I found it quite difficult to get the pencils out of the vac-form tray. So much so, I was worried I would end up scratching the finish on the pencils because they were wedged in there so tightly. In the end, I did get them out but why did the tray have to be quite so snug?

The pencils have a matte finish coating on the barrels making them easy to hold. Both have gold ferrule and bright white eraser caps.

As you will see in the next photo, the inclusion of the erasers may be more for looks that usability.

I tested the red and blue pencils on two different paper stocks (kraft and Col-o-ring paper). Both papers are the type of paper I would use for sketching or drawing with a bit of tooth. The pencil leads are soft and creamy with good color. As a result of the softness, the point retention is only okay.

I often draw with a blue pencil as they are consider “non-repro” and ink can be applied over. Then artwork can be scanned and the blue (or red) can easily be removed in Photoshop. Animators often use red pencils where illustrators and commercial artists favor non-repro blue.

I compared both the blue and red with some of my favorite red/blue pencils as well as a few standalone colored pencils specifically used by illustrators for this type of work.

When comparing the blue pencil from Blackwing to the red/blue combo pencils, none of the red/blue combo pencils actual feature a non-repro blue color. Instead they tend to have a deep Prussian Blue.

Both the Staedtler and Col-Erase pencils have much firmer cores making the point retention better and the lines smoother and less likely to be affected by paper texture.

The standalone pencils from Prismacolor Col-Erase and Caran d’Ache Sketcher are more comparable. A box of 12 Col-Erase are under $12 ($1/pencil) which is much more cost effective than the Blackwings. The Caran d’Ache pencil is comparable in price at about $6-$7 for a set of two pencils but even Caran d’Ache is CHEAPER than the Blackwings. Go figure.

With the red pencils, all three Japanese red/blue combos have a much warmer, tomato red. I tend to use the Col-Erase Vermillion most often (as you can see by how stumpy the pencil is) which is similar in color to the Japanese red/blue pencils but I do bounce back and forth with the Carmine which is a cooler red. That said, the Prismacolor Verithin Red in the metallic red/blue pencil in the photo above is closest in color to the Blackwing Red but a much firmer core designed for point retention and fine detail.

As previously mentioned, I’m likely to recommend the Prismacolor Col-Erase Carmine or Vermillion over the Blackwing for cost, firmness and point retention. The Carmine is available in a box of 12 on Amazon for less than $12, which is a GOOD deal.

Due to the softness of these pencils, the line widths got pretty thick pretty fast. I am not inclined to switch from my Prismacolor Verithins or Col-Erase which are a bit firmer. They don’t really erase any better than the Blackwings, despite what the name might lead you to believe.

While the aesthetics of the Blackwings remain top-notch, $15 for 4 pencils ($3.75 each) is getting pretty ridiculous. A Primsacolor Col-Erase (in oh-so-handy Carmine Red or Cyan/Non-Repro Blue) can be purchased, open stock, for about $1.50 (more than half the price of the Blackwings).

So, while I really wanted to try these, I will not purchase any more of them. They are just too expensive and not as useful as other brands for what I use red and blue pencils to create.

DISCLAIMER: Some items included in this review were provided free of charge by JetPens for the purpose of review.

This review also includes affiliate links. The Well-Appointed Desk is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. Please see the About page for more details.

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(There is also a 36-color set ($59.50, $1.65 per pencil) that contains a selection of 28 colors from the original Color Dictionary sets plus eight additional colors. )

The name Irojiten means “Color Dictionary”. Iro means “color” and Jiten means “dictionary”. Pretty clever.

While I love the packaging and aesthetic of the Irotijen sets, I could never rationalize buying another set of colored pencils. Then curiosity got the best of me and I finally caved. The packaging alone is a thing of beauty. I don’t usually like excessive packaging but Tombow did this beautifully. Each set of 10 pencils comes in a paperboard box that opens like a book and is held closed with an elastic band. Then all three boxes slide into a slipcase that keeps everything organized and contained and ready for your bookshelf or desktop. For as lovely as the packaging is, all the boxes are uncoated paperboard so its recyclable (just snip off the elastics) if you are a “store all your pencils in a cup” person like me.

I only purchased the first set which contains volumes 1, 2, and 3 — Pale I,  Vivid I, Deep I. If I end up being madly in love with these pencils, I can purchase the others but I decided to err on the side of frugality.

