Nubby Twiglet

Shauna Haider, a.k.a. Nubby Twiglet, Artist/ Designer Portland, Oregon Nubbytwiglet.com This is where the magic happens. Actually, for most of my work, I sit on my floor to spread out clippings and make collages. I really only sit at my desk when I'm using my computer. I'm a typical Virgo in that I like things color coordinated, organized, and as orderly as possible. The shoes with heart piece is an experiment with creating lower-priced pieces for an upcoming art show. I normally work in a much larger scale on wood surfaces. This is my full desk area. I have my printer tucked underneath. It's organized chaos. Here, you can see some of my work. 'Mouth With Pill' is probably my best-known piece. To the left, there's another (much larger piece) called 'Modern vs. Organic.' I use it as a backdrop for photos pretty often. When I moved into my studio about a year ago, there were random nails sticking out of the wall, so I hung bright red plastic letters from them. No meaning, really. Here's a closer view from right above my desk; red plastic Barbie boot, plastic 'A,' and 'Mouth With Pill.' It's about 24 X 24 inches. This is what my desk looked like in December 2005. Really messy because I was planning out my first solo show. This is what my studio looks like right before a show. I usually store most of my art in the basement, so right before I pack up, I'm doing touch-ups and windexing the pieces to remove fingerprints. Cheers, Nubby

Ximena Maier

Ximena Maier, illustrator Madrid, Spain http://www.ximenamaier.com http://ximenitadibuja.blogspot.com http://lobstersquad.blogspot.com There's a picture of my drawing table. It's right by a big balcony, and just now in Madrid the shutters have to be closed, it's too sunny and baking hot. That's why everything looks a bit dark. Here's a shot of my pens and pencils and liquid watercolour bottles. They fit very snugly into an Ikea cutlery holder. I usually draw with dip pen, and then scan and colour stuff on photoshop. Here's the computer table, and a cork board where I pin random stuff I like. Finally, the rather crowded bookshelves.

Brett Hess

Brett Hess, Artist/Painter Southern California www.hess-art.com "Pics from my studio. Not quite as chaotic as Francis Bacon's, but crazy none the less!" "The tools of the trade" "There's never enough room when you're a painter" -BH

Collin David

Collin David, illustrator and meat-roboticist, Putnam Valley NY, ResonantFish & Studio Robotico While I find myself making art-things everywhere from my drawing table to the garage to the kitchen stove, here's where I spend most of my time. I don't have enough space to truly be organized and expressive at the same time, so I try to ride the chaos. The current project on the desk is a comic that I'm working on with my old college roommate (up to page twelve!), involving cephalopods and robots and big inky messes. I keep a box of bizarre references cut out from old encyclopedias and history books, mugs and mugs of paintbrushes (including the ugliest dollar store octopus mug known to man), some nesting dolls & a whole slew of toys on the desk. To the left is a large collection of dead bugs and bird skeletons, also for reference, which girls really don't like to be around for some reason. Pages and pages of semi-coherent notes and sketches litter everywhere else. Here's a closer look at the toys on the desk - a series of tiny figures called 'Demon's Chronicle' which I shipped over from Japan, because they're wonderfully surreal and inspiring. The big meaty robot is just that - something that I throw together out in the garage, full of hinges and love. Note that the shelves are made of old library card catalogue drawers stacked on old sci-fi paperbacks. Also note that I like to pretend that I'm in Ten-Forward on the Starship Enterprise while I paint. Not really. Here's the worst distraction and best tool that I've found - the lovely Mac Mini. All wired up to a VCR and a TV and a turntable for multimedia projects - but mostly to share out-of-context video clips with friends - with enough wires to snag and kill a small orca. Again, more toys everywhere, from Spider-Man to Darth Vader, dragons and Iron Man and Green Arrow. As long as I have room to move the mouse, I'm all good. From here, I run a few websites & freelance this 'n' that, both writing and visual arts. Stacks of comics and more toys keep me inspired & motivated. One day, I hope to create some kind of redefining Batman masterpiece, or get into a 24 Hour Comics Day anthology, or to even customize that Munny that I have stacked up there. I keep all of these things around me like an encyclopedia of awesomeness that I can refer to at any given time to re-frame whatever creative problem that I'm facing. And this, finally, is my little slice of heaven in the garage, Studio Robotico, necessitated by the pesky production of sawdust while making lots of wooden robots. Everything here is scavenged also - a set of metal cabinets that once stored filmstrips for a library makes for some amazing organizing cups for screws and metal oddments. Another chest of drawers was found roadside and is now used to store wooden shapes. There's no shame in recycling everything that you see into something maginally functional, folks! We're not fancy here.

