Technology is fantastic. I think we can all agree on that. Occasionally though it’s nice to step back and look at some of the products that support, augment, or really just simply make our technology look better. That’s exactly what I’m planning to do in this review. Grovemade is a company based in Portland, Oregon that has been making beautiful wood products since 2009. Originally starting with a wood case for the iPhone 4, Grovemade has since branched out (pun only partially intended) to create a line of wood and leather desk accessories. I’ll be looking at a few of these offerings including a monitor stand, pen cup, planter, and miniature dish in this Grovemade Desk Collection review.
Specifications
The Grovemade Desk Collection is available in either Walnut, or Maple. The following items are available:
- Monitor stand
- Laptop stand
- Keyboard stand for Apple keyboard
- Trackpad tray for Apple Magic Trackpad
- Mouse pad
- Wrist pad
- Pen cup
- Dish
- Large Planter
- Small Planter
- Desk Lamp
- iPhone dock
What’s in the Box
The contents of your Grovemade delivery will depend largely on what items you ordered. The box I received included all items neatly wrapped in paper, as well as several Grovemade stickers.
Design
There’s really just something amazing about quality wood products. Grovemade prides themselves on doing things “the hard way” and their hard work has resulted in some remarkable products. All Grovemade products are hand sanded and finished with a clear vegetable based oil that really brings out the beauty of the natural finish. I’ll be talking about the design of the monitor stand, pen cup, dish, and large planter from the Desk Collection. All of the items I received came in Walnut, and spoiler alert, they all look fantastic.
Up first is the monitor stand. Many monitor stands are relatively boring rectangles. The Grovemade monitor stand throws that idea on its head with a smooth curved design. The American Black Walnut wood is accompanied by natural cork feet, giving the stand a strong base to prevent slipping. The stand supports any monitor up to 200 pounds, and provides a 14” x 9.2” platform for your monitor. The open design provides 3.75” of clearance underneath for other desk items.
The pen cup, large planter, and dish — and even several of the items not reviewed here including the small planter and desk lamp — all have the same general dimensions and footprint, creating a consistent feel across these products. These items are all made from Oregon Claro Walnut, and all have natural cork feet as well.
The dish provides a small bowl for desk items such as paperclips, change, keys, etc. The 2.6” x 2.6” x 1” dish has a deep bowl cut out to hold these items. The dish can easily sit on top of the monitor stand along with your monitor as it is small and stays out of the way, provided your monitor doesn’t have a giant or awkwardly shaped footprint.
The pen cup has the same base dimensions as the dish, though it is taller with a 3” height. The pen cup has an aluminum lined interior with more natural cork at the base. The aluminum lining keeps the wood from getting marked up and the cork base provides a softer bed for your writing utensils, keeping any tips from being bent or broken against the aluminum liner.
The planter has nearly identical specs as the pen cup with one notable exception. Instead of the natural cork base at the bottom of the aluminum liner, the planter has a sort of plastic or resin at the bottom creating a more waterproof seal. This planter is perfect for growing some small plants, including smaller flowers or even some aromatics such as mint, or other types of herbs.
Ease of Use
It doesn’t honestly get much easier than putting the Grovemade products on your desk, then putting your monitor on the monitor stand, pens into the pen cup, and small items into the dish. Really the only even remotely challenging part of the products reviewed today would be growing something in the planter. If you aren’t horticulturally inclined, born without a green thumb, or really just don’t have your desk in an area conducive to growing things, the planter may just not be for you. Otherwise all you really need to do to get the most out of these products is set them up, and then admire how fantastic they look.
Performance
Just as these products are easy to use, there isn’t a whole lot to grade on performance. The monitor stand raises your monitor to a much more comfortable level, keeping it closer to eye-level for most people. This promotes better posture and keeps you in a much more naturally ergonomic position. The design allows for plenty of room for storing items underneath the stand too.
The dish is an appropriate receptacle for small desk items, and really just stays out of the way. The pen cup will comfortably hold around ten to twelve pens, pencils, or pen-shaped items. You can probably cram a few more in there if you really want to, but there’s no sense making things difficult on yourself, or your pen cup. The planter’s performance will rely almost entirely on your prowess in botany.
Price/Value
These are premium, hand-made, hand-oiled, and hand-finished items and as that sort of craftsmanship comes with a premium price. The monitor stand is $119 while the pen cup and planter are $39. The dish is the smallest and most inexpensive item at $29. Sure, you can find a monitor stand for less money, but it will be plastic, or maybe some cheap metal. I can promise you that those stands aren’t going to look anywhere close to as good as the Grovemade monitor stand either. The same can be said about the pen cup, planter, and dish. Cheaper alternatives are out there, but you’ll get a cheaper product to go with the cheaper price. Grovemade products are made from quality wood, and are built to last. You’re going to get what you pay for with these items.
Wrap Up
If you’re looking for a quick way to give your desk some class, Grovemade products are definitely worth a look. These are quality products that will support your technology, and they’ll look spectacular while doing so.
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