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We often express our personal tastes and interest without even realizing it, shaping our surroundings in a way unique to us. With the Tapas Team still working from the safety of our own four walls, we wanted to share how some of our staff members decorated their at home work stations. From nerdy to fuzzy to functional - you can really learn a lot about a person by looking at their desk.

Want a chance to win 5000 bonus ink? Share images of your work station on our forum post or on Instagram using hashtag #tapasworkstation by 09/02/2020 for a chance to be one of 5 lucky winners! 

(Rules: 1 submission per person. The submission period will end at 09/02/2020 at 11:59PM PDT. Winners will be notified via PM on Instagram or our forums by 09/04/2020.)

Lauren - Marketing Intern 

I had the unfortunate luck of moving into a new place the week before the world shut down. I really love my place though! It was an upgrade space-wise but, well, that meant I didn't have all the furniture I needed. No desk, not enough shelves or bookcases... I still don't. Sure, I could buy a cheap desk online but like, I have an aesthetic to maintain!! Plus, the room it would go into is still filled with unpacked boxes (read: anime figures that are waiting for proper display cases ^^;; ) so my workstation is either my bed or my couch most days! I'm quite proud of how my room has at least been put together though, it's definitely a chill environment! And it's worked out fine because I have a ton of pillows so I don't kill my back, the real problem has been my two cats and their desire to sleep on the laptops... But I mean it's fine. Really. They're cute so you know...they totally get away with it OTL.

Brooke - Creative Executive

Had to do some deep cleaning before taking this photo… but believe it or not, the sunflowers were actually there already and not just added for staging! This is Hopsin, the adorable and curmudgeonly prince of our household.

Kathrin - Content Operations Intern

Well, this is my workspace - boring, but exactly as simple as I like it to be. Why do I love to work in the dark you ask? Now, I could go ahead and tell you this magical story of how I prefer the natural daylight mixed with some candles because it makes me feel all happy and connected to nature... but the truth is the light bulb in this room broke two weeks ago and I am too scared of electric shocks to fix it, so I figured the darkness will be my friend from now on. What is magical about my workspace, however, is the fact that I can hear the small creek in front of my balcony whenever I open the balcony door which is the most calming sound you can imagine.

Jackie - Head of Content Marketing

This is what my desk always looks like -- not much going on, nothing special haha, I just like keeping things simple I guess. My two favorite things on my desk are the picture of my dogs & my speakers (I need to always have music playing when working).^-^

Cain - Product Operations Manager (POM wei wei wei)

Greetings, welcome to my desk. I'm looking forward to the results of the TDCC Nationals -- Tapas Desk Clutter Competition. I'm hoping to be in 3rd place this year; I've been training tirelessly for the competition! 

(Editor’s note: Nope, you definitely won, Cain.)

A bit about my desk: The desk was allocated in 2018 from a local, privately owned Sweden business, IKEA and hand-assembled. The formal name of the piece is FREDDE, Black set. I believe its use was intended for digital creators and competitors, but I must comment that the elbow space leaves much to be desired. 

The desk comes with four landings for various purposes. The bottom-most provides two side areas for storage or a dock for PCs. Those rectangle bits I do not own. Instead, I store random supplies, a fan, cords, boxes, and use any available space as a footrest. 

The second landing is home to most of my work on laptops and iPads. Additionally, I use this space for my keyboard and drawing tablets. For the most part, bits of paper are strewn about here. There is a space in the back under the third landing. Where objects are often lost and, if pushed back too far, end up on the floor. Displayed here is a beautiful art piece created by Peter Mohrbacher. Truly inspiring.

The third shelf holds mac monitors, one of which is in need of repair and is a glorified sticky note holder. This area is where I store bits and bobbins. My favorite being a small MUZEN Portable Radio/Bluetooth Speaker. I adore it -- very amusing. 

Upon the uppermost landing is where I keep my utmost essential files, books, and tools. I am terrified of it one day falling upon my monitors as the desk doesn't offer a way to attach this shelf in a more permanent manner. (It just sits in these shallow notches like what the heck I need a screw or something IKEA) 

Oh, and of course, the bone corner, we can't forget about the bone corner.

Chang - CEO

My workstation looks like this! (screen blurred for privacy) 

I'm a minimalist and I like to keep my desk uncluttered. That's my main machine but I also have two other computers -- older machines from over the years -- somewhere in the house that I can pop in and start using if situations demand. 

Just like anyone else, I spend so much time on Zoom these days, so a few weeks ago I re-did the entire Zoom setup. 

First step was to make sure the internet works very well. Since I've set up my main workstation upstairs, I connected Ethernet wires to upstairs and connected to a dedicated Wifi router.  Not a very pretty scene, especially with the black wires (that's all they had!) but it does get the job done. 

Then I got a Wifi booster to make sure my computer gets a full wifi signal. Now I'm getting a pretty steady 300 Mbps on Wifi, which isn't too shabby. Then, I got a new webcam which supports auto-focus and 1080p quality. I also invested in a new headset from Plantronics that I'm very satisfied with so far, both for listening to music and doing Zoom conference calls. I mounted a bright wall light right above the monitor which helps me look better on camera :) 

I do so many calls throughout the day that the batteries often run out by the late afternoon, when I also have to take calls with Asia. So I switch between my wireless headphone that's connected to the PC and the Airpods Pro. Such times that we're living in... you need two wireless headsets in a day! #newnormal 

I'm a keyboard freak and I have immense love for my current keyboard which is Realforce P2 from Fujitsu. It's using a keyboard mechanism called Topre (pronounced "toh - preh" short for Tokyo Press for some reason). It's basically a silent, soft type of a mechanical keyboard - once you start using it, you can't go back :) 

While working, I often listen to music that helps me concentrate - low-fi study beats. Or when I need more energy and want to go upbeat, I like to listen to Kpop playlists.

Karina - Head of Creative 

Welcome to my workstation!! (Yes, I work in the dark.) 

Filled with toys and tablets, I love novelty pens and I make sure to collect as many as possible. I think my favorite thing is my tachikoma figure. It's always cheering me on when I work late. T^T 

Tessa - Executive Editor

My roommates very kindly let me keep a desk in our living room, so I wanted to make it look nice for everyone! In theory it's pretty and clean like the first picture, but in reality during the workday I have at least 3 different beverages on it and usually some good snacks too. I work best surrounded by plants, and my second monitor is a lifesaver for editors!

Michael - VP of Content

Candles, wifi, and desk trinkets. What more could a person need? The other half of the desk that isn't shown is pure chaos and filled with snacks and dried up markers.

Stephanie - Content Acquisition Manager

Not pictured... my extremely terrifying plush collection. I feel like I need more candles so I can harness more energy.

Hayden Robel - Head of Production and Editorial

Jurassic park was the first movie I remember so life found a way to put it on my desk to remind me of some of my favorite stories (and totally not distract me with video games on it). Also, I think my desk was in a Tapas documentary once. 

Isabell - Creator Happiness Manager

I may have a bit of a problem...

I hope you enjoyed our work stations! We can’t wait to see yours, so please make sure to take part in our little raffle mentioned in the beginning of this article! 

Thank you so much!

Isabell / AKA Ratique

Creator Happiness Manager

Looking for our tutorials?

Tips and Tricks for New Creators

Cover Tutorial for Novelists

Cover Tutorial for Artists

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