Black and White Minimalist Workspace in Minnesota, US

Name: Graham Neff

Location: Minnesota, United States

Occupation: Director of Supply Chain Projects

Room size: 31 m² (~334 ft²)

Cost of the setup: ~$2,8K (excludes PC tower, includes PC peripherals)

Hello! Tell us a bit about yourself

I was born in Portland, Oregon. I have lived in Minneapolis, Minnesota for the last ten years.

I consider both cities “home” and appreciate them for different reasons. Oregon is one of the most beautiful places in the country. It’s a great place to live for anyone who loves nature.

When I relocated from Oregon to Minneapolis for work, I knew I would miss the forests and mountains that I grew up with.

However, Minneapolis has its own engaging qualities that make it a nice place to live in.

Friendly residents, lots of economic opportunities, a well-run state government, and a strong sense of community are just a few of them.

To live in Minnesota, you must be able to acclimate to the tough winter months; it’s the one drawback that all residents can agree on. But the positives of living here more than outweigh the long winter.

My wife and I got married about a year and a half ago during COVID lockdowns, so we got engaged and married the same day over a Zoom call with our families.

My brother officiated the wedding, which is something he does as a side gig for close friends and family.

I have a house in the metro area with my lovely wife and two dogs — Napoleon (French bulldog) and Hideo (Shiba Inu).

My wife and I love taking our dogs to the park, travelling (more so before COVID), and spending time on house projects.

One of our major house projects was remodelling our basement to turn it into what is now my home office.

Both my wife and I work in project management. My wife is engaged with the health care sector, while I work in the supply chain for a US retailer.

My team is responsible for system implementation projects for my company’s supply chain — things like Warehouse Management systems and introducing new technology into distribution centres.

It’s been an insane couple of years in the supply chain industry, but I enjoy the craziness a little bit and have been fortunate to work with a lot of great people over this time.

If I were to describe myself in a few words, they would probably be pragmatic, collaborative, and loyal.

I try to be realistic in my worldview and use logic to navigate through problems.

I tend to look for the silver lining when things get tough and would rather laugh at failures than get angry over them.

I don’t have any regrets about my life. The decisions you make along the way are what shape you and failures sometimes are more valuable than success (as long as you learn from them).

Treating others with respect and fairness is important to me. I am loyal to those closest to me and hold myself accountable for keeping their trust.

Take us through your setup

The catalyst for my workspace overhaul was the COVID pandemic.

A few years ago, I travelled to job sites about 60 to 70% of my work weeks. Once the travel lockdowns hit, I went from heavy travel to mostly 100% work from home.