Pricewise, this set of Irojiten seemed most comparable to a Prismacolor or Polychromos sets with a similar number of pencils. Both Prismacolor ($o.85-0.88 per pencil in set, $1.39 individually) and Polychromos (about $1.24 per pencil in set, $2.65 individually) pencils come is sets of 24 or 36, and work out to be only slightly cheaper than the Irojiten sets per pencil (according to my quick peek at the Blick web site).

The pencils come pre-sharpened but the ends are pretty blunt. The advantage of having pre-sharpened pencils is you can just jump right in and start using them. I did find that after I did my first swatches, I really wanted to sharpen these.

The color swatches above were organized by set: Vol. 1 Pale Tone 1, Vol. 2 Vivid Tone 1 and Vol. 3 Deep Tone 1. My first experience with the pencils felt a bit harder than the colored pencils I usually lean towards. The colors were well-pigmented but felt like they required more effort to get the color onto the paper.

Once I did these color swatches, I realized that my brain doesn’t work like this — organized by saturation level. I tend to sort my colored pencils into warm colors and cool colors and like having all my yellows (or blues or purples) out and available at the same time. So, as much as I appreciate the aesthetics of the packaging, I am not inclined to keep the pencils in the boxes. My pencils ALWAYS end up living in cups and jars because they are quick and easy to access.

I sharpened the Irojtien pencils with my Dahle 133 Pencil Tabletop Manual Sharpener ($19.99) dialed to a medium-sharp point. I also wanted to see if sharpening the pencils might also help with the hardness. Sometimes, c0l0red pencils can feel a bit dry if they’ve been sharpened for a long time (I think the oil or wax dries out a bit) so I thought sharpening them would be worth a try. Also, since the pencils seemed harder, a sharper point would be easier to accomplish.

The Irojiten pencils did sharpen very well but did not feel any softer after being sharpened. This would make these pencils good for detail work and small drawings. I also re-swatched the colors, organized by hue. What I think is most notable about the set is that there is really only one red pencil. The Crimson (D-1) felt more like a warm brown than a red to me. There also seemed to be a surprising number of green colors (6 or 7, depending on whether you think Ice Green P-6 is more green or more blue).

My last round of tests was to verify if the Irojiten pencils were really harder than my beloved Prismacolors. The short answer is yes. It did not require as much pressure to apply a rich layer of the Prismacolor pencils. I know a lot of people have issues with the Prismacolors for being too soft, breaking easily, uncentered cores, etc. they pay dividends in sheer pigment load and range of colors available for the price.

My final impression of the Irojiten colored pencils is that it is a lovely set with pencils that are harder than other pencils. If you have a heavy hand or are looking for a colored pencil set for detail work, the Irojiten is a good option. If you are looking for colored pencils that are creamy and have a dense pigment load, then I recommend trying Prismacolors instead. The packaging is not as cool but if you’re like me, your colored pencils will end up in a cup anyway so the packaging doesn’t really matter.

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by JetPens for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

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The most recent limited edition Kurutoga Studio Ghibili Mechanical Pencils ($14 each) were a must-buy for me. I had to choose between the Totoro, Spirited Away and Kiki’s Delivery Service designs but who was I kidding? A pink barrel with Jiji printing on it was always going to be the winner.

Kurutoga pencils are popular for the self-turning lead function. Everytime you lift up the lead rotates slightly. I am a compulsive pencil turner because I did not grow up with this self-turning feature so I am not sure I really notice the advantage of this. Especially with the thin 0.5mm leads, I am not sure how beneficial self-turning mechanical leads are.

As a lefty, I still smear what I draw when I use standard graphite lead. I know there are some less-smeary options available but for this review I used the lead that shipped with the pencil. It was nice and dark and reasonably soft but that, of course, meant it would also be easy to smudge.

There is a teeny tiny eraser under the cap on the end of the pencil but I prefer to use a nice block eraser when I use one but its always nice to have something to use in a pinch.

If you like inner-child-inspiring graphics on your mechanical pencil, I can’t recommend this more highly. I get a wave of delight every time I pull this pencil out of my daily carry case. I know folks love the Kurutoga self-rotating ability but this feature is lost on me. If you prefer a more understated mechanical pencil with the self-rotating option, other 0.5mm (or even 0.3mm) options are available starting at $5.50.

