A fair amount of South Africa’s workforce is returning to the office, whether full time or within a hybrid structure. The adjustment can sometimes be overwhelming, especially if you’ve adapted to being at home, work…(home-work or work-home?!) anyways – full-time working from home these past two years.

Many people used to like the idea of personalising their working space with the things they love – whether souvenirs from travel destinations, photographs of their pets, cards from colleagues or service gifts from clients… Would one still be allowed to do that, especially with all the Covid-19 restrictions forced upon us? Is this one of those overwhelming adjustments – not having personal stuff at your desk (perhaps because it’s only a hot desk). Who knows, but we could test the waters…

Introducing Portable Decorations

Don’t worry about not being able to carry just one (or more) of your characteristics in the form of art and craft everywhere you go. As part of Decorating Month, we’re introducing portable office and stationery decoration that could quickly form part of your work life and won’t be too much of a hassle carrying or transporting around but still spark inspiration on being productive.

Dry Erase Board & Desktop Tray
It is effortless to make and will slide right in next to your laptop into your laptop bag, making it easy to carry. It can either be used as a dry-erase board or a desktop tray. Purchase a photo frame from your nearest PNA store, bedazzle it according to your liking and use it for your daily to-do list, explaining concepts or even portraying do-not-disturb messages when you’re on a call.

DIY Laptop Vinyl Skin
No need to create extra space for this one in your laptop bag! Creating your own laptop skin adds a fun touch of colour and personality to your laptop. Watch this 35-minute video to show you how to create them with Cricut and tips for applying them.

Upcycled Foldable Laptop Stand
Stand out with a DIY foldable laptop stand upcycled from any cereal cardboard as light as a feather and easy to carry around. Watch this short video to see how it’s done. If you’re interested in trying, here’s where to find the tiny neodymium magnets.

5-Minute Pen Holder for Notebooks
If you fancy Stabilo pens and need them close to your notebook to help you stay organised, this tutorial is just for you! All you would need is an elastic ribbon in any colour/s you like, scissors, thread and a needle – let’s test those stitching skills…

A Splendid Mousepad

Even though it’s autumn and winter will soon come creeping in, choose to keep some flowers on your desk for the next couple of months. Get rid of those basic, plain company mousepads and create a brand new one in an hour. You’ll need fabric mod podge, cork round, fabric, scissors, and sponge brush from your nearest PNA store.

These ideas are basic, but hopefully, they’ve inspired you to think about more to personalise – your diary, water bottle, laptop bag, and whatever else makes part of your daily routine! Happy Decorating Month, PNA stationers, creators and innovators.