Bento = ERGONOMIC toolbox, Mobile TOP DRAWER, DESK organiser, Notebook STAND……..basically an ESSENTIAL ITEM…..and of course a Japanese lunchbox! 

A favourite part of my job is receiving goodies through the post to review and blog about……..So last Tuesday was to be my lucky day as we had the lovely Nicola Horn from dataflex come in to show us a few of their fab products, one of them being the cute little Addit Bento !

This lovely (yes I’m going to be using copious amounts of adjectives in this post) Ergonomic Toolbox was inspired by the Japanese lunch box which is called, you guessed it….. a Bento box.

“Along the way of designing the Addit Bento^® product series, we got inspired by how a Japanese lunchbox lets you organise, store and carry around your lunch for work. We decided it would be great to apply that concept to an ergonomic product and that is how the Addit Bento^® got its name.” 

– Robert Bronwasser.

Enough food induced salivation……..Here is the actual Bento we are blogging about.

So….What makes the Bento so darn desirable?

In today’s modern workplace there is a growing need for a small, portable, convenient top drawer. The Addit Bento  is the perfect flexible solution to the following working environments. (I had to really go to town Googling some of the following as they sound the same but are all slightly different….Plus Hot, Agile and Flexible sound just like yoga!!) Although I myself do not partake in any of the below, only yoga, I would still use the Bento.

• working from home

• working whilst commuting

• Shared desk environments or  Hot desking  

•  Agile Working

• Activity Based Working (ABW)

• Flexible Working

LOOKS Matter

The first thing I noticed when I was handed this box of delights was how neat it is. With its lovely rounded corners, minimalist design and compact cuteness when closed, and when opened acts solid and sturdy, looks appealing with its contrasting internal colour and dataflex ‘X’ design on the clever silicone inlay (trust me, tiny touches like these matter) Its deep but not too deep tray, and just basically feels really nice……..It has had lots of attention in the office and has been talked about a lot, and for a desk organiser this is great!

Easy DOES IT

The Bento is really easy to use….

Just open it up, fill with all your desired junk…upto 6kg of it, leave on your desk, use as a notebook/laptop stand, or transport your possessions about if you are into hot desking. Whether you are working from home (lucky you) or in the office, it neatly stores all your personal items, ergonomically supports your favourite devices up to 15″or paper documents and will support achieving a fabulously tidy workspace….yay.

“Notebook stand, tablet stand, in-line document holder and personal storage box combined into a single amazing package!”

This video will give you a better idea of how this little versatile box can positively impact your working space! Oh and I need to mention how much I adore this guys blazer!! So if Dataflex could send me a sample of this to blog about I would much appreciate it….and the pink elephant too….thanks.

Some like it HOT

As noted above Hot desking, Flexible and Agile working are now standard practice within many companies. Agile working in particular has become a popular concept being embraced……heard of “Scrum” rooms? These are activity based areas that serve small teams working on mini projects. Solid results are delivered quickly….. A Bento box would work great in this environment. (and no, I’m not encouraging you to bash your co worker in self defense like in an actual rugby Scrum!)

CLEAN Desk 

Nowadays modern work environments like these often apply a Bring your own device (BYOD) or clean desk policy……Cue, you guessed it, the Addit Bento. This clever box makes it possible for you to store and carry around your personal items, documents (A4) and office utensils from place to place. The Bento can even hold a device up to 12″

The video below shows how when not in use this ergonomic toolbox can be placed inside a Addit Bento monitor riser, which gives your desk an even tidier and clean look, and with more and more businesses adopting a clean desk policy, the Bento certainly steps up to the mark… win win.

SIMPLIFYING Specifications (with pictures) 

• Offers ergonomic and practical benefits for any type of workstation

• Dimensions (w x d x h): 355 x 250 x 50 – 240 mm

• Great for hot desking and agile working

• Tiltable cover has 4 ergonomic settings (enabling you to reap the benefits of a healthy body posture) and is height adjustable from 134-240 mm

• Comes with clever magnetic snap-on support ledge

• Shaped inlay made of silicone rubber protects contents

• Neatly stores your office utensils, documents (A4) and devices (up to 12″)……Unfortunately I do not own a super slick and thin laptop to show you…

• Can be used as a notebook stand, tablet stand or in-line document holder

Product DESIGN 

The Bento was designed in co-operation with Dutch designer Robert Bronwasser.

“Designed for the way we work today and turns your workspace into an organised, practical and comfortable workstation!”

Whilst working together with Robert Bronwasser on the design, Dataflex reimagined some of their most popular ergonomic desktop accessories. The idea was to make these ‘Dataflex classics’ more relevant in our modern, diverse working environments.

TRIAL & Error

Lastly, some of our lovely (one or two frankly borderline hoarder) staff had the pleasure of trying out the Bento for a day. Here is the photographic evidence…..Its a good job the inlay is made from wipeable silicone for the third image, and lets hope the owner (no clues at all here folks) of the last one doesn’t wear their choice badge when out seeing customers! ….Oops :0

We have really loved and enjoyed having the Addit Bento here at Millar West and hope that the fab Dataflex people leave it with us just a little bit longer! (although they are very reasonably priced :)) 

Or click here…..  You know you want your own Bento!