<Very OT, for holiday shopping> - The Ultimate Mouse Pad
worth.com
by Susan Redstone
September 19, 2000
The mouse pad has joined the pen, desk clock, and diary as the latest indicator of your office style. If you want to upgrade this vital but often overlooked accessory, consider the following stylish alternatives.
Acid Mouse Pad
Karim Rashid's collection of $12 graphic, acid-colored mouse pads showcases his signature cross, or plus sign and floating rectangles. The New York-based designer calls them his "common vernacular for the technological renaissance." Says Rashid: "Symbols are the new language replacing words." Does that mean the keyboard's on its way out? totemdesign.com
Well Padded
Hermès, the French saddler par excellence, has crafted the crème de la crème of mouse pads. Made of rich-smelling Gulliver leather, it is reversible and comes in three flip-sided color combinations: gold and orange, "Rouge Hermès" and plain red, and black and "blue jean." At approximately $160 each, they're already a hit in Europe and land in the U.S. this month.
Best-Dressed Desk
For designer logo fans, Gucci does a sleek mouse pad in black canvas with its signature interlocking Gs. If being surrounded by designer duds soothes your soul, this addition to your workspace may be worth the $70 investment. gucci.com
Archi-tech Support
New York's downtown design mecca, Troy, stocks a sleek black mouse pad designed by British architect Norman Foster, who recently restored Berlin's Reichstag. Made in Germany of perdur, a high-tech composite that feels like a cross between leather and suede, the rectangular pad comes artfully packaged in a slim gray box. At $25, it's the epitome of minimalist computer-chic.
Talking Mouse Pad
Hammacher Schlemmer has a mouse pad that doubles as a phone. It plugs into your PC and standard phone jack, enabling you to make and take calls while you click away. With the option of a headset and boom microphone or speaker phone, this FCC-approved gadget is $39.95. hammacher.com
Have It Your Way
For those who can't resist a gimmick, mousepad.com offers personalized, custom-made mouse pads. You pick the shape, color, and design, and they'll make it. They can also put a photograph on it. The mouse pads start at $500, for a minimum order of 250. mousepad.com./ |