The post Pencil Review: Uni Kuru Toga 0.5 mm Mechanical Pencil – Kiki’s Delivery Service appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

The Tropical Set ($13.50) was an impulse purchase. The colors seemed like they had been selected just for me. The set includes the four mechanical pencils and a set of replacement leads in a white plastic desktop holder. The pencils and the lead holder snap into the display holder making if a lovely set to keep on your desk.

In drawing, I noticed that the pink and green colors were softer and went down on the paper more easily than the orange and purple which felt like they were harder cores. It did make me curious if, in the other sets, some of the colors would be smoother and softer while others harder. I prefer a softer, creamier core in my colored pencils.

In most mechanical pencils, because the cores are so much thinner than in a wood-cased pencil, the leads do tend to be much harder. That said, I was delighted with some of the Emott pencils having softer cores.

I tested the erasability and I would have to say my results were poor. Though, normally speaking, most colored pencils are not erasable so its not a make-or-break for me. The colors are describe as water resistant which is more in keeping with most colored pencils and should work well when combined with watercolor or water soluble inks and markers. Way more fun than erasable, IMHO.

Overall, the set is a bit more expensive than a simple set of wood-cased pencils. Most wood-cased pencils sets of 12 -24 pencils start at about $20 (and go up to about $40) from brands like Prismacolor, Blackwing, Faber-Castell and Tombow Irotijen. If cost/value is a priority, I would recommend sticking to classic wood-cased colored pencils. If novelty and cute packaging (and mechanical pencil option) is more your speed, than the Emott pencils might be appealing. As curious as I am about the softness of the other colors from the Emott line, I am not sure its worth spending $13.50 for four pencils when I have literally hundreds of wood-case pencils I could use instead. Final opinion: cute but spendy.

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by JetPens for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

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I recently reviewed Midori MD Paper Products colored pencils in its very limited but lovely, understated palette. Midori also makes graphite pencils (6/$10) – equally sublime in their appearance and beautifully coordinated with other Midori stationery products. I was given the B grade for review, but I happen to have other drawing grades as well, so I’ll include them in my comments.

Like the colored pencils, the graphite pencil barrel has a subtle matte finish with simple branding. The barrel color is the vanilla ice cream off-white that appears on many of Midori’s notebook covers. Something about that matte finish is such a joy to touch!

Also matching the design of the colored pencils is the slightly convex, uncapped end that reveals a perfectly centered core. They sharpen nicely with a whiff of cedar.

I compared the Midori B grade with B grades in two of my favorite Japanese graphite pencils, Tombow Mono and Uni Mitsubishi Hi-Uni. Although not quite as smooth as either of the higher-priced pencils, the MD graphite quality is consistent and flawless. It feels slightly softer than the Tombow but slightly harder than the Hi-Uni. The B makes a great writing grade for those who prefer softer pencils. (Swatches and sketch shown in this review were made in a Stillman & Birn Zeta sketchbook, which has a smooth surface.)

The swatches below show the full range of MD grades available – HB through 6B. 

I have been taking crosshatching courses from France Van Stone (better known as Wagonized), and having the B in my hand was a good opportunity to work on one of the course exercises – a friendly, young cow. (France’s courses often use fun photo references of animals that I adore drawing!) I would typically use a softer grade for the final details, but this B did well enough even at the end.

The MDs are excellent writing and drawing pencils at a price that makes them a good value. 

My only complaint is that the beautiful matte finish I love so much tends to become easily scuffed and marked. I’ve had the full set for a while, knocking about in a pencil cup, and they are showing their age prematurely. I’m sure the colored pencil barrels will suffer the same fate shortly. Most of the time, I appreciate evidence of wear and use on my art materials, and I don’t baby them. But something about that creamy, formerly pristine finish with scuffs is harder to look at. I don’t want my stationery to be better dressed than I am, but if I daily-carried a Midori pencil, I might be tempted to keep it in a Rickshaw sleeve.  

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by Gentleman Stationer for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

Tina Koyama is an urban sketcher in Seattle. Her blog is Fueled by Clouds & Coffee, and you can follow her on Instagram as Miatagrrl.

