Feature

My Desk: Ed Morris

I call this Base Camp 1. The office is Base Camp 2. I sit at this desk and write quite a lot, sometimes late into the night. If I have something I need to really focus on, I work at this desk. If I am trying to solve a problem, I don't like anything to do with advertising to be around me.

My Desk: Ed Morris
My Desk: Ed Morris

I have two kittens - one called Sunny, a tortoiseshell, and one called Cloudy. This is Cloudy (1). Cloudy is a nightmare. I have to lock him out of the room. They are Maine Coon thoroughbred cats and grow very big. They are supposed to be docile, but not in this case.

I play a lot of music. I had a residency at a pub for four months and played there once a week, singing and playing my own material as well as some Tom Waits. It was the most terrifying thing I've ever done.

The acoustic guitar (2) is a Gibson Kalamazoo, which is my favourite-sounding guitar. It's not expensive. The ukulele (3) is a very collectable 1927 koa wood Martin.

I picked up my first ukulele in the States for $6. Way back, I played once with the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain. I've used their music in ads I've made, so you could say I'm partly responsible for the resurgence of the ukulele in the UK.

I am big into the I Ching. It's a very interesting guide for life. It's an ancient Chinese text and is used as a form of guidance or divination. It centres on battling the ego, so it's a good reality check. This Post-it note (4) reminds me of humility and modesty. Humility and modesty are presented in a trite way in Western thought, but they are tools you can use to avert negative fate, according to the I Ching.

Another note (5) says "Franklin Gothic Demi bold". It's a font I'm slightly obsessed with. It's very readable.

I've got quite a collection of street art, although I acquired it all before it was a genre - it was just vandalism at the time. It's gone full circle now. My home is full of what has become the visual cliches of the previous generation.

That picture (6) is by a guy (a street artist) called Space Invader. I bought that a long time ago. It's made out of tiles.

The artwork (7) in the fireplace is by Ben Eine, the artist whose work was presented to Barack Obama. It says "one million pound vandal". Eine created this for Banksy when he sold his first piece for £1 million.

The school photo (8) is of me. It's sobering; it's a good marker of time.

This candlestick holder (9) is very old. I like bronze statuary. It's a bit of an obsession, as is Greek mythology.

The piece of card (10) with "Ed" written on it is from my son, and my daughter made that green candle holder (11).

I have two vintage radios. The larger one is a valve radio (12) and, when it is switched on, it takes a few minutes for the sound to arrive. But the sound is fantastic; really rich. The little one is an old Sanyo (13) from the 60s.

The Dalai Lama model (14) is unbelievably lifelike. It came from India. He's got tiny hairs on his head and its looks like a Ron Mueck model. I like the idea of him sitting there and keeping an eye on me.

This painting (15) above me is an original Florence Engelbach, painted in the 30s.

The lamp (16) is by Poul Henningsen. It's designed to emit the best light possible on a desk. The light is just below the eyeline so you don't get any glare, but it illuminates the desk perfectly.

The rocket (17) is a 50s children's toy. I just love the look of it. The "slip it to me" sticker (18) is just a piece of pop art I like.

I use those paints and brushes (19), and I just write with a pen and pad. The drawers are full of notebooks, pens and old mobiles.

It's quite a condensed little corner.

Ed Morris is the creative partner at Rapier.