Steve Leveen: Co-Founder and CEO of Levenger

For this week’s installment of the “What’s on Their Desk” series, I had the pleasure of chatting with Steve Leveen, Co-Founder and CEO of Levenger. As a huge fan of their products, I was really excited to have the opportunity to talk to Steve about the products that he uses in his work routine, and to share that information with you today.

Steve has a B.A. in Biology from the University of California, San Diego, and master’s and doctoral degrees in sociology from Cornell University.  He Co-Founded Levenger with his wife Lori, in 1987 upon recognizing the need for quality products to create a properly lit reading environment.  Although they started out selling reading lamps, they have now become the leading supplier of some of the most high-quality and useful tools for the “intellectual craftsman” which is a phrase that Steve used that I found to be such a great visually descriptive term for their products.

Steve Leveen’s Desk, Packed Full of Levenger and Apple Gear

Above you can see an actual photo of Steve’s desk showing off his favorite office supplies that he selected for this post today.  Without further delay, here are Steve’s favorite office supply products:

1. Levenger Circa Notebooks – I’m sure nobody is surprised at this choice, and I am willing to bet that many of you reading this (myself included) are 100% in agreement with Steve on this one.  Steve explained that his main Circa setup consists of 2 letter sized notebooks with translucent covers, 1″ aluminum discs, and a set of white tabbed dividers.  He also uses one junior size Circa Notebook with the black Livingston cover and 3/4″ Kyoto discs.

Of the two Circa Notebooks with the translucent covers, he uses one to manage information on his direct reports, and the other to manage information on the different departments at Levenger.  Steve uses his smaller junior size Circa notebook to manage information on his personal projects at Levenger.  It was fun to get to hear all of this directly from Steve himself and it also made me think about some slight modifications to how I am currently using my one letter size and one junior size notebook for work.

2. Apple Cinema Display –I’ve seen these displays in person, and they are very impressive to look at with their clean simple design and ability to render such crisp images.  It was interesting to hear Steve run through his list of other Apple products, which in addition to his 24″ Cinema Display includes a 3G iPad, and Trackpad with a duplicate setup for his home office, and of course his iPhone 4.  It is quite obvious that in addition to Steve’s well-known passion for reading, he is also very passionate about Apple products.  Any of you out there that own Apple stock should probably drop Mr. Leveen a thank you note, just make sure to do it on a nice personalized Levenger note card.  While we spoke, Steve also mentioned that he was in the process of writing this article that combines those two passions:  Seven Ways Electronic Books Will Make Us Better Readers.

3. Pilot G2 – The pilot G2 is always on the top of the list for those who know about and love their pens, and Steve certainly fits both of those criteria.  An interesting fact that Steve shared with me regarding the G2 Refills is that they actually work as a replacement for all of the Levenger True Writer pens, which is incredibly convenient to know since everywhere from convenience stores to grocery stores sell G2 refills.

It was great fun to get to talk with Steve, and I really appreciate him taking time out of his day to share this information with us.  Do yourself a favor and make sure you are following @SteveLeveen on Twitter, the Levenger FaceBook page, and Steve’s Well-Read Life blog.  By keeping up with Steve and Levenger via those sources,  will find yourself with a wealth of interesting quotes, book recommendations, and great deals on Levenger products.

©2016, Brian Greene. All rights reserved.