New Desk Shipping Drama

My first desk, the Single K Modern desk. Shown with my first product, the Maple Cut chair.

At the start of pandemic I took a left turn from only building nightstands and designed and produced a desk.  It was a small desk, great for kids or for adults who were tight on space.  It was popular and I built and shipped plenty of them.  A common request was to make a larger one since it was only 34” wide.  Two years later, stopped producing the small desk \ and focused on nightstands again.  Early this year I decided to  reopen the desk party and design another.  I know I could have just kept building the previous design but part of it is the fun of doing new things.  I wanted this new desk to be larger, sufficient for those who have more of a permanent work from home situation. So the Letthet desk was born. 

The first time through any product involves a lot of learning, and this curve was steeper than usual.  To start with the new desk is larger than anything I’ve shipped before, and this required a box that’s larger than the paper supplier stocks.  I had to order custom boxes at a relatively high cost each.  After doing so, I had to pack the desk in the box in the best way to ensure it arrived without damage.  I remember thinking as I packed the first desk that it was so heavy.  The whole packed box was just shy of 80lb.  It shipped to Brooklyn, NY and the buyer notified me that it arrived with a small amount of damage.  When something is that heavy it’s hard for everyone to handle and more likely to be damaged. 

The new desk, Letthet Modern Desk.

I redesigned the desk milling out the inside of the desk top to that it’s lighter.  This time I also added a plywood skeleton inside the box to protect it during shipping.  It shipped at 68lb and arrived in good shape.  I thought it could be lighter still and milled out even more for the 3rd desk.  I haven’t shipped this one but it’s looking like 58lb.  

It takes extra time to mill out extra weight.  There’s a cost to time and so I have to make sure it’s worth it. The current version of the desk is easier to lift and feels like it will be better for everyone down the line as it goes from my shop to UPS to customer’s front stoop.  Right now I’m thinking about how customers unpack the desk with the plywood armor inside.  It’s put together with brad nails and can be hard to open.  I need to include a tool that can pry it open.

So much to do! New things to design!
Isaac