Welcome back to our new column, Desk Side! Sorry, PRs, we stole your lingo and in this new feature we’ll go to the desks of some of your favorite designers, editors, stylists and assorted industry insiders to see where the magic happens–and then share it with you!

First we chatted with Pamela Love, then we gawked at the office of Paper magazine’s editorial director Mickey Boardman. Now we’re catching up with designer Tracy Reese in her whimsical workspace, where she dished on everything from her favorite architecture to who she follows on Twitter.

What’s the first thing you do when you get into your office everyday?
Turn on my computer and check my emails.

What’s your typical work outfit comprised of?
An easy dress and comfortable shoes.

If we opened your desk drawers right now, what would we find?
A mess.

Any secret stashes?
You know it’s not so secret, I’ve got my tea and honey… and I’ve got my cayenne pepper, which enhances any lunch!

You’ve been successfully designing your own label since 1998, has your design process changed since then?
I’ve got a lot more help than I had in the beginning, that’s for sure! And also, just with technology, I think it changes the way we work to some degree. And we’re able to see a lot more through CAD’s and Photoshop. We used to just kind of intuit everything and like, cross your fingers that the samples came through right. And now we’ve got like, a full visual reference before we even cut samples. So, the technology side has changed things a lot.