Rick Lovell

Rick Lovell: Illustrator, Teacher Atlanta, USA My website The truth behind the immaculate studio... I posted these on another site and folks were appalled at how clean and organized it was. See? This is my drawing board area. It looked like this once, about 15 years ago. We had built the house a few years earlier, but for this photo we had just finished the studio and I got everything organized and perfect and shot these photos, knowing full well that it would never look like that again. I know, it looks like nobody has ever drawn a mark in here. That isn't far from the truth, but I had actually done a job or two at this point. A view from the other side of the room. We bought the lot for this house with the idea that the basement would be my studio, so we looked for one that graded downhill toward the back, giving me plenty of light for my working area. My wife designed the space, and it works great with lots of counter space and storage (but there's never enough). It still has a fireplace, but these days it's jammed with boxes of family photos and stuff from my parent's house; lost my dad a few years ago and can't seem to find a place to put his things. _________________________ Now for the truth... This is a working tabouret, complete with a fishbowl that the cats drink out of, even when it's opaque with acrylic paint. It's a wonder they're still alive. They have a knack for stepping in wet paint and tracking it all over the place. They really go for the cadmium red. What I see from my board. Not too bad today. More junk to find a place for. Most of this is out of my school office, and there's no room for it in my new space. The production counter in it's usual function as a catch-all for all manner of flotsam and jetsum, and artwork in various stages of incompletion. Books without a home. They'll soon be put to good use, however. My computer area complete with large, furry creature who likes nothing better than to shed all over everything all the time. And sleep. And crap. And shed some more. My ageing G4 and the regulation birdsnest of wires and gadgets under the counter and scattered here and there. It isn't cutting edge, but then, neither am I. Like me, it usually gets the job done nonetheless.

Eric Bostrom

Eric Bostrom, Artist/Network Admin/Marketing Coordinator, Santa Rosa, CA, USA, http://diversionmary.com My studio is one of my favorite places, so I have many photos. Here are a few: We're having a big party in a few days so I had to clean up my studio. This is the 'after', here is the before. There is a fireplace behind where I sit for wintertime. My weapons of choice, mostly ballpoint. I pin my stuff up on this wall, and collaborative drawings on the opposite wall. It all fades and falls down though. How I draw. I used to have a better drawing table, but a friend needed it. This is my favorite pic of my studio, I use it as my wallpaper @ work. Late night drawing, fire, tea and coast to coast am with George Noory.

Rik Catlow

Rik Catlow, Artist/Web Designer Charlotte, NC USA www.rikcat.com "Bobo taking residence in my desk." "My bulletin board filled with inspirational knickknacks." "My workspace. I do most of my work on that drawing table. I love it." "I recently bought a new Mac mini. It's great and it takes up a quarter of the space of my old G4 with 5 times the speed." -RC

Jeff Matz

Jeff Matz, Owner / Designer of Lure Design and L2 Design Collective. luredesigninc.com Orlando, Fl There's an unsanitized look at my messy desk. I didn't clean up a thing for this shot. The image is a bit dark, but so is our studio. Over my desk are a few of my screen printed posters.

Ben the Illustrator

ben the illustrator (aka ben o'brien), london ben the illustrator i work in a shared studio near Hoxton, bordering North and East London. We each have a desk and shelves, and it's generally a pretty cool place. There's graphic designers, illustrators, photographers, programmers and architectural types. Super mixed-up. I enjoy working here as there's always a relaxed, yet focused working atmosphere. That's my desk there, I try and keep it pretty tidy, most of the time. I use a Mac mini with a lovely Mac flatscreen and a nice comfortable Wacom tablet. Other stuff on my desk includes the essential teacup, a pot of pencil sharpenings, stationary (as far as stationary goes I generally use HB pencils for drawing and a black felt-tip for writing, I dont need much), mp3 player (must have music, must have music, must have music). Out of site there's also a scanner and a fan (gets quite hot in the summer I tell you) and a big stack of paper, lists, notes and letters (a stack that should be dealt with more often). Towering above my desk is my shelving, I try and keep all my work tidy and ordered in folders, plus numerous inspiring magazines and books, copies of my published work and a few of my scrapbooks. I'm a scrapbook obsessive, I have to keep most of them at home though, bah! You can see a bit of my wall-space there, generally where I stick that all-important 'stuff', postcards, lists, notes of huge importance and a list of paper dimensions, because I never remember anything the slightest bit technical, even down to paper. I hope you've enjoyed finding out about my desk. I do love my desk, I'm comfortable, I can focus on work, I find the right inspiration and my studio brings the right atmosphere to surround me. * special note! we have a few empty spaces in the studio, if you're interested then please do get in touch! hello@bentheillustrator.com * goodbye for now.

Joan M. Mas

Joan M. Mas, designer/painter/educator, Catalunya Typephases Design This composition shows my computer work studio. It's a bit busy place. A small room (9 sq m), but it's amazing how many things will fit in. Since this photo was taken I've even managed to add some more furniture. There's hardly white space on the walls but I really enjoy working here. There are two tables, one for drawing and handwriting, the other for computer-related work. And everything, music, books, notepads, stationery... is here, near at hand. Two large cork pasteboards cover a whole wall and they are filled with very diverse paper cuts, drawings, photos, reproductions of favourite paintings, and of course reminders of more mundane tasks like receipts, bills, to-do lists, grocery lists - even a traffic fine. I love being surrounded by colour. I always react positively to it. I do most of my creative work in sketchbooks. Four to six pages every day at the very least. I prefer large plain white paper notebooks, Moleskine-like. They are a mix of personal diary, scrapbook, idea collector, whimsy box and whatnot. I used to paint in a tiny space but my new painting studio is a blessing: it has nearly everything I need: lots of space, incredible light, plenty of storage space, a big garden in front with fruit trees and aromatic herbs... This pic shows the part of the studio where I work most of the time, taken in the early morning. I don't have to worry much about the mess here because the storage area is always tidy. I usually work on the bigger canvases and large papers on the ground. I use the tables and easels for smaller works and experimenting with materials. I like the place so much that I end up spending lots of time there, just reading, listening to music or talking with friends.

