Today brings something of a rarity amid the contemporary kitchens and super high-tech appliances that constitute my usual fare: a simple, no-nonsense—yet incredibly intuitive and intelligent—filing rack. Not just any filing rack, mind you, but one that, as Up Filer creator and manufacturer Westerville says, “turns conventional file storage on its head.”

Up Filer Vertical Wall-Mounted Storage. Designed and Manufactured by Westerville Design.

Westerville’s Up Filer Provides Space-Saving, Visible Storage for Flat Items of All Sizes

And believe me, I know whereof I speak. Because our very own walls of our very own Designer Pages offices in NYC are graced with the space-saving stylings of the Up Filer, where it labors away silently yet heroically at efficiently organizing our 8.5 x 11s, yes, but also our assorted odd-sized items: everything from 8.5” x 14” legalese, to the occasional 18” x 24” blueprint, to various sizes of photos… even wallpaper and fabric samples.

The simple and exceedingly logical design is one that elicits a “slap me on the head with my own palm” moment for not thinking of it myself. Eschewing the cumbersome infrastructure of the ubiquitous aluminum vertical filing drawers, the Up Filer easily mounts to any wall. Made of nickel plated pivoting hangers mounted on a solid hardwood spine, the Up Filer provides open, visible storage of all files, regardless of the size.

Essentially, the Up Filer inverts the usual storage formula by surrounding the files not with an entire oversized drawer or cabinet, but rather a simple holding rack that keeps files in open view, while orienting larger items horizontally rather than vertically.

The configuration makes insertion and extraction a breeze: simply pivot one file up a few inches to get unimpeded access to the items behind it. Since the files are labeled at the bottom—once again, contrary to traditional storage—everything is easily visible. No more thumbing through files in the dark recesses of the back end of vertical storage.

The Up Filer is a fantastic find. The wall-mounted filing system saves precious space while also establishing a better way to organize material. A godsend for anyone who needs to store differently-sized materials, such as graphic designers, architects, fine artists, and teachers, the Up Filer yet has broad appeal. Anyone who’s ever been frustrated with the constraints of old school filing cabinets will relate to the Up Filer’s smart and savvy knack for effective, efficient, and affordable organization.

About the Manufacturer: The genesis of the Up Filer is a compelling testament to the notion that frustration breed success—that is, if you allow yourself the vote of confidence that says “I can do better.” The founders of Westerville and creators of Up Filer have done better indeed. Conceived as a solution to the challenge of storing differently-sized items without obscuring the smallest among them, the Up Filer “allowed for all job content to be stored in the same place… there was no longer the problem of putting some parts of a job in one place and larger pieces in another. Everything is now in the same place and it is ALL visible.”