Designer's Toolkit: 5 brilliant buys for your creative work life

If you've ever sent a link to a beautifully impractical object to a friend with the message "I need this immediately but have absolutely no reason to own it," you'll understand the spirit behind I Can't Afford This But Maybe She Can. What began as a shared obsession between art director George Wu and illustrator Malika Favre—cataloguing the most delightful and ridiculous things the design world had to offer—has quietly become one of the best curated shops on the internet.

The Bazaar, as they call it, brings together more than 500 handpicked objects from over 125 indie brands and makers: homeware, fashion, art, tech, stationery and the occasional glorious misfit. Everything is selected with taste, humour and a healthy disregard for boring.

For the creative who loves a well-made thing but doesn't always have the hours to hunt for it, this place is a gift. Here are five brilliant products currently living rent-free in our heads.

1. Logistics Manifiesto Vest by David Méndez Alonso

Your office, turned into fashion. David Méndez Alonso—multidisciplinary artist, fashion designer and self-declared Outsider from Galicia, Spain—has created a vest so wonderfully unhinged it deserves its own manifesto (which, appropriately, it has). Covered in colour-blocked pockets of every size and persuasion, it's equal parts utility and absurdist theatre.

David's work spans fashion, sculpture, painting and installation, all united by his "beauty of error" motto. He's collaborated with the likes of Adidas, Nike and H&M, and exhibited from London to Beijing. But this vest might be his finest hour. A wearable studio. A portable toolbox. An extremely good conversation starter.

2. Don't Worry, Be Late Clock by Marco Oggian & Samuel Canay

Ticking clocks are for people who aren't already running late. But this one, a glorious creation by Spanish design studio Brutto, makes no such demands. It's silent. It's graphic. And it has the visual confidence of a Bauhaus poster that's heading out for a very good time.

Marco Oggian founded Brutto in 2020, built around the idea that "what is beautiful is bad, and what is bad is beautiful." Born in Venice, now based in Spain, he's worked with Apple, Nike, Vogue and Zara. And his passion is making designs that are both democratic and delightful.

This clock was co-designed with Samuel Canay, graphic designer and fellow Brutto collaborator. Together, they've made something that doesn't just tell the time; it gently tells you to relax about it.

3. Laptop & Pencil Cases by YKRA

These will probably be the most cheerful cases your cables, pens and laptop have ever called home. YKRA's range is inspired by vintage hiking gear with a sharp nostalgia for the 90s: tough cotton canvas, chunky metal zips, and colours bold enough to spot across any studio floor. They're made to last and made to look good doing it.

Whether you're stashing a sketchbook or a MacBook, there's something quietly joyful about owning a case this well considered. It's the kind of thing you reach for every day and quietly feel a bit smug about.

4. Chroma Scissors by Craighill

Scissors have no business being this attractive. Craighill's Chroma range comes in red, blue, yellow, all-black or cool stainless steel, and each pair cuts with the kind of clean, satisfying precision that makes opening a parcel feel like an event. These are the scissors you leave on your desk on purpose.

Brooklyn-based Craighill was founded in 2015 by designer Hunter Craighill, with a philosophy centred on objects that are both beautiful and functional. The studio is obsessed with the tactile pleasure of well-made things; that cosmic connection you feel when an object just gets it. The Chroma Scissors get it.

5. The Shipping Box Bag by Nik Bentel Studio

Yes, it's a bag shaped like a cardboard box. No, it's not a joke. Or rather, it is a joke, but an extremely well-executed one. Nik Bentel Studio's Shipping Box Bag replicates every detail of a humble parcel: the folded structure, the shipping labels, the "handle with care" energy... only rendered in vegan leather with a magnetic opening that mimics a box flap. It's small, slightly absurd, and genuinely thought-provoking.

The New York studio, which designs, manufactures and markets its own objects, has a gift for turning throwaway culture on its head. (Previous viral hits include the Pasta Bag.) And that's important, because what we discard says as much about us as what we treasure.