The post Pencil Review: Midori MD Graphite appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

“Play your notes, to hear the sounds of pencil on paper.” It’s hard to resist an invitation like that! Under the MD Paper Products name, Midori makes understated pens, notebooks, letter-writing paper, planners and other products. It also makes colored and graphite pencils to match that muted esthetic. Today I’m reviewing the colored pencils (6/$12); the graphite pencils are coming up soon. 

Made in Japan, the three colored pencils (two pencils per color in the set) – light gray, light blue, coral – coordinate beautifully with Midori’s delicate palette. The matte-finish, semi-hexagonal barrel is very pleasing (soothing, even) to touch. As with all Midori products, the branding is subtle – “MD Paper Products” in small, black block letters.

My favorite design element is the unpainted – but not unfinished – end. The very slightly convex cut reveals the well-centered cores. Like the rest of the pencil, it’s a sublime yet distinctive touch.

Since I’m somewhat spoiled by top-notch colored pencils, I didn’t have high expectations, but I was pleasantly surprised. Harder than Prismacolor and softer than Faber-Castell Polychromos, the MD pencils have a slightly waxy feel rather than creamy. The swatches show consistent layering in a relatively smooth Stillman & Birn Zeta sketchbook. 

Coral and light blue are not colors I would typically choose to sketch a cow, but what the heck – it’s a good way to stretch my color imagination. Pigments apply well, and the pencils are pleasant to use (and to hold! I love the matte finish). For the sketch, I used a toothier Stillman & Birn Alpha sketchbook, and the pencils are soft enough to show the paper’s texture easily. (I used a graphite pencil for the cow’s details.)

If you’re not into sketching or coloring, these pencils could be also used for highlights or notations that don’t sear the eyeballs. In fact, I would love to see Midori expand the palette just a bit wider. We have plenty of small colored pencil sets in the standard rainbow – how about a set of 12 including more understated hues? Like a pale mint (Ana would surely want one of those), delicate rose and lavender? I’m ready for a unique set like that.

Tina Koyama is an urban sketcher in Seattle. Her blog is Fueled by Clouds & Coffee, and you can follow her on Instagram as Miatagrrl.

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by Gentleman Stationer for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

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Is it worth it to seek out a vintage Blackwing 602?

I have wanted a vintage Blackwing 602 just to try it out, since before this blog was even a twinkle in my eye. At the same time, I’ve never really wanted to spend $100 for an unsharpened vintage pencil. It just seemed silly. So, a couple weeks ago, a friend who was moving house mentioned that he had a big jar of pencils he inherited from his grandparents. I asked if I could see a pic of the jar and if there were any pencils with “a funny looking eraser cap”? He said “YES!” and I asked if he would bring them over so I could look through them. He said he would, if I was interested in them, we could “make a deal.”

So, I bought a large jar of pencils that included one Eberhard Faber Blackwing 602 that had been sharpened once, one unsharpened Microtomic and a box of colored pencils (Tina got the colored pencils) for $30. And I got to keep the vintage jar. Most of the pencils were good mid-century pencils ranging from standard #2/HB to softer and harder pencils used by artists. There were a lot of classic yellow-and-black Staedtler Noris pencils and some US-made Ticonderogas.

But, of course, the true treasure was a chance to handle and use a real vintage Eberhard-Faber Blackwing 602. I immediately put the pencil to the test next to the modern reproduction Blackwing 602 by Palomino ($27 for a box of 12).

The most notable differences in the exterior of the pencils is the color of the grey paint. The vintage Blackwing 602 is a little bit darker. The feel of the modern Blackwing 602 is smoother, glossier and the hex shape is a bit more rounded off, like the paint is so thick that some of the sharper edges of the hex shape are buried under the paint.

Of course, the vintage eraser is all dried out but I can swap it out with a replacement ($3 per set) from Palomino.

Obviously, the printing on the pencils is different. The “Half the pressure…” text is italicized on the vintage pencil while it’s more upright on the modern 602. The modern 602 is missing the beloved “Woodclinched” text completely. Overall, aesthetically, only the most discerning eye would notice a difference.

But how does it write?