Junichi Tsuneoka

Junichi Tsuneoka, founder/designer/illustrator Seattle STUDIO STUBBORN SIDEBURN Welcome to STUDIO STUBBORN SIDEBURN, design and illustration studio. I run this studio by myself. my main desk. when I find something inspirational, I cut it out from magazines and post it on the wall. this is my drawing desk. my dog is usally hanging out under this desk. Things that I am working on. I use tracing paper to start. I use a few different sketch books to store ideas. during the draft stage, mechanical pencil and different kinds of erasers play the huge role. I use this small xerox machine a lot for figuring out the layout. this is my computer desk. I only use computer at the last stage of the projects. Most of the work is done before I use computer. so I just have one laptop.

Guylaine Couture

Guylaine Couture, AD/artist/teacher Montreal, Canada www.gycouture.com gycouture.blogspot.com "The third of my apartment is my studio. I have different zones: one to read, one to draw, one for future projects and a last one for my computer with all my books around. My drawing space is full of scrap paper for collage. I just love my studio. I enjoy being in that space of creativity." - GC

Eric Sturdevant

Eric Sturdevant, freelance illustrator, Chantilly, VA www.esturdevant.com Welcome to my cave. This is where I spend most of my waking hours. The set up: G4 Mac, 17" Viewsonic monitor(screen shots of Samurai Jack on the desktop), Epson scanner and inkjet printer, Graphire 3 Wacom tablet(indispensable), JBL speakers. On the wall to the right is a Tim Biskup poster for "The Animation Show". To the left is the Saul Bass poster for "Vertigo". Next to the lightbox is a book on Stuart Davis. The shelves contain some of my vintage children's book collection(close by for inspiration) and my DVD collection. I've had the old wood since I was a kid. My dad brought it home from his office building when they were clearing out some old unused furniture.

Claudine Hellmuth

Claudine Hellmuth, artist, Orlando, FL USA, web site: www.collageartist.com blog: http://claudinehellmuth.blogspot.com/ A photo of my brushes, always soaking in water. My cat Maggie always on my desk. Makes it hard to keep cat hair out of my artwork! One of my desk drawers. My other kitty Mabel, Also usually on my desk, looking for crumbs of food. My sweet baby Toby, always in the studio, bored, waiting for me to stop working so we can play!

Matt Hinrichs

Matt Hinrichs, freelance designer and illustrator Phoenix Portfolio Scrubbles.net My humble workspace. The six inch tall stack of CDs to the right is a permanent fixture — it wouldn't be right to clean off the desk for taking these photos. The top shelf contains more CDs, music reference books, a Russel Wright creamer and sugar, a Zip drive, a scanner, and a $3.99 Ikea lamp. The vintage postcard of Tomorrowland and ubiquitous can of diet soda are also on hand for inspiration.

Petra Stefankova

Petra Stefankova, illustrator and graphic designer, Slovakia / lives in the UK, http://www.petrastefankova.com It's my "postcards time", some of these were printed out by myself for promotional purposes, the others were printed in Japan for Digital Illustrators Discovery Organisation. This is the best tool to check colours for printed output. I love the mess like this, it's very useful especially for my children's book illustrations :) Some inspiration, famous czech and slovak illustrators in the books. Can't live without her, I really miss her in the UK.

Paul Antonson

Paul Antonson, Illustrator New York City, NY http://paulantonson.com http://invisibleman.com "My studio occupies a large portion of my small apartment in the West Village of New York. I have a drawing table beneath my loft bed where I do the drawing and painting and other hands-on aspects of the process. I pin up a good deal of inspirational material on a cork-board to help the creative juices. Then I can scoot my chair a few feet away to my computer table - where my Mac G5 and inexpensive wacom tablet and scanner live. This perch overlooks the sidewalk on W10th st. and can be distracting at times. Much time is spent cleaning and then promptly trashing the work area." -PA

Máximo Tuja

Max-o-Matic (Máximo Tuja); Designer; Illustrator, pataphysic. Barcelona, Spain. www.thecurrentlyoff.org/maxomatic "Last week, due to an incredible mess and the impossibility of finding almost anything apart from the keyboard and the printer, I managed to bring some order to my desk. Now it is neat and tidy. No more posters on the walls, no more boxes, cds, magazines, dust, dirt, guitars, etc etc on the floor. Actually, I kind of like my new desk. Less punkie, but still warm enough to feel comfortable." "Over the desk only the essentials. My G4 imac (still works), my 250 Gb LaCie drive. My notebook." "Beside the table: part of the musical equipment. Amplifier, pre-amplifier,guitar (in it´s case). For the last few months, I have kept music aside but I´m planning to return to my punk-rock days." "No more posters. Just the UBU ROI postcard properly framed. This is the pataphysical touch to my work place. The original piece is by Joan Miró, who´s not my favourite artist... But pataphysics go before aesthetics." "Once I went to Andorra i stayed one night in a sleazy hotel in the middle of the Pirinees. In this hotel there was a place full of old books for the hosts to read. One of them was this original Cecil Aubry´s Belle & Sebastian. The band took it´s name from these characters. I didn't even try to get the book, because the russian guy who was in charge didn´t look friendly at all. Buy my friends did it, and gave it to me as a present for my birthday." "My notebook. Lots of words, very few sketches. It is more an agenda than a sketchbook." "I love magazines and fanzines. I'm a lazy collector (I don´t collect, I recollect...). This Rojo means much to me because they published 6 illustrations I submitted." - MT

