Aerelight A1

Office job or no, you likely spend a decent amount of time at a desk. So you understand the value of space, both on and around your work surface. Thoroughly kickable cords sprouting beanstalk-like from a surge protector are the enemy, as are bulky lighting fixtures and all but the choicest knickknacks. Fortunately, you’re not alone in that thinking.

The Aerelight A1 is the most space-efficient desktop necessity you’ll find on the market — and it’s also the culmination of eight years of work by OTI Lumionics, an award-winning team of engineers from the Department of Materials Science & Engineering at the University of Toronto. The lamp is composed of a single anodized-aluminum frame topped with a nearly paper-thin OLED panel, angled for optimum light radiation and free of the mercury and lead found in older light sources. The base, a neat square of American walnut, serves as a wireless charger for any devices compatible with Qi and PMA 1.5+ wireless charging, saving space and sparing you stress over extraneous cords. And since it’s activated and dimmed by a mere touch anywhere on the aluminum frame, it has no clumsy knobs or switches. It’s a confluence of cutting-edge features that are set to become standard — and it’ll make that centuries-old stalwart, the desk, feel new again.

$299