I really wanted to know if I could tell the difference between the writing experience between the two pencils. I wrote with one then the other for at last an hour trying to see if I could notice a difference. And honestly, while I think the lead color is a tiny bit lighter in the vintage Blackwing 602, the difference is honestly negligible. If you prefer a little lighter (harder) graphite color, the Palomino Blackwing Natural which features  Extra Firm graphite might be a good alternative. Palomino really did a great job recreating the 602. If you haven’t tried a modern Blackwing, what are you waiting for. Some things are just as good as the “good ol’ days” and the Blacking 602 is one of those things.

The post Pencil Review: Vintage EF Blackwing 602 appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

Although I’ve long been a fan of Blackwing pencils for both drawing and writing, I have no love for the erasers attached to them with their iconic ferrules. In fact, I find them so mediocre that they prompted me to go on a Blackwing eraser hack-a-thon a few years ago. After finding the best block eraser for the job (spoiler alert: my favorite is the Tombow Mono Smart), I now hand-carve erasers to put into my Blackwing ferrules. You can imagine, then, how my graphite-dusted eyebrows perked up when I heard the news: Blackwing now offers a soft handheld eraser ($10 with holder). 

Since Blackwing cores are made in Japan, and since Japanese companies make most of the best handheld erasers on the market, I’ve often wondered why Blackwing pencils couldn’t come with better attached erasers. My big hack-a-thon gave me the explanation: While handheld (bar style) erasers are the best form factor for performance, the bars that perform the best are often too soft to use inside a ferrule. Some of my favorite soft plastic or “foam” erasers were too flimsy once I had hacked them to a size that would fit. The softness that makes erasers perform well (a kneadable being best of all) is exactly what makes them unsuitable for ferrule use.

As soon as I touched the new Blackwing handheld, I knew it wouldn’t hold up to ferrule hacking. That was my original intention. But it still looked like a decent eraser worth using, so I decided it was time for another eraser rub-off – this time specifically to challenge the Blackwing.

First, I’ll talk a bit about the eraser and, of course, its “ferrule.” The eraser looks like a standard white plastic eraser of the type most pencil users are familiar with. Designed to look like the iconic ferrule and clip, the holder is made of matte black aluminum with a debossed Blackwing logo. Although it’s heavier than the paper sleeve that most bar erasers are covered with, the holder itself doesn’t add much weight. It’s lighter than I expected. It’s packaged in a simple cardboard box.

Bonus points for being a symmetrical sleeve, so I could turn it around and make it lefty-oriented (no, it’s not a big deal to use a righty-oriented eraser, but when most things in life are upside-down or backward to a lefty, it’s nice to have some things that aren’t). 

As with the eraser attached to a Blackwing pencil, the clip pulls the eraser out. The eraser can then be extended, making it easier to hold as the eraser gets smaller. When it’s too small, it can be easily replaced (replacement erasers are 3/$10).

Time for the rub-off! I dug into my eraser collection and pulled out a dozen contenders:

• Tombow Mono Zero
• Tombow Mono
• Tombow Mono Smart
• Tombow Air Touch
• Pentel Hi-Polymer
• Pentel Mark Sheet
• Pentel Ain
• Rabbit (or Sakura) Pure Slim
• Sakura Sumo Grip
• Seed Clear Radar
• Faber-Castell Dust-Free
• Blackwing standard ferrule eraser

I prepped the test sheet (a page of Canson Mixed-Media paper with a mild tooth) with a long swatch of three layers of graphite and a single line that would be the equivalent of a written mark. Both were made with a Blackwing Lab 08.25.22 limited edition pencil, which contains a balanced core (mid-range between Blackwing’s softest and hardest cores). Since I’m a big colored pencil user, I also made a three-layer swatch with a Faber-Castell Polychromos pencil in Pale Geranium Lake.

The first round of testing indicated that all 13 erasers took graphite off eventually, so their differences were mainly in how much effort was needed to remove the marks, how much dust they produced, and their basic “feel.” The Blackwing handheld far outperformed its standard ferruled sister and was a strong defender against the others.

As expected, colored pencil removal performance was spottier. The Blackwing handheld was average in the color category and would not be my first choice (my current favorite for colored pencils is the Rabbit Pure Slim). 

For round two, I picked the four erasers I thought were most similar to the Blackwing handheld in terms of performance, dust and “feel”: Tombow Mono, Tombow Air Touch, Pentel Hi-Polymer and Pentel Ain. For this test, I scribbled with the same Blackwing pencil in a Field Notes Brand notebook containing 50-pound Accent Opaque smooth text, which is much less toothy than the mixed media paper. They all performed equally well, including the Blackwing, and all produced similar types and amounts of crumbs. In feel, the Blackwing is most similar to the Tombow Mono; the other three contenders are just slightly firmer than the Blackwing.

