Designer Recommended: Madeleine Magill’s Favorite Creative Tools and Gear
Here, Madeleine shares her favorite products.
Creative Factor contributing editor Madeleine Magill was born and raised in New York City’s West Village, but moved to Ohio to attend college in a 200-person town. Go figure. She joined our team last year to help us run the editorial side of our publication, and this summer she is back with us at our downtown HQ interviewing all sorts of interesting people.
Being a New Yorker at heart, she obviously was born with good taste. Here, she shares her favorite products, tools, and creative gear, including the bag she carries everywhere, the Swedish bicycle on her dream shopping list, and her obsession with a certain SoHo-based artist’s sculptures.
1. The Products I Use the Most in My Creative Life
If it looks like a Duck, swims like a Duck, and quacks like a Duck… Image: Baggu.
I recently bought the Duck Bag from Baggu for my return to Creative Factor HQ because it gives the feel of a laid-back work bag. The Duck is more stylish and durable than an average tote bag and it fits everything you need. I like that I can hold it by its handles or use the shoulder strap depending on the vibe. Plus, it has a zipper.
Purchase it now for $42: Baggu Duck Bag
2. The Most Unexpected Tool I Use in My Line of Work
The smallest, lightest Theragun yet.
I’ve been running along the Hudson River since age 11. First straggling behind my mom; then straggling behind my high school track team; and these days, I go on my own up and down the West Side Highway.
But being a runner comes with its share of injuries. Last summer, my physical therapist put me onto the Theragun mini, a travel-size massage gun that releases knots and improves muscle mobility. This thing is small but mighty. I use it after I run or when I’m feeling tense, and it relieves pain like magic.
Purchase it now: $199.
3. Products Outside My Work Life That I Obsess Over
The memory foam in these pillows conform to your head.
It’s hard to find a good pillow. It can’t be too flat or too firm, just as for Goldilocks, it has to be just right. My pillow from Sleep Number is exactly that. (If this makes me sound like a geriatric, then sure.) I owe it to the brand’s quiz, which asks you a couple of simple questions about how you sleep and then recommends a certain pillow for you. My whole family took the quiz and we each bought one — what exciting lives we lead! That was, of course, during the pandemic.
Purchase it now: $139.99
4. Best Product Ever (for under $20):
This light can create a “blue” room.
In my sophomore year of college, my roommate got Covid and needed to quarantine, so I moved into another dorm room. It was just for a few days, so I took some of the basics with me, including my lamp — it’s one of the few things in my life I obsess over and bring everywhere.
There’s nothing fancy about this lamp, other than the amazing light-changing LED light bulb that’s screwed into it. Interior home lighting can affect your mood, but this one can reflect it. It has a remote control with 16 different color settings and two everyday light temperatures (soft white and daylight) plus different brightness options. You might be wondering, when would I use all those different colors on the remote? The answer is for dancing.
Purchase it now: $9.98.
5. Favorite Gift to Give to My Creative Friends
These knives look like miniature sculptures.
I like giving people something they can use with their hands that feels personal. Whether it’s something they can use when they cook, a photo album to flip through, or a brand new journal for writing (bonus points if you write some entries in it for them). I recently gave my parents a set of cheese knives from CB2 to go with a couple of cheeses I brought home for them from Amsterdam.
Purchase it now for $19.95: Set of 3 Cheese Knives
6. My Favorite App on My Phone That Says A Lot About Me
I downloaded Duolingo when I recently studied abroad in Sweden because I felt like I was surrounded by gibberish. I used it every morning on my commute to school and it made learning feel like a fun game. Thanks to this app and my amazing Swedish professor, Eric, my understanding of Swedish grew a lot. The company built a streak feature because it believes in habit-building for language acquisition, and they knew what they were doing.
7. My Last (Product) Splurge:
Use Tidbyt to check the weather, track train times & follow sports.
I caved a few months ago and purchased an Apple Watch with a cellular plan, which allows me to leave my phone at home and go on a run while listening to music. No hands, worth it!
Purchase it now for $249: Apple Watch SE
8. The Top Item on My Dream Shopping List
Monark’s work bike is on Madeleine’s dream shopping list.
The Monark work bicycle put to good use in Sweden.
Last September I went on a Swedish island tour along some highways, through forests, and on a dirt road with a Monark bicycle. The cliff top views and greenery might have made the experience more romantic, but I am positive that this bicycle and I had a connection. It felt efficient but stable and responsive to my needs. Ever since then, I’ve wanted one. It’s not realistic for a NYC walk-up because it’s heavy (52 lbs!), but it’s also dreamy-looking and I want it.
9. The Product That I Need For My Creative Work That Doesn’t Yet Exist
I need a tool that can replicate my style of note taking/organization method. Then, all I’d have to do is be present in the classroom and go back to those notes after class to jot a few things down. Transcription tools like OtterAI are helpful, but what you get from AI right now isn’t conducive to learning because the result is not framed by your personal thinking.
10. Favorite Work of Art That I Own or Want to Own:
Leopoldo Gout’s artwork is as fiery as his personality.
In 2023, my friend invited me to her uncle’s party at his downtown art studio, situated beneath a restaurant and wine cellar. That night there was live music, cocktails, and dancing, but his paintings were what really stole the show. His style — ephemeral, hazy, and dynamic — is not able to be replaced. I’d love to own a Leopoldo Gout sculpture, whose abstract paintings and sculptures also reflect his wonderful personality.
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