Working in an office can be a pretty uncomfortable environment even without the arguments over who’s turn it is to make the tea. Summer time in our office, without air conditioning and south facing windows, means it quickly turns into a green-house environment by lunch time. Having your own desk fan makes life slightly more bearable, and knowing my body odour and farts are blowing onto the person behind me gives me a weird sense of power, but hey, I’m a horrible person. The Retro Mistral Desk Fan from Fantasia is a cool looking, steam punk style, stripped back fan, available in both Brushed Nickel and Cream (not quite as cool looking).

This retro fan has a 12" diameter body, with a 30w Motor and a choice of two speeds and the whole thing is a bit of a lump at 2kg, the body is elegantly crafted, and the brushed metal looks handsome on the desk, counter or even on the floor. The head of the fan can be adjusted to point higher or lower, it doesn’t move left and right but you can move the base to adjust it. I am such a fidget butt at my desk and just being able to quickly adjust rather than move the whole fan would be a handy feature. The other rather major issue with this fan is that it makes a bit of a cacophony, it sounds like a helicopter might be about to land, our desks aren’t exactly top range, with the addition of the fan the entire thing shakes. My tea becomes like that scene from Jurassic Park with the ripples in the water but with less dinosaurs. If you (and perhaps the rest of the office) work with headphones in,  the Retro Mistral Fan could be a great addition as it produces a wide cool breeze, however if you need to concentrate the last thing you need is this thing rumbling in your ears. RRP £60

3.5 out of 5

Buy now

Pros

Attractive design

Solid construction

Cons

Loud

Vibrates

Doesn’t turn horizontally