Inspiration: Len Kendall
When he’s not working as the digital guy at public relations firm GolinHarris Len Kendall is busy blogging, contributing to GOOD and getting other people to blog at the3six5 project – a daily dose of writing he runs with with co-founder Daniel Honigman.
How long have you worked from home? And where is home? I live and work in the lovely city of Chicago. I grew up here and am not quite sure I’ll ever leave. Some might say that’s unadventurous, but truly this city has so much to offer. I’ve worked from home to some degree ever since college. I’ve dabbled in the world of freelancing before where my home office served as my full time location for work, but now it’s a place I spend my evenings working on my personal side projects.
Describe your style? How would you define your aesthetic? My style is chaos. What you see is probably the cleanest my desk has been in months (thanks a lot for making me have to clean…). I like lots of screens, and lots of items on my desk to both distract and inspire me. In a perfect world, I’d have a few more monitors, and a much more comfortable chair. I’ve been holding out for a SAYL actually, and I think I’ll be pulling the trigger soon.
How do you keep your work space organized? I try to maintain organization by recycling, or in rare cases disposing of, items I don’t need. Some people tend to hold onto things in fear that they’ll realize later they needed them. I on the other hand like to live dangerously and play Russian roulette with my document saving decisions.
When you set up your home office what did you have to keep in mind? Were there any particular obstacles to overcome? The space I had to work with was rather small. My office is part of my living room space and I didn’t want it to overwhelm the space overall. I ended up buying a simple IKEA desk which was large enough to house my computers and also give me enough space for writing and drawing off to the side. I do have a small drawer that’s part of my work space, but I rarely use. I find that having more storage, also means unnecessary accumulation.
Is there any piece of home office furniture you covet right now? My first job didn’t pay well, but it did mean I got to sit in a Herman Miller Aeron chair. Ever since then, I’ve missed it.
What desk accessory can’t you do without? Part desk accessory, part peripheral, I couldn’t live without my Wacom Bamboo tablet. Sometimes I just can’t express myself words and I feel the need to doodle. The electronic pen/tablet has been an excellent, low-cost creative tool (one of Len’s sketches for GOOD‘s create a doodle project).
What would you change about your work space? I do enjoy being able to watch television (Purdue Basketball and Bears Football) while I’m cranking out some work. In a perfect world, my apartment would be laid out in a way that would allow me to be in the direct line of site of my television OR I suppose an elaborate system of mirrors could accomplish the same thing. In the meantime, I do on occasion move my “workspace” over to my couch.
What inspires you? I’ve always been driven to create things that I can go out into the world and see. Whether it’s writing, advertising, art, or other projects, the process of making something and seeing other’s reaction to it (good or bad) has inspired me to continue that behavior.