Holly DeWolf

Holly DeWolf, Illustrator Hamilton,Ontario, Canada http://www.sweethappy.ca http://creativeblend.blogspot.com So this is the creative centre of my world. As you can see I have a lot of stuff in my studio. It least it's all organized. The other part of this space is full of toys, Reagen's masterpiece easel and exersise equipment which I sadly cannot use too often lately due to being 6 months pregnant. It is a well used room to say the least. There is alot of room for mess and for the dog to warm my feet under my desk. Beside my desk is a red fire place. It is quite a cozy space especially during the winter months. This set up works well for me. As you can see I have many shelves mostly to help keep all the dangerous goodies out of Reagen's quick reach. She is a crafty one so it is best to keep those x-acto knives up high! The above photos are from a photography project at art school. You can see some of my favourite toys like my trusty light table, lots of paint, my cool lamp and my old I-Mac which is the main work horse in the studio. The powerbook is upstairs most of the time. We have this house wired! So as you can see I have many books and magazines. I have officially put myself on probation from amazon.ca because this is only small portion of what I have. It is also where I keep most of my collectibles like the antique viewmasters, antique jewel radio, antique buttons and notions and antique books. In front is Reagen's radio flyer tricycle and on the wall is Todd's favourite Roy Lichenstein print. I also have a sewing centre set up which I do not use too often. As you can see we like colour in the studio-mostly a lot of red. My bulletin board is a big space for little tid bits of inspiration and keepsakes. There are many pictures of my little boogaloo. You can see Edward Gorey's print of The Mikado, postcards from a Keith Haring show at The Art Gallery of Ontario and my nose whistle. A girl has to entertain herslf during those creative blocks somehow! My favourite things are my tiny, tiny "punk" pin, my fortune telling fish and my Superman stamp. I am never bored in this space ever! Thanks for the invite Linzie. This is quite a fun blog. Cheers!

Alex Noriega

Alex Noriega, illustrator, Barcelona, Spain AlexNoriega.net I'm going to beguin this tour through my mess ( I actually think this will be the messiest "desk-studio-show" in here) showing my book shelf. It literally cant fit any more books... I have to buy a new one. I "must" work with all the lights, except for this little lamp, off. It really helps me a lot to focus on whatever I'm working at the moment. More books and toys. I'd also like to show some shoots from the office where I work. As you can see, we design all kinds of prints for womens underwear. It's a neat job for a heterosexual guy untill they tell you your drawings have to sell 50 thousand panties! ... a lot of pressure. Say hello to the frog god! Some of the silly stuff I'm working on at the moment... Mammal sell! Me incognito :)

Jon Keegan

Jon Keegan, Illustrator, Brooklyn, NY, USA http://jonkeegan.com/ http://invisibleman.com/ My work area is kind of divided between the digital world and the hands-on world... This is the hands-on area...My loyal pooch Logan the terrier mutt sits on his mat and growls at dogs several blocks away while I work..I recently added the shelves above my work counter to the left, which really opened things up a bit. This is where I do all my sketching, drawing and 'wet' painting. Easy access to old sketchbooks, my trusty paper cutter and scraps of paper. Nice view looking out over Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. And once I'm in the digital realm, this is my cave...a bit sloppy at the moment..I keep a wall of inspirado hanging above my monitor for instant and constant reminders of what can be accomplished (Gregory Manchess, Arthur de Pins, Tomer Hakuna, Lou Romano and Tadahiro Uesugi are currently gazing down at me...). This is a great thing to have, and I feel it definitely keeps me pushing my work further... Also crucial is the mini whiteboard to the left of my screen where I keep a list of ongoing projects that need working on. In between jobs, I always can turn to it for a worthy use of my time. I often keep crossed-off items on the list for a long time, just for the feeling of accomplishment... For computer gear, it's a PowerMac G5 dual 2ghz with a 23" cinema display and a 6x9 Wacom Intuos 3.

June Bulletin #1

It's been a busy first two weeks and many thanks to all who have taken the time to share their desk. Extra thanks to contibutors who has added a link to their site, and also Media Bistro, Designers Who Blog and How Design Conference who have written a little bit about OnMyDesk.com and to One Huge Eye and Hello Duudle for adding a link in their news section. If you're an all-round lovely creative type (or just a run of the mill illustrator/designer/artist/evil genius) and you'd like to share the stuff on your desk or request a blogger invite, drop me a quick hello by email. I've also created an open OnMyDesk flickr group at: http://www.flickr.com/groups/onmydesk for those who feel like posting more images, now or in the future :) Cheers for now, Linzie

Von Glitschka

Von Glitschka (AKA: Vonster) Illustrative Designer Oregon, USA www.vonster.com A peek inside my studio. For a creative person my work environment is pretty sterile actually. Part of that reason is I just moved into this house so stuff isn't all unpacked yet. Art will be up on the walls soon. I am kind of anal though, I do like an organized work area. In the bottom left is my Chinese pug 'Louie'. This is my primary work area. Trusty iPod Video, Miles Davis CD, Project Folder, TV Remote, Wireless Mouse, Cluttered Desktop and if you look really close you'll see two print out mock ups of my new logo. Realized after I got my desk set up that an optical mouse doesn't like a glass surface. Oops. Thus why I have my mega huge mouse pad. LOL If you look close at the first picture above you'll see a doodle hanging on the wall. I had doodled this a few weeks ago and I am waiting to use it on something. I hung it on the wall so I don't forget about it. This is where I do the majority of my drawing and illustration. All my concepting I do off-site. This shows a doodle I did for the recent 'Jungle' theme for Illustration Friday. Hopefully I'll have time to do it? This shows a current project for a school mascot. Coronado coyotes. Yes I know my scrap is wolves, so I am tweaking the refining the art. Notice all the layers of vellum, I draw, re-draw, then re-draw until I get it looking right. I don't like erasing, I'd rather just draw it again. See told you I was anal. This shows my drafting table where I do illustration and project planning. Part of my library etc.

