Allison Johnson is the smartphone reviewer for The Verge, along with, as she says, “a bit of telecom on the side, which means I am a professional phone user.” She came to The Verge from DPReview, where she covered digital cameras and smartphone cameras.
That looks like a cozy space. Where in your home is it?
It’s in our bedroom. When my husband and I moved into our house, we were two people who both worked outside of the home. Now, we’re two people who both work from home full time plus a three-year-old, so cozy is an understatement! I actually move around the house a lot with my laptop throughout the day, so the desk is more of a home base.
Could you tell us a bit about the desk itself?
It’s a mini desk from West Elm. It was a lockdown purchase when everyone was buying desks and stuff, so things were a little chaotic. The first time it “arrived,” I opened the box, and there was a lampshade inside. The actual desk came a few months later.
And your chair (including the footrest)?
The chair is from Ikea, and it’s honestly not great, but the pillow helps. The footrest is by a company called Cushion Lab, and it’s so comfy. It’s kind of like a firm memory foam, and I knead my feet into it like a cat making biscuits.
I love how neatly you’ve got your cords arranged.
It wasn’t always this way! I need to have a few different kinds of chargers at the ready, since I switch smartwatches whenever I switch between Android and iOS, plus I’m never giving up my Lightning-charged iPhone 13 Mini. I used to fish the cables off the floor when I needed them but I finally got these stick-on cord holders, and I’ve been a changed woman ever since.
Tell us about the various tech devices you’re using.
I use my company-issued M1 MacBook Air, and the battery life is still so good that I never bring a charger if I’m going to work from somewhere else during the day. At my desk, I use this Logitech Pebble 2 keyboard and mouse that I bought purely based on looks but they’re quite nice. I use this Rain Design laptop stand, which is very sturdy. I bought the fixed version rather than the adjustable and was a little worried I wouldn’t like it, but it’s been great. I also have the infamous Brother laser printer and haven’t had to buy new toner for it in the five years I’ve been using it to print shipping labels. It rules.
$60
A slim and portable mouse and keyboard combo, lightweight and made with recycled plastic.
I see you’ve got separate storage for your phone review units.
Again, it wasn’t always this way. Unless a company wants their review device back right away, I like to keep them for about a year after the review to revisit them and use them for comparisons. But everything eventually goes back to the manufacturer, unless they specifically don’t want it — in which case I bring it to a center that will either refurbish and reuse them or recycle them. I was keeping them in their boxes until I saw some other phone reviewers had them organized in neat little stands, so I got one, and I’m not sure how I lived without it before.
It gives off this nice orange glow that is essential in the winter when it starts getting dark at 3:30PM. Also, I like that I can use it to let the neighborhood know if the British are coming by land or by sea.
Like many of our colleagues, you also use a paper notebook. Do you have a preference for a certain type?
I’m an absolute sucker for a Moleskine notebook.
Whose work of art is that on the wall next to your desk? (Just above your name-tag collection.)
That’s the work of my son Lennox, approximately age two at that point, I think. You think you’re not going to be a “kid-art-at-your-desk” person until you are.
As a Marx Brothers fan, I couldn’t help noticing the picture of Groucho above the chest of drawers.
I guess other kids in high school were going to parties and stuff while I was at home watching every Marx Brothers movie I could get my hands on. Duck Soup is an all-timer but A Night at the Opera is a close second. I sort of stole this picture from an ex, though I think he knew about it and let me take it. But if you want it back, I’ll send it to you, Matt.
Is there anything we didn’t cover that you’d like to add?
“Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read.”
Photography by Allison Johnson / The Verge.
