Before I made the first Lone Birch lap desk, I never owned one. I always used a pillow or whatever I could find to hold my laptop and be comfortable while I worked from home. It wasn’t even something I thought about purchasing and I think it’s because I never came across a lap desk like ours (because they don’t exist!).
Personally, I try to buy products that will last and I’m willing to pay a higher price for it. The way I look at it is: if I’m going to buy a crappy $40 product, 4 times over a 2 year span, I might as well buy something for $160 that will last forever. So when I learned about the kinds of lap desks that were on the market, I was disappointed I couldn’t find one with quality materials and simple design, so I decided to make my own. That’s how the Lone Birch lap desk came to be.
It wasn’t that lap desks didn’t exist (they’ve existed for centuries), I just didn’t find one that was simple in design, had high quality materials, and looked comfortable. I found a lot of lap desks lacked at least one of those things (and still do). Personally I don’t need more than a wood surface to hold my laptop and maybe a phone, but I don’t need to stand them upright, I just need a surface where they won’t fall off. I was never a fan of packing features into a design, I like to let the materials do the talking.
When I first launched our lap desk, I honestly had no idea it would be this successful. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one looking for a lap desk that was simple and was made with high quality materials! People don’t want bells and whistles, they just want simple design and they want craftsmanship, and they’re willing to pay for it. I can’t tell you how many people have purchased a lap desk from us because they’re tired of buying the same, cheaply made one from Target over and over.
What humbled me the most was when we started getting the 5 star reviews. Some words include “heirloom” and “iconic”, which honestly floored me. I knew we were making something special, but I never thought it would get to that level. So if I’m answering the question, no, you probably don’t need a lap desk. But that’s because you haven’t experienced ours yet. Check out some of our other amazing 5 star reviews here: https://www.lonebirch.co/products/lap-desk.