Most people set up The Hub, drop their phone into the charging slot, and consider the job done. That's a reasonable start, but it leaves most of the product untouched. The Hub was designed as a complete EDC command centre — 5 distinct zones, each with a specific job.
When all 5 are working together, your morning routine changes in a way that's hard to appreciate until you've lived it for a week: no hunting for your wallet, no tangled cables, no realising your watch is on the other side of the room. Everything is exactly where you expect it to be, every single time.
If you've had The Hub for a while or are thinking about buying it, here are our tips for setting it up properly and getting the most out of the ultimate nightstand organizer.
Tip #1: Start With The Cable Routing
This one step changes everything.
The most common setup mistake is placing The Hub on your nightstand and threading the charging cable over the edge afterward. That's how you end up with a cord looping visibly around the outside — which defeats half the purpose of the product.
Before you set The Hub in its final position, feed your phone charging cable up through the cable management slot in the base from below. Then place the unit, tuck the slack underneath, and plug in at the wall. The cable runs invisibly through the interior and surfaces exactly where your phone rests. No cord in sight from any other angle.
The same principle applies to your AirPods or earbud charging case, which sits in the secondary charging slot. Route that cable the same way before positioning the unit. Two devices charging simultaneously, zero visible cables on the surface. It takes an extra minute during setup and makes a substantial difference to how the space looks and feels every day.
Tip #2: Use The Watch Pillar as Your Daily-Wear Station
The solid wood watch pillar in The Hub isn't designed to display your whole collection — that's what the watch display cases are for. It's designed to hold the one watch you're actually going to wear tomorrow.
The most effective habit is to treat the pillar as a handoff point: watch comes off at the end of the day and goes straight onto the pillar, in the same motion as putting your phone on charge. In the morning, the watch goes on before you do anything else. This single routine eliminates the small daily friction of deciding which watch to grab or hunting for it across the room.
If you rotate between a few watches, keep your go-to piece on the pillar and the rest in a proper display case. The pillar works best as a tomorrow-watch station, not a rotation display.
Tip #3: The Felt Tray is Your Grab-and-Go Zone
The felt-lined tray on The Hub's surface is the highest-frequency zone. It's what you reach for first in the morning and last at night, which means it should only hold the things you need immediate access to without thinking.
For most people that's three or four items: wallet, keys, glasses, and perhaps a ring or cufflinks if they're part of your daily carry. The felt lining protects against scratches, which matters when you're resting anything with a delicate finish.
Tip #4: The Drawer is For EDC Overflow — Not a Catch-All
The drawer on The Hub is deeper than it looks and comes with a divider that splits it into 2 sections. This is where The Hub earns the "organizer" label rather than just "EDC dump tray."
Use it for items that belong in your routine but don't need to live on the surface: a pocket knife, a pen, a compact flashlight, spare cables, headphones, medication. Things you want within reach but not cluttering the top.
The divider makes the two-category approach easy. A clean split: one side for EDC carry items such as a knife or pen, the other for bedside essentials like medication or earplugs. Both accessible in seconds, neither visible from outside the unit.
Resist using the drawer as a general junk space. It's at its best when everything in it has a reason to be there. A well-used Hub drawer feels immediately different from a nightstand junk drawer — and that difference is the whole point.
What the drawer shouldn't hold: receipts, loose change, packaging, or anything that isn't touched every day. The tray is compact on purpose. When it fills up with things you don't use daily, it stops functioning as the fast-access zone it's meant to be. A 30-second audit once a week keeps it working properly.
Tip #5: Nightstand vs Desk
The setup differs slightly.
The Hub measures 9.5" × 6.5" × 5" — compact enough to sit on a nightstand or a desk without dominating the space. Many of our customers use it in both contexts over time, but the optimal configuration differs.
On a nightstand, the priority is overnight charging and morning efficiency. Phone and earbuds charge while you sleep, the watch pillar holds your morning timepiece, and the tray holds the items you'll grab in the first five minutes of your day. The drawer handles anything you might need overnight.
On a desk, the priority shifts toward organisation during working hours. The watch pillar becomes a visual anchor, the tray holds your most-reached-for desk items, and the drawer manages overflow you don't want visible. The charging slots still earn their place — keeping your phone topped up at your desk without visible cables is one of those improvements that's hard to go back from once you've had it.
Tip #6: Pair The Hub with The Nest for a Complete EDC Loop
If The Hub lives on your nightstand, consider pairing it with The Nest on your desk or near the front door. The two products complement each other naturally: The Hub is a structured, zoned charging station, while The Nest is a flexible EDC dump tray built around your daily carry items.
The system that tends to work best:
The Hub handles your overnight essentials and morning routine at the bedside, while The Nest handles your carry throughout the day at the desk or the door.
When you come home, everything from your pockets goes into The Nest. Before bed, the daily essentials migrate to The Hub.
It creates a loop that stops things ending up in random places around the home — and that's what separates a genuinely organised setup from one that only looks organised some of the time.
→ Learn more about The Nest here
Tip #7: Keeping The Hub Looking Sharp
The Hub comes in walnut or black, both in solid wood construction. Neither finish requires any special treatment, but a couple of habits keep it looking its best long-term.
Wipe the surface with a dry or slightly damp cloth when you notice dust or fingerprints accumulating — more noticeable on the walnut finish. Avoid abrasive materials or any solvent-based cleaner. The felt lining can be refreshed with a lint roller if it picks up debris over time. To make life easier, we created our Product Care Kit with everything you need to keep your Holme & Hadfield investment looking good as new for years to come! Grab yours here.
The wood construction and all hardware are covered under H&H's lifetime warranty. If anything fails or wears out, they'll replace it — register your product after purchase to activate coverage.
The Hub is $90 and ships in our standard luxury packaging, making it the perfect gift. Register your lifetime warranty after purchase — it takes 2 minutes and covers the product for life.