Alan (Fred) Pipes

Alan (Fred) Pipes, writer and illustrator City of Brighton and Hove, South of England www.fred-pipes.com www.fredblog.co.uk Is this the messiest desk so far? I'm hoping this'll shame me into tidying up! This is my trusty 20in iMac G5 in work-avoidance mode tuned into 'on my desk' and sitting on a Habitat computer desk. I took the photo with no art direction or set dressing as soon as I discovered this site (ta Dan!). I'm supposed to be writing captions for my new book 'Drawing for designers'. Note the fancy speakers and my huge collection of Ladybird books and ancient calculators. This is the drawing desk next door. Not much action there at the moment. The last thing I did was a postcard-sized watercolour of the Seven Sisters for the Open Houses in the Brighton Festival - you can see the reference for it fading in the sunlight. This the side trestle desk with a fishy mug of tea. There's an Epson scanner under all that important paperwork and ephemera somewhere. The studio is in my loft space. This is the view immediately behind me from the eyes in the back of my head. I have too many books (and things) for my desk (and my shelves). One day I'll have a roof garden (and fully automated warehouse) outside. Now I must have a tidy up... tomorrow! Oh... some objects! Here is my amazing rolling ruler for drawing parallel lines, a dip pen with Brause 361 nib, a Venus 2B pencil, a plastic eraser and a brush for sweeping away all those rubbings out. I don't have any of those vinyl designer toys or plush animals... it's just work, work, work up here, and if you believe that...?

Jim Stafford

Jim Stafford, Graphic Designer/Illustrator York, UK www.bran-man.com www.arcade-image.com www.stone-soup.co.uk My desk is a bit on the messy side at the moment. Not that it ever isn't. I've only been in this job for three months, so it's a bit lacking in personality too - nonetheless, here's a brief tour... That's basically where I sit all day - see if you can spot some of the essential tools of the trade; my lunch, my sexy mac, my coffee mug, my bizarre lamp that I've never used, a diary, my pantone guide, a freebie calendar, plenty of paper samples, a couple of typography books, piles of CD's, and a phone (because working uninterrupted all day would be ridiculous). A close up of the fun stuff - my Mad*l vinyl (one of many, though the rest live at home), the latest Getty magazine, this mornings breakfast wrappers, the proofing printer... And finally, under the desk lives paper, a bag of breakfast bars and lots of paper samples. Out of shot you're missing our print board (essential for keeping track of where the hell anything is, when it's arriving etc.), the table football table (essential for plunging you into day long depressions or elevating you to the heights of triumphant exultation), the token PC (good for checking web designs) and the heater. Cos it gets bloody cold in winter.

Ben Schlitter

Ben Schlitter, illustrator, graphic designer USA, www.benschlitter.com Currently on my desk...a fleet of sketchbooks under assembly.

Ryan Snook

Ryan Snook, Illustrator Toronto, Canada www.ryansnook.com My studio... On my drafting table I have my current sketchbook, some rapidograph pens, random art supplies, a really old typography book from my dad and a little boat lamp. Here are some gifts made by my girlfriend Beth that I have around my studio. The first one is a peculiar looking stuffed owl. The second one is a stuffed whale that she gave to me on our third date. Lastly here is a sailor lamp carved out of wood.

Dan Thompson

Dan Thompson, artist & founder of artist-led organisation RAG: Worthing, Sussex, UK, www.artistsandmakers.com I work directly with about 50 artists, and also run an arts festival that takes place every July across West Sussex - which involves another 100 artists who open their homes, studios and gardens every July. All from a desk in the back room of a converted shop, ten minutes from the beach in West Worthing. It's a north-facing room so always cool, but with a great view down the garden. Note the stacked up printers - the second one was picked up from our local Freecycle group a couple of days back and hasn't been unwrapped yet. I can't help it - I'm always collecting ephemera. I've collected badges since I was a child. The bits of paper - tickets, scraps, cuttings - finds their way into my collages. I'm surrounded by books on art, design, street culture ... this is a small selection as the big bookshelves are all upstairs. You can also see the invaluable twenty year old Readers Digest Encyclopaedic Dictionary - great for reference. My one-year-old son Edward likes his Brio trainset - the more expensive battery powered trains live above my desk.

Jared Chapman

Jared Chapman, Animator/Illustrator Austin, TX www.jaredchapman.com www.jaredchapman.blogspot.com Here's the setup take a while back... usually the desk isn't so clean. Apparently, in addition to the computer and computer related devices, I like to horde candy on my desk... like a big man squirrel. This is proof that I am, in fact, a slob. Here is my collection of paints, brushes, pens, inks, scissors, X-Acto knives, etc. Make a mistake here and you are bound to get an infection and a Tetanus shot. Here's another angle of my desk, just to the right of the first picture. This is where I play with watercolors and stuff.

