk. Melissa & Doug Suspend | $18
Miniature Multiplex Last-minute technical issues be damned. Pull this mini projector out of your briefcase, unfold the stand, and you're keynote-ready. The wireless cinema is small—about 10 inches tall—but powerful. It can fill screens from 9 to 90 inches. Bem Wireless Kickstand Portable Projector | $500
Lean Screen Microsoft finally gets it right with the Surface Pro 3. The glorious 12-inch screen comes alive with the click of a pen, which you can then use to write directly on the touchscreen. The widely adjustable backside kickstand keeps it cozy at almost any angle. Even the keyboard boasts two typing positions. Microsoft Surface Pro 3 With Type Cover | $930
Key Grip This fob is a quick way to class up your keychain's array of bottle openers and discount cards. Micro and regular USB connectors slide up and out of a hand-stitched leather enclosure. Finished charging? Give the knot a quick tug and voilà, the plugs vanish back into their home. Power Link Knot | $40
Put a Feather on It When it comes to bird-inspired distractions, this mobile leaves Twitter cold. The feather sits on a wire frame and spins around with a gust of wind or breath. It's pretty, frivolous, and a little bit silly, like all good diversions should be. L'Atelier d'Exercise Feather Mobile | $40
Desk Jockeys This stationery set has everything for a well-stocked desk, with many thoughtful touches. The stapler is molded to hide the hinge, the 10-sided pen holder has a padded base to mute sounds, and the scissors (not shown) are designed for lefties and righties. Lexon Babylon Stationery Set | $182 Kamoi Patterned Masking Tape | $24
Oculus Lift Sure, monocles are on trend, but this gleaming brass-wrapped lens is the definition of classic. It's about 8 inches tall with a magnifying intensity of 2X-3X, which means there's no excuse to not read the fine print now. Best Made Brass Magnifying Stand | $80
Coney Island This smart speaker knows what you want to hear before you do. Connected wirelessly to an expansive library of songs, radio stations, and podcasts, it builds a personal profile based on your listening habits. Turn the front dial to play a song. Don't like the tune? Spin it again to cue up another. Aether Cone Speaker | $399
Thar She Cuts Japanese blacksmith Toru Yamashita originally created a whale knife as a children's tool to sharpen pencils. It may look adorable, but beware: The blade is sharp enough to slice through the most stubborn of envelopes. Or fingers. Kujira Whale Knife | $55
One in a Million This workhorse is also a show pony. The HTC One has a pixel-dense 5-inch display, depth-perceptive camera, and quad-core Snapdragon processor all housed in a sleek unibody frame made from aircraft-grade aluminum alloy. Meanwhile, the dual front-facing speakers will rock your next rodeo. HTC One | $200 and up
Flex Spending This geometric rubber bank is a thoroughly adult upgrade to your ceramic piggy. Drop coins in through a slot in the top. When you want to make a withdrawal, give the elastic sides a squeeze and the slit widens enough for your coins to come tumbling out. No smashing necessary. Praxis Bank | $15
This Really Sucks Dyson's newest vacuum is less than 5 pounds, but it sucks up dirt like a much heavier machine. It's engineered to work on both carpet and hardwood floors, and the bulk of its weight has been shifted from the head to the handle so you can reach those cobwebs dangling from the ceiling. Dyson Digital Slim DC59 Motorhead | $500
Pinch Me Slip your index finger through the plastic loop handle and give these tweezers a squeeze; the angled stainless steel tips will open like a drawbridge. Release and they'll close on whatever tiny object you're trying to grab. The reverse design provides more control with less strain on the muscles in your hand. Fiskars Fingertip Tweezers | $5
Drawing Room Adobe's foray into hardware has produced two slick tools for the iPad: Ink, a cloud-connected stylus, and Slide, a high tech ruler (not shown). Both work with Adobe's Creative Cloud suite of applications to make perfect shapes. Even if you're not an architect, you'll draw like one. Adobe Ink and Slide | $200
Red Ringer Thanks to its big, responsive screen and deep Google integration with stock Android, the Nexus 5 is one of our favorite phones. It comes in black, white, or (our choice) Day-Glo red. Perfect for guiding planes in for landing while snapping selfies. Google Nexus 5 | $349
Wonder Twins This offset Bluetooth speaker pair certainly appears cool, but its form actually aids its function. The slight angle amplifies and enhances sound. Added bonus: Built-in magnets allow the speaker bases to snap together for easy storage or portability. 11+ Sound1 Speaker Set | $85
Radical Transparency The problem: You colored outside the lines. Again. The solution: this clever pen. It comes with a clear window near the tip, so you can see what you're highlighting before you mark it. Uni Promark View Highlighter | $12
Hear Muffs Made for DJs dropping beats in deafening clubs, these over-ear headphones will also do the trick in your crypt-quiet workspace. They boast 40-mm titanium-coated drivers and luxe extras like interchangeable ear cushions and sandblasted steel hex screws on the exterior. Nocs NS900 Live | $270
Bear Claw Leave it to a famous British survivalist to pack a flat-edge knife, flamethrowing ferrocerium rod, LED task light, and two types of screwdrivers into a card the size of your iPhone. It's small enough to put in your pocket and handy enough to take everywhere. Oh, and there's a bottle opener too, because beer. Bear Grylls Card Tool | $31
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