In kindergarten, I had the bad luck of having to share my cubbyhole with a very messy student named Madeline. If her lunch bag wasn’t oozing peanut butter grease, then her coat pocket was oozing melted bubble gum. The result was that I never wanted anything of mine to touch anything of hers—and childhood OCD wasn’t exactly tolerated back in my day.

Basket Rack. Manufactured by Vanerum Stelter.

Industrial Student Storage

These days, furniture companies that specialize in the education market know a whole lot more about how to allocate space. Michigan-based Vanerum Stelter makes a wonderfully compartmentalized locker alternative called Basket Rack, which gives up to 28 students their very own, separate, ventilated metal bin. Each basket measures a generous nine or twelve inches in width, with a depth of thirteen inches and a height of eight inches. The baskets are electroplated with bright zinc chromate dip, and they come with optional number plates. All of which means that Vanerum Stelter has studied the habits of children and understands that autonomous spaces are key to scholastic happiness.

Basket Rack comes in all Vanerum Stelter metal locker finishes, so schools can order the rolling rack in anything from the neutral putty and cloud to the bold galaxy blue and cabernet. And, for those students who have an almost pathological need to own their own space, the baskets on Basket Rack can be equipped with a steel cover. Rack and baskets are sold separately, so classrooms can order what they need and nothing more. Any open space can then get claimed by school supplies or teacher purses or pet iguanas.

About the Manufacturer: Despite the exotic-sounding name, Vanerum Stelter is an American furniture company based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Producers of desking, seating, shelving, and other assorted products for the education market, the company believes that ergonomic design can help students learn and educators teach. Vanerum Stelter creates i3 environments: environments that are interactive, integrated, and inspirational.