From the Desk of… is a window into the world and workspace of some of ACL’s most stylish friends.
In addition to being a talented filmmaker, designer, artist and bespoke clipboard maker, Alexander Olch is the subject of this week’s From the Desk of… column.
Mr. Olch’s description
This is the first studio I ever rented – and have been working here now for seven years. It was proudly furnished at low-budget: Desk – 1 inch thick MDF board on 2 steel sawhorses, chair from the old Chelsea flea market, long pine wood shelves with two coats of Red Devil glossy white enamel paint, Steel shelves at right from B & Z Steel Shelving in SoHo, with the same paint. Computer is still the same – Mac OS 9.2.2. Electronics all old and borrowed – Pioneer SX-737 tuner, Panasonic Easa-Phone, pro VHS deck, and speakers all from 1990. Black framed photograph (center top) is the first I ever took – in 1983 of the waves in Ogunquit, Maine.
In the mess, various full spectrum light bulbs, chisel tip Sharpie Pens, and my grandfather’s stapler (next to the phone). The level of mess varies from month to month, mostly a result of my dislike of drawers. Five years ago I bought a 45 pound drill press on eBay as part of a project to make my own clipboards, it is still in the studio, used from time to time. My best clipboard to date is the 4 month calendar that hangs on the wall – made from a birch wood floor board cut to fit my custom printed 8 inch monthly calendars. The springs in the clips were almost impossible to bend as I hand riveted each one to the birch wood, but the result still makes me smile.
Further reading: Olch Guest Blogs The New York Times
It’s so fascinating to see how people arrange their workspaces. At first glance this appears to me like a big ole mess, but I can see the controlled chaos, and he probably knows exactly where things are when he needs to find them. What’s also nice is the simplicity of the materials: MDF on sawhorses, doesn’t get any more basic than that.
I really admire people who can keep their desk in this “controlled chaos,” as Peter refers to. Being a neat freak, I can’t keep my desk at all messy, and sometimes, messy is charming and more efficient in regards to time spent cleaning.