What's in my bag? — Karen Morrill-Mcclure

About the bag

This is my most recent backpack purchase. I mostly use it around the house since I'm not going anywhere right now. It's from Salish Style ($65). The design is called Raven's Cross Beam and is by Dylan Thomas (Coast Salish artist from the Lyackson First Nation). Besides the great design, I like the smooth front, the plentitude of pockets inside and the padded straps.

What's inside the bag

My Diop face mask ($15) is comfortable, adjustable and looks great. I wear glasses, so I appreciate the nose pincher and it has fully adjustable straps. Diop is a Black-owned company that makes clothing (and masks) from Ankara (a fabric used throughout West Africa).

PowerAdd external battery ($13). It's small enough to slip in a pocket when I'm worried about my phone running out of power and it comes in red.

Hanote Spiral Notebook ($19, 3pk). I have exacting requirements for a notebook: thick pages (no ink bleed through), spiral binding (so I can flip the cover all the way to the back), plain front (so I can personalize with stickers), and hardcover (so I can write in it while walking around if necessary) which come from many years as a consultant and a teacher. These notebooks meet all those requirements, are pretty inexpensive, and come in a three pack so I can have one for my D&D adventure, one for personal notes (shown here), and one as a spare.

Uni -Ball Vision Elite BLX ($10, 5ct). My favorite pens in the whole world (right now). Bold tips and colors but infused with black so they are always readable. If you like a bold pen and haven't tried these, you really should.

What's on your Desk?

We are changing things up a bit and want to hear about that unusual and unusually useful items that you keep on your desk. Start by sending an email to claudia@cool-tools.org with a photo of 4 interesting things on your desk (you can use your phone). If you get a reply from us, fill out the form we send you, and we’ll pay you $50 if we run your submission in our What’s in my bag? newsletter and blog.