Given that the Tombow Mono is a popular favorite among many pencil users for its performance, I’d say the Blackwing handheld is an excellent eraser!

Like most things Blackwing, the question now is less about performance and more about price. When an equivalent-size Mono in a paper sleeve can be had for $3.50, is the aluminum sleeve worth the price? It doesn’t enhance the act of erasing, so its presence is esthetic. Perhaps in a conference room setting, it would look more professional than an eraser used by school kids. But if you just want a solid eraser, the refills without the holder would do the job well at a price comparable to many other good erasers. 

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by JetPens for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

Tina Koyama is an urban sketcher in Seattle. Her blog is Fueled by Clouds & Coffee, and you can follow her on Instagram as Miatagrrl.

The post Eraser Review: Blackwing Soft Handheld Eraser appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

While three color options might not be enough for most people, for quick sketches, proofreading or grading, this might be a perfect solution.

The mechanism for the Uni Color 3 works the same as other Japanese multi-pens. There are three slides at the top of the pen (one being the clip) that will reveal a tip when pressed down until it clicks. Tapping the slide repeatedly will advance the lead, holding down the slide will allow you to push the lead back up into the housing and clicking on any other slide will cause the revealed tip to spring back into the housing.

Because the leads are 0.5mm, if they are out too far, they will break so be careful not to expose too much lead or press too hard when using them.

I’m happy with the color of the red and blue leads though it is fairly easy to find 0.5mm red or blue leads if I wasn’t. The orange, which is more unusual is a bit lighter in overall pigment density. It would probably work fine for underlining or adding small details in a sketch or drawing but it would not be my go-to color in this set. In fact, I would probably consider swapping it out for a standard graphite lead rather than try to replace the orange lead when it runs out.

I decided to test out the Uni 0.5mm Smudge-Proof Lead in F ($2.95) as an alternative to the orange colored pencil lead. While the smudge-proof lead wrote smoothly, this lefty was able to smudge it a bit when I ran my thumb over the scribble swatch. The Rhodia paper is very smooth and may be more likely to smudge than toothier stocks.

In the erasing test on both Rhodia paper and on Col-o-ring paper, using a foam eraser, the color came up pretty well. I’d say the eraser, used with average pressure (I didn’t tear up the paper trying to remove the color), lifted 85-90% of the color on the Rhodia paper and about 75% of the color on Col-o-ring paper.

I also did a quick little still life of a bottle of Robert Oster ink sitting in a Monarca wooden bottle holder on a Col-o-ring card to see how the leads perform on toothier paper.

I am a fan of this pencil concept. When on the road, I prefer not having to sharpen my pencils and having three colors all in one tool is great for when you’re traveling, in a coffeeshop or library or in a meeting so this pencil solves some problems I didn’t know I had.

Tools:

• Paper: Rhodia Uni-Blank No. 16 with 6mm guide sheet and
• Col-o-Ring Ink Testing Book ($10)
• Pens: Uni-Color-3-Erasable-Multi-Mechanical-Pencil ($8.25)

The post Pencil Review: Uni 3-Color Erasable Mechanical Pencil appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.

So today I’m sharing some photos of one of my most meaningful stationery items. It’s an item that lives in a very prominent place in my home and breaks the mold of most of my stationery collection because it’s not an item I use very often. It is however, and item I see every day, think about very often, and would be one of the first items I would grab out the the door in case of disaster.

When I first fell down the stationery rabbit hole I was working as a pharmacist at a cancer center and became dear friends with a nurse that also worked there. It’s a toss up whether she found my stationery habit more endearing or ridiculous on any given day, but when she got the chance to visit Milan, Italy she completely surprised me when she brought this pencil all the way back to me and into my pharmacy after her trip. I’ve barely let it out of my sight ever since.

The Perpetua pencils are made up of of over 80% graphite and a good article with a little more info can be found here. More info on the beautiful Starbucks Roastery that collaborated on this pencil here. It’s an item that always brightens my day and reminds me of a good friend. What are some meaningful items that you own or items that break the mold in your collection?

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