Corianton Hale

Corianton Hale, Art Director (The Stranger) Seattle, WA, USA www.thestranger.com On my desk right now, you will find: An afternoon snack. An evening snack. A resource book, full of geniusness. A recent feature design. Monitor trinkets.

Christiane Engel

Christiane Engel, Illustrator, London, UK http://christianeengel.blogspot.com/ http://desertfriends.com/ My outside working space, which is nicer than my mostly dark west facing room, and a bit more inspiring. Most of my stuff comes from memories or imagination, - but anyway, it's nicer to work surrounded by nature and colour, i.e. the paddling pool and the cat drinking from it! A Pina Colada sketch for something cocktail related that I'm working on at the moment. On the right there is a calendar that shows crossed out days until my last deadline. The gel pens in the jar were a birthday present and are great for hand-lettering and sketching silly stuff, which I love. The 'I love you' speech bubble is there for motivation and self confidence, some advice I got on a website for freelance artists, I think, but it doesn't really work that well. I also wrote 'posture!' on my ugly monitor, to remind me to sit straight and not pull my shoulders up. (A trick from my Pilates book) In fact, the pregnant woman on the screen is in a Pilates position, something else I work on at the moment. There's also my sketch for this Illustration Friday's theme – Portrait. And Biene Maja (Maya the Bee) on top of my monitor (next to tea from China) – she's the ultimate symbol of my childhood. (the rest of my desk is too untidy to show...)

Andy Smith

Andy Smith, Illustrator, London, UK www.asmithillustration.com My desk - "My desk is always scruffy and untidy, with loads of bits of paper all over it. My printer and scanner are always humming and there are discs all over the floor. On a more dangerous note, there are always stanley blades lurking in amongst the debris." My shelves - "These are all my reference books which I look at a lot. I needed really strong shelves because of the weight, I built these myself, they go up to the ceiling and I Iike to climb up them." Squarehead man - "This object has sat on my desk for about a year, I made him out of a page from the Sunday Times magazine. My wife won't let me throw him away." Stored artwork - "This is a poster I did at college, it has been stuck behind this chair for ages, I dont know where to put it . I'm waiting for the glass to break."- AS

Pietari Posti

Pietari Posti, Freelancer Illustrator Barcelona, Spain www.pietariposti.com I just recently moved to a shared studio from my home studio/living room combination. No more working in pyjamas! I share the studio with couple architects and graphic designers. Below is shot from the studio. The space is an old car factory what has been transformed to studios for creative people. Our is just one of the studio spaces. Here's my personal work space. Computer, extra monitor, wacom and headphones. The headphones are important when you're sharing a studio. I keep my sketchbook always near for ideas and trying out things. Since I moved just recently to a new studio, I still have some stuff at home for example my books. Here's just some of my design, illustration, comic etc. books. On the top of the shelve I have my Nikon camera and two chinese tea pots inherited from my grandmother. Here's my transportation that use between home and studio. really handy in the traffic!

Catherine (cat) Morley

Designer, Project Manager, Snap-n-cackler of whips Bangkok, Thailand www.katzidesign.com www.creativelatitude.com www.no-spec.com www.proscodi.com www.designers-who-blog.com When Linzie made contact re: the subject of 'On My Desk', I immediately thought "oh! great fun!" ... only ... wait a sec ... I'm not really qualified to join in. Or am I? To explain ... I do have an office with desks and computers and stuff laying around collecting dust and more stuff, but, (excepting for the PC) the G5 and beige G3 are not even plugged in. Both keyboards are still in the packers box from when I relocated here several to six months plus back. CPUs not connected to monitors. Extra extensions not found. You see, since getting hooked on airport, I've joined the growing ranks of designers taking advantage of working via wifi where ever, when ever, giving up the pretense of even using a real office. It's now quite common to be found sitting around in coffee shops, airports, hotels, restaurants, outside, inside, pretty much anywhere a connection can be had. Cairo, London, Borneo, India, Singapore, on a safari in Kenya ... yes, our working world has expanded out of normal settings ... and ... it's just so fine. So, what to share, lah? Reaching here ... My normal working position while at home, when not outside on the patio glancing up to watch the skytrain slide by, or in the back room avoiding the morning sun, is slap back on a comfy, not quite overstuffed couch with my powerbook in my lap, head and shoulders supported with one huge pillow, knees supported by another. Often I'll have a cat resting half on, half off, twitching tail talking back. But that's about it. Imagining the scene through a camera lense, I can only visualize the difficulties of trying to take an attractive photo of my typing fingers on the keys, outstretched, needing to be manicured toes poking above my screen, an affectionate and sometimes interruptive furball nuzzled at my side or further. But ... I so do want to join in the party ... mmmmmm ... advanced apologies while I'll stretch more than my feet with the photos shared ... all the way to the coffee table where my morning injection of caffeine sits sweating, to looking out towards the patio where a cat is mesmerized by falling water. First photo caption: This past month plus has been maddening crazy so I've given in to two fisted drinking. A megga cup of java from the soi below was added to my normal caffeine injection (a pot of green tea) ... both shown. To the left is the half manual, full on entertaining read, 'Blog Design Solutions' by Andy Budd, Simon Collison, Chris J. Davis, Michael Heilemann, John Oxton, David Powers, Richard Rutter and Phil Sherry. Second photo caption: And since a snap while I am being half-lapped by one of three cats is out, here's a photo of Pong checking out the new water feature, recently bought (the feature, not Pong) to sooth pretty much everything to do with computers, wifi, clients, design and life in general or even in particular. Ok, I realise none of the above is very exciting ... but I so did want to join in the fun.

