Designers Toolkit 5 Brilliant Buys For Your Creative Work Life

Creative Boom: Resources The Edit Designer's Toolkit: 5 brilliant buys for your creative work life Malika Favre and George Wu's curated bazaar, I Can't Afford This But Maybe She Can, is stacked with brilliant things. Here are five of our favourites for a designer's toolkit. Written By: Tom May 3 April 2026 Laptop & Pencil Cases by YKRA 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.

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While the article provides useful insights into tools for designers, it lacks groundbreaking information and primarily reinforces existing practices in the industry.