Twentysomething Rents
I sort of love the tape dispenser that sits on my desk at work. It’s at least 40 years old and could take out any mugger who walks into the office to steal my purse–it must weigh five pounds. It’s a mid-century tanker desk in hand-held form and I’m positive I’ll ask for it when I leave (or stuff it in said purse if ever fired). It got me thinking about what other sorts of relics the university still hoards.
Enter surplus. Every university has a surplus department where old office furniture and supplies, media equipment and lab wares go to die. Most hold public auctions where you can buy the items secondhand for thrift-store prices. If you’re a design blog and HGTV fiend like me, this is exciting news.
Coupled with the country’s Mad-Men-induced tizzy over mid-century design, what bloggers are calling “vintage industrial” builds off of the 50s and 60s transition from factories to skyscrapers. Worn metal desks and bookshelves, factory lighting and manufacturing wares found on Ebay and Etsy seem to be popular touches for edgy interiors, but also expensive interiors.
University of California, San Diego’s surplus department has listings for metal furniture, chalk boards and punch card drawers with a similar look, many for under $100. Also on trend, you can find lab glassware and scales.
San Diego State University also has a surplus department, but its site is less user-friendly and I don’t know if it does public auctions. I’m sure other government offices have similar departments.
Ohhh I wish I could shop your surplus! To think, I almost went to UCSD. If only I’d known : )
xo katie