What What

What What, Designer, Brighton, UK www.whatwhat.co.uk I've quite a large desk but that only means I have more space to accumulate junk. To the left of my computer is my printer where I've placed bank stuff and receipts ready to be sorted out. Below my printer is my sketchbook where I plan my many projects. To the right of my computer are my pens and pencils, blank CD's, draws for different types of paper. Below that is some work for my new project - Start a Story. Now would be a good time to give it a plug, in short it's a collaborative narrative super project, anyone can join in. The latest project is called 'flowchart adventure'. Other things on my desk are my little trusty wacom, camera, more sketchbooks and most importantly my 'to do' lists which are scattered about the desk. The more important ones are closer to the keyboard. Every so often I get all the lists together and write one big one. Above my desk is my notice board where I pin up anything important. At the moment there are several postcards, an amazing handmade birthday card by a really talented illustrator friend called Moto, some sock puppets left at my flat by another friend, a drink aware unit calculator, a page of all my badges designs , a character designed for some t-shirts we've just made (caveman with club) and some newspaper clippings of my old teacher from school who makes bronze sculptures.

Sean Macfarlane

Sean Macfarlane, illustrator, Tokyo, Japan www.illustr8a.com Ok I'm just moved recently, and havn't had the chance to obliterate my work area with stuff yet. This is two desks put together for oodles of space. My desk chair is the only chair I have, so I end up spending a lot of time here for one reason or another. Lately for my new MySpace addiction; but anyway... These are ropey out-of-date-film-from-eBay shots taken on my spectra polaroid camera. I havn't "gone-digital" yet. I guess it will come to us all. I usually use my LC-A, and own a few other Lomographic cameras. What you can see: iMac G5 (that's me in the corner, to quote Michael Stipe), monitor wipes, Wacom tablet, Epson scanner, Japanese material drape, Lomographic poster, Muji anglepoise lamp, (big) cat and egg qee designer toys, mini Be@rbrick designer toys, milky sweets and products, moleskine sketchbook (A5), moleskine accordian file (A5), Miffy post-it notes, Chewbacca (of course), Mad Barbarians desk calendar, cutting mat, Muji C6 envelopes, pens, pencils, CDs, DVDs, software and backups plus Muji storage. So now you know... The CDs are by: Utada Hikaru, Bonnie Pink, Judy & Mary, Salif Kaita, Pet Shop Boys, Ai Otsuki, Madonna, Beth Orton, Kate Bush, The Cardigans, The Source, Siggur Ross, Beth Orton, Yuki, Kaela, and UA. They are Cds I have bought in the last few months.

David Dean

David Dean, Illustrator Somewhere near Manchester, UK http://www.theaoi.com/artist/daviddean This is what I laughingly call my studio (in reality the box room), where all my work is created. Most of my ideas come to me on my morning walks, but this is where the nitty-gritty of putting them on paper happens. It's also a complete tip. This is not intentional (I'm obsessively tidy really), just the by-product of needing so much . . . stuff, and only having this little room to shove it in. The walls are blue - this, I have realised is a mistake, but the idea of emptying the room just to paint the walls white is too frightening to contemplate, so blue is how they're likely to stay. Anyway, here is a shot taken from the door. It's a pokey little hole isn't it? That's my lovely Herman Miller Mirra chair - a bit of an extravagance but so comfortable. It doesn't have any arms because they kept getting in the way! This next picture is my work table, with all my paints neatly organised. And this is my "proper" desk, where my geriatric Mac lives, chunnering away to itself "Ee, in my day . . ." That's the phone (obviously) and those are a load of CDs I've not yet got around to listening to. This is where my printer lives, atop a postwar "utility furniture" chest-of-drawers that acts as a plan chest. The stuff on top of it are mainly briefs and reference material for jobs I have on the go. On the floor are all the books I'm using for my current project (a children's book set in Egypt). And talking of books, most of one wall is taken up with shelves. It seems an illustrator can never have too many books! The vast majority of them are photography books about different countries, as most of my work seems to involve illustrating foreign climes. Though the bottom shelf is mainly illustration/design-related. And finally, if you were wondering how I managed to fit into that tiny room and do my work, well: I don't! This is my housemate, Bunny. In addition to his burgeoning career as a movie star and globe-trotting playboy, he also acts (schedule permitting) as my painterly amanuensis. That he doesn't get paint all over his liitle paws is a minor miracle!

Ben Schlitter

Illustrator, Graphic Designer, Teacher, Hays, Kansas USA, www.benschlitter.com Currently I'm a graduate student working to complete my MFA in graphic design (I'll be done this summer!) so this is not my desk but rather my university's. As you can see it's fairly cramped! I really like my neighbors so it all works out (especially the wind up toys!)

