Features

Merchandise to complement an office space, whether at home or in an office complex, serves a purpose and yet is essentially still a splurge. With the pandemic, American consumers have shifted purchases to indulge in little splurges. With this type of shift in Office markets, there are new gift (and splurges) dimensions to explore!

What’s Hot

“Brightness, nostalgia, and connection are the themes that we are carrying forward into our line as our community continues to work from home and are looking to add details that exude a sense of quiet optimism, whimsy and humor to their now-combined home and office spaces,” underlined Alice Lieu of ILOOTPAPERIE. “This is reflected through our colors and textures; brights, pastels, neon touches contrast and are anchored by steady shades of navy and black.”

Also Look For

Pieces that accommodate the modern office environment like Zoom calls, pointed out Holly Wilson of Lifeguard Press. The KSNY Clipboard Folio allows users to have everything at the ready, she pointed out. Features like an interior pocket, notepad and pen loop make it a great organizational tool to store papers and important notes.

Tried and True

“Rainbows! And happy faces are such timeless icons of optimism,” laughed Lieu. “They really invoke such a strong sense of cheer and hope in ourselves, (so they) have steadily infiltrated our work over the last year and we anticipate this will continue.”

With the office often being wherever the individual finds herself, items like pencil cases, pouches, notebook and pen sets, notepad sets and file folders assume a new importance as office essentials, underlined Wilson. Being presented in an uplifted design just adds to the allure!

Designer Quote

“We’ve always said in designing, we are inspired by everything and anything, and this still very much rings true for us. We’ve found washi tapes to be particularly cathartic to capture our own emotions in response to everything that has been happening: pandemic, quarantine and political and social events and issues. 2020’s new norms directly resulted in (our) little trash panda washi tape asking everyone to please wash their hands! — Doris Lieu, ILOOTPAPERIE