What’s on your desk, Jess Weatherbed?

Jess Weatherbed, news writer for The Verge, started her professional career in a way she describes as “a bit strange for a journalist” — in prosthetics and wig making. However, she was no stranger to tech. For around 16 years, she’s been using drawing tablets to support her design hobbies, everything from digital illustration and animation to 3D sculpting. “I initially learned to build computers to support my nerdier gaming hobbies,” she says, “and my love of tech and gadgets has grown from there.”

We asked Jess to talk about her workspace.

That’s quite a setup. Where in your home is it?

This is technically our second bedroom or “guest room” — though it mostly serves as my permanent home office and gaming den. My partner and I purchased our first apartment a couple of years ago now. It’s super dinky, so there’s not much room for privacy! We wanted to keep our work areas completely separate to avoid distracting each other, so this is the best use of the space we have until we can move somewhere bigger. I’m also fully remote, so having everything set up in here gives me an extra space to frequent besides the bedroom or lounge.

Would you believe me if I said my favorite color is actually orange? I really love green, though, and I’ve wanted a gloomy, gothic space since I was in my teens. I knew I would be spending a lot of time in here, and after years of renting, I just decided to go all in. 

I had two main motivations. First, I wanted to see if I could put together a witch-themed setup that contrasts with the usual pastel palettes I see released for hardware that targets female gamers (which is lovely but isn’t at all my vibe).

The second was that I just find green to be a very calming color. I once read a study that green light can help reduce migraines, and while I wasn’t aware of that at the time of decorating, it’s certainly correlated with my own experience as a chronic sufferer. I have a dimly lit space to hide in when needed, and with all the color-addressable lighting available these days — the ceiling lights being Twinkly’s Strings — I can switch it up if I want a brighter environment.

The entire apartment is, shall we say, “eclectically” decorated, so there’s a lot going on. It certainly isn’t for everyone, but I’m super happy with it. (And my partner has yet to veto any of my decorative choices, so it’s a win-win.) 

Tell us about your desk. 

This is the Friska Stockholm corner desk, an electric sit-stand option I hoped would encourage me to stand more frequently during the day. Alas, I am a creature of bad habits. It does, however, give me plenty of space to create a sort of split workspace — I sit on the right when using my main two displays for work, while the left-hand “monitor” is actually a Huion Kamvas 24 Pro 4K display drawing tablet. If I want to focus on creative stuff, I can just swivel around.

If I can get around to sorting out the jungle of cables underneath, I’ll start looking for a compact electric treadmill that I can use to get some steps in to make full use of the desk’s sit / stand capabilities.

The chair is a Razer Enki Pro, which was an old review sample I retained a couple of years ago before joining The Verge. It’s taken a beating since then, having moved apartments and been dragged to various LAN events, but it’s holding up well aside from a few scratches. You can see I’ve started concealing them using stickers. The upholstery is still in good condition, though, and I can see this lasting me several years. I certainly wouldn’t advocate spending this much on a gaming-style chair unless you had specific comfort requirements, but I’m happy with it overall. Plus, it’s black and green!

Here’s the big one: tell us about the various tech devices you’re using. 

My main monitors are an MSI Optix G271 and a hand-me-down Acer Predator XB271HK 4K — both 27 inches. The PC itself is running an Intel i9-11900K, an MSI RTX 3080 GPU, and 64GB of DDR4 RAM. I’ll upgrade to DDR5 at some point, but for now, this is more than enough to handle both my gaming and creative hobbies.

The keyboard is a Razer Huntsman V2, which is… fine. I really like how plush the wrist rest is, and the built-in audio controllers at the top right feel nice and tactile. The mechanical keys are a tad clunky, though, so I’ll be looking to go the DIY kit route when this eventually bites the dust. The mouse is a Razer Basilisk V3, which is one of the more ergonomic gaming mice I’ve used. I’d opt for a vertical mouse, but I really hate switching my gear around between work and gaming-optimized peripherals, and this hasn’t given me any reason to make the switch. 

I’m still recovering from my “RGB in all of the things” phase, so if I’m being honest, I mostly just appreciate that I can synchronize the lighting effects across my Razer Synapse-supported gear (as janky as it is) without messing with third-party apps. Are they the best? Far from it, but they work for me and my black / green theming!

I frequently play D&D online, so a lot of the other equipment supports both that and attending virtual meetings. My webcam is a Logitech Brio, which has been super reliable and still holds up against more specialized “streaming” webcams like Elgato’s facecam series. There’s a Logitech Litra Glow light atop my monitors and an Elgato Key Light to keep me illuminated in the dark environment. I use an old Rode NT1-A XLR microphone for my audio input, which my partner has had knocking around for years, and an Elgato Stream Deck that houses custom profiles for my creative applications and D&D games.

More generally, I have a 3-in-1 Belkin charger on the left to keep my phone and Apple Watch topped up during the day and an Amazon Echo Dot smart speaker. We have several around the flat to control various smart home settings, but having one in my office also keeps me alerted to any deliveries. I even use it as a speaker output for my PC when I can’t be bothered to wear headphones.

You have several interesting figures on your shelves.

The majority were actually gifted! I’d never call myself a hoarder, but I used to have a real issue with accumulating unnecessary stuff that would just pile up around me. I had a cull of figurines and cuddly toys a few years ago, so I’ve been trying to keep on top of it since. The “Sneki” Razer mascot and Cthulhu squishmallow really suit the green theme of the room, and I commissioned the crocheted Gengar plushie from a friend because it’s been my favorite pokémon since Gen 1.

The crow lamp is affectionately called “Dick,” after both DC’s Nightwing and a real crow I rescued last year who was very unhappy about being rehabilitated for an injured wing. I think my fingers are still recovering from the pecking he gave me.

That’s a really snazzy shelf to the left of your window — it’s almost a work of art in itself.

Thank you! That was actually a very recent purchase from TK Maxx (the UK version of T.J. Maxx). I wanted something to fill that space, and it was a perfect fit. It also gives me more space to display some smaller knickknacks, like the to-scale 3D-printed animal skulls (that I still need to paint gold) and the beautiful beaded fox figurine my parents gifted me for Christmas. There are a lot of moons and stars throughout the space, too, so to quote the Big Lebowski himself, I think it really ties the room together.

I also admire the framed drawing to the left of your monitor (the one with the animal skull) and its motto. 

It’s a print by artist Sarah Gordon (aka ScaryGorgon) that I purchased at London’s MCM Comic Con last year. I really vibe with macabre art as a weird kid who was often told my own illustrations were “a bit morbid,” so I love supporting other artists where I can. The gilded crow prints from Katie Whittle were purchased at the same event, and I’d say around 80 percent of the artwork around the apartment generally has been sourced from small online creators. Check out the artist alleys at your own local events where you can; there’s treasure to be found!

Is there anything else in your workspace / room that I didn’t call out and should have?

I’m still filling the bookcases behind my desks, but we have a healthy collection of tabletop roleplay and 5e Dungeons & Dragons sourcebooks right now. The book collection generally is a bit all over the place and not well organized. I try to keep all my art references and illustration magazines together, but it’s kind of blending with my small collection of comics and graphic novels.

The blanket situation under the desks is also usually where our dog Dylan, an elderly cocker spaniel, spends his day hanging out with me, but it’s too hot for him there at the moment!

Photos by Jess Weatherbed / The Verge