Anette V. Heiberg

Anette V. Heiberg, Illustrator Norway www.wynlen.no "This desk is the universe of my work. It's where all the ideas pop out of my head and starts a life of their own. When I sit here I can reach all my art supplies - pencils, paintbrushes, different types of paint and paper. My studio is very small, it's like an art supplies store and a gallery in a box, but at least I have a little space on my desk to work on!" "The rest of my desk is always filled with piles of projects waiting for me to pick them up. It contains everything from the very first ideas of a few books to inked illustrations ready to be painted. Here you can see a bunch of sketches and a spread from my watercolor journal." "When I work on a book I usually hang my storyboard on the wall so I can see the whole project at all times. This is the storyboard for a picture book I'm working on right now. It's a fun personal project, and I hope I get the time to finish it soon so I can start trying to get it published." - AVH

theApe

theApe, Illustrator, London UK, www.ApeFluff.com I don't really have a desk as you can see. A lot of my work is done while sitting under trees. If I had to sum-up what's on my hypothetical desk, I would say GIANT scary Ants. They... are... evil... and I'm sure they were sent by the evil toeFur, to torment and bite me. The little Dog's name is Finn - the top photo is him as a puppy. He is sooo cute. He is also an excellent barista. theApe out

Fhiona Galloway

Fhiona Galloway, Illustrator Scotland, UK www.fgalloway.co.uk Here are 2 photos of my fave items on my desk-cactus friend, Bastardino by Tokidoki and a ticking hamster that makes cute giggling noises when you tickle him!

Bob Staake

Bob Staake, Illustrator/Author/Designer Chatham, Cape Cod, Massachusetts BobStaake.com The Orb Of Chatham Struwwelpeter After working in one temporary studio after another from the west coast to the east coast (and places in between), I've finally built my dream studio on Cape Cod. I'll post some photos of my desk, the ephemera on my desk, the weird stuff on the shelves and the utterly whacked-out junk that makes for the rest of the clutter...soon.

Mark Begley / Letter Pressed

Mark Begley, Stationer/PrintBroker Fresno, CA Letter Pressed What's on my desk? Not much. An old iMac for one. Target table lamp. Designer Toys, calculator, scale, pens and pencils, stapler, tape, a couple of prints I recently produced, one by Jeremy Fish: And one by Kathie Olivas: I need a new desk, that's for sure. This old thing doesn't match my style or needs!

Allan Sanders

Allan Sanders, Illustrator, Brighton, UK www.loopland.net This desk is at the centre of my burgeoning creative Empire. If there is a chance that I will take over the world then the probability is that I will do it from here. My desk is usually covered in bits of paper relating to whatever I'm working on at the time. Underneath all of the rubbish I have the usual scientific equipment that one needs in order to compete as an artist in the 21st century : scanner, pencils, wacom tablet and an external hard drive. For some reason I have a "Men's room" sign on one of the drawers on my desk. I don't know why I put it on there. I do know that If anyone was to take that literally and relieve themselves in my drawer I would probably be quite upset. Here are a few of the books and instruction manuals that reside on my bookshelf. One of my favourite books on this shelf is "Ma Maison" by Delphine Durand, a great French illustrator. What else can I say about my bookshelf? It stores books. Well done bookshelf! This is a fascinating photo of my printer and the cupboard it sits upon. Here are a few of the Robots that live in my studio. Most of these robots don't perform any actual tasks which makes them pretty redundant on the whole.

Elwood H Smith

Elwood H Smith, Illustrator, Rhinebeck, NY www.elwoodsmith.com "Here's a pic of the taboret next to my drawing table. It's an older photo, but looks basically the same today, only much messier & dirtier. I'm a tidy grasshopper trapped inside a pig's body. I love neatness, but I lavishly spew hoards of accumulated stuff all over my studio. Grasshopper tries to clear out the debris, but Pig is the more successful part of me. Pig gloats, Grasshopper despairs." -EHS

Jeff Andrews

Jeff Andrews, Graphic Designer/Illustrator Roseburg, OR www.jeffandrewsdesign.com www.sugarfrostedgoodness.com My home studio. I realize it's probably not the most revealing shot of my office, but this is the crux of my creative universe. All of the usual, computer, monitor, scanner, printer etc. You can also see the great lamp I bought about 5 years ago, and which I just love. Great light, easy to maneuver. Hmmm... my work is primarily logo and brand development, as such you can see a bevvy of logo design related books and magazines filling every available last crook and cranny. There is a large bookcase to the right of the desk, it's also full of resource material and more design related books and annuals. Guess it's time to invest in another bookcase. Let's see, you can also see the cd cases for the disks of my archived jobs, pencils and pens in the mug, sketchbooks etc. Behind the desk on the wall you can see a framed example of one of the full-page newspaper covers I did way back in high school, and a few posters that reveal some of the other interests I have, old time radio programs and comics. Geez, what a geek! The top of the afore-mentioned bookcase houses a large portion of my Superman collection. True geekdom in effect!

Ryan Myers

Ryan Myers, Painter, Philadelphia, USA, www.rmyersart.com With the exception of when my family comes to the apartment (I work out of a home studio) they say 60% of the time my studio looks like this 100% of the time. Thats a joke, Anchorman was a funny movie. Anyway, right now I got all the stuff I need for doing last minute prep work for the two shows I have in the next 2 weeks. Paints, secret ancient mediums, disney dolls, and all sorts of books. It is absolutely necessary to have great artists and inspirations surround you and of course my dog of which you can only see the business end. Some of the work going to the show gracing the lovely wall of my basement studio. I have no natural light in here so I bought one of those fancy daylight bulbs, it use to amaze me what my colors would look like outside opposed to in here, but now they look sort of the same. Preliminary drawings can be seen some mini plush dolls I am working on. Alright you can all stop peeking over my shoulder now. Goodnight kids.