I really really like this little critter. Put him to work sharpening your pencils. Designed by Rodrigo Torres Kastor for Alessi. Not available yet. But soon. Soon. Makes a nice companion to his other design: a bird in the form of a paper clip holder. Oops…via designboom!

I literally gasped when I saw these lithographed renderings from A.W. Faber’s late 19th century catalog of pencils and other office supplies. The pamphlet cover states that Faber has factories in France and Germany and “houses” in London, Paris and Berlin. But the company address is at 78 Reade Street, right here in NYC. I applaud the University of Houston libraries: another superb digital archive. I came to this collection first via Tom Lynch’s blog Went Sketching. One of his posts then led me to the over-the-top obsessed German pencil-centric blog Lexikaliker. I love the interwebs.

Right now, this would be my number one gift choice for anyone who deigns to pick up a pencil. Much to my chagrin, I don’t believe these are in production. But maybe if we send Ignacio Pilotto (the designer) some pleading messages, he’ll get the ball rolling.

I was having dinner at the home of some friends the other night and found the need to jot something down. My friend Pete (or maybe it was his wife Sue) handed me a pencil that was perfectly sharpened and a joy with which to write. It got me thinking about the pencils to which I am addicted — the Eberhard Faber Blackwing 602s. Soft and smooth! Here I go again, the perfect tool for the job. Sadly, the Blackwings were taken out of production back in 1998. They have recently been re-introduced to somewhat mixed reviews. I know, I know…a lot of time and breath expended on what is, after all, just a pencil. But just consider the product tag line printed on the originals: Half the Pressure, Twice the Speed. How could anyone resist that?

I can’t speak for anyone else out there, but, for me, the iterative process of design is where I find true happiness! So, here are a few recent sketches of a butter knife I plan to carve out of wood. Nothing particularly fancy. Totally functional. This is the way I begin: sketch after sketch after sketch. Fast and not at all precious. Almost bordering on messy. Soft HB pencil. (Please don’t ask me what a pencil is.)