Inspired by design leader Hardik Pandya’s Stuff I Use, I dug through some old folders to find photos of my past workspaces. Each one touches on a unique chapter of my adult life. As Hardik says, “It’s fun to share things you use.”
Here are my workspaces across the past 15 years.
After graduating from the University of Vermont, my first job was at its freshwater ecology lab on Lake Champlain. I worked as a research assistant helping graduate students. This was my workstation for a bit, featuring a Hawaiian lamp I inherited from my predecessor (lol). I’m so happy I took this photo.
When I moved to San Francisco with little in my pocket, I worked in operations at a consulting firm in the financial district. The office was right next to the Transamerica Pyramid, which I could see out the window here. Not my favorite job, but it got me back on my feet. I was here a couple years before transitioning into tech and product design.
Apple products arrive. My first UX design job was in Palo Alto at a small startup. I rode my yellow track bike from our San Francisco apartment to Caltrain every day—you can see the schedule taped under the monitor here. Alice, the company’s recruiter, sat next to me. She got me a tea set as a wedding gift. I miss her.
A couple years later I got a job in the city at a boutique design agency. I loved this job. The studio was in a beautiful industrial space in the Mission that I rode my bike to every day. I added a rear-view mirror above the monitor so I could see the rest of the studio sitting behind me.
At the agency, we were allowed to work from home one day a week. I was so proud of this home office setup, off the living room in our cozy apartment in Noe Valley. It had a great view of some cute houses and the church from Sister Act down the street.
The pandemic hit while we were in Oakland by Lake Merritt. With my husband now working from home with me, we needed a second work setup. Here’s a makeshift standing desk on our bar-height kitchen table. Alan Cooper’s About Face can be seen as my mousepad. I still have never opened that book.
After pin-balling around a bit, we landed back in SF in an east-facing modern condo. I loved it there. This was the place we welcomed our son into our lives and juggled baby duties around a full-time WFH schedule. Ruby, a rubber tree we adopted from a friend, can be seen at left. I miss her.
After a few more life twists, we landed in San Luis Obispo and continued to work remotely. Here’s the work setup there. Nothing special. Got a few new tchotchkes and some speakers.
New York! This is my current home office setup. Great lighting by an east-facing window. As a parent, I’m an avid art collector—kid paintings and drawings are on every wall. I moved to New York while working remotely, but after starting this new job I’m here two days a week.
Back in office IRL! After six years. This is my current desk at work. I’m still in shock I work here. The view is absolutely insane—the skyline of Manhattan in 360 degrees. I spend a lot of time here thinking about cloud networking.
I always love a good photo collection. Collecting and reflecting on these photos was really fun. So many stories and colleagues come to mind when looking at these desks. So many coffee spills and late nights. So many breakdowns and breakthroughs.
Here’s to the next 15 years (?). God I can’t believe I still have 15 years of work ahead of me. 😐
Date
July 20, 2026
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