An Office “Battlestation” for a Designer and Buyer at an Online Retailer

A Virtual Tour of My Desk at PulseTV

Khalil Ali
5 min readFeb 13, 2017

If you’ve never heard the term battlestation used in an office setting, don’t feel too left out. All it refers to is the gadgets, setup, and area you put your computer. I’m certainly not in a position to post to /r/battlestations since my rig isn’t nearly as fancy (and I’m not really a techy guy when it comes to computers). Heck they’d laugh me out of the place for simply using a Mac.

But I wanted to share my setup here at the PulseTV office. I spend most of the day Photoshopping, video editing, and researching new products as a buyer.

1. Pile of Products

I consider myself organized, but this part of the desk gets a pass from the neat freak in me. It’s a collection of samples I’m evaluating, stuff that’s coming in soon, and stuff waiting for a video. I need to shoot that Jensen boombox one sometime this week, so I’m making sure I know how to use it before Zack and Anisa get a hold of it.

I tested some new earbuds and speakers that I can’t wait to get in stock! Some of these samples and open products wind up in our Box O’ Junk, among other goodies.

2. Photobooth Pictures

These are all from Zack’s wedding! Fun times with the rest of the PulseTV gang.

3. Pen Holder

Originally it was just a dollar store glass jar, but my Secret Santa (Amber!) got this Bulls koozie that fits perfectly over it. I love it, though its starting to make me feel a little depressed with the current state of our team…

4. Self-Refurbished Headphones

I’ve had this same pair for 4 years at the office for one reason: it still sounds great. They’re loud, deliver excellent bass and remind me why I love SoundLogic products. Constant use while video editing started wearing them down, so I replaced the ear pads, taped the microphone after it broke open one day, and reenforced plastic seams with some of our Rapid Fix Plastic Adhesive. I hope it lasts another 4 years, I’ve really gotten used to its sound profile.

5. Makerbot 3D Printer Giveaway

We went to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Vegas this year in searching for new tech products, and I snagged this 3D-printed nut and bolt from Makerbot. I fidget around with it while I’m rendering a video or something — it’s therapeutically fun! If you don’t have a 3D printer of your own, you can actually request a free sample from them here!

While we didn’t wind up purchasing any 3D printers we picked up a few cool things like the Universal Phone Holster by Ghostek.

6. Monitor Stand with Built-In Speakers

We sold this item a while ago, and plenty of my coworkers also picked one up for their desks before it sold out. It’s great for organization — I slide my keyboard under it when I leave for the day, and there’s a nice tray for all the SD cards I need. The built-in speakers let me crank up the volume for the debut of each new product video.

My desktop background changes every hour, and most (like this one) come from Unsplash. Give it a try — everything is 100% free to do whatever you want with them, and they have some fantastic landscapes!

7. Anker Ergonomic Mouse

Like I said, I’m constantly in Photoshop making digital ads, product photos, and web elements, and video editing for an hour or two at a time. This is the most comfortable mouse I’ve used (and a steal at $20!) but I admit it took some time getting used to it. The mouse usually baffles anyone popping over to use my desk, but I am the only Mac user in the office, so people usually stay away.

8. Nerd Trinkets

I don’t have many toys at the office, but most of these came from secret Santas over the years. I have a sweet Funko Pop Goku, a Darth Vader mint tray, and you can’t really see it in this picture, but I have a little R2D2 in an air plant terrarium. Turns out I found a way to kill 2 air plants…

9. Earthquake Mugs

One of my favorite personal orders from our own site: Stainless Steel Earthquake Mugs. They were an As Seen on TV product that has a suction cup on the bottom that prevents spills if you accidentally bump it around. I have complete confidence in them being directly next to my computer, phone, keyboard or anything — you cannot knock them over! I wish we still had them in stock, I bought a bunch as gifts last Christmas. I bought two so I can keep my cold water in one, and have another for hot tea or cocoa. The mugs are differentiated with an etched Game of Thrones Direwolf using one of our old engraving pens we sold.

Winter (and Hot Tea) is Coming

10. Pen

I’m not kidding, I love this pen! I got it from our old pound of pens deal. We used to sell a pound’s worth of junk pens (misprints, overstock, miscellaneous stock) and sent them out. I snagged a few, but this one writes like a dream. The pen has information for CKLQ 880: Manitoba’s Country Hits Radio Station. I can’t believe it found its way here in Tinley Park!

So that’s it for the virtual tour of my desk. Just wanted to show it off and talk about some of our cool stuff — we really stand behind everything we sell, and it shows when we buy it for ourselves! I also have a TON of things sitting around my apartment, but that’s for another blog post.

Total PulseTV Products Used For My Office “Battlestation”: 9

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Khalil Ali

Creative Director, Buyer, Video Editor, Photoshopper for online retailer PulseTV.com. Loves to write, hike, play guitar and take pictures.