Review by Tina Koyama Back in the day, graphic designers and printers used “non-photo blue” pencils. Certain shades of blue that could not be detected by camera film (or copy machines), so rough drawing lines or notations could be left on the art and would not appear in the final form. Modern scanners can see…
Review by Tina Koyama Once I grabbed onto the Caran d’Ache Klein Blue Maxi pencil, the slope became slippery. I had already had my eye on the Klein Blue Fixpencil ($52), which I had resisted for a while . . . until I realized that it came with Klein Blue leads! And the leads are…
Review by Tina Koyama When Caran d’Ache recently brought out a limited-edition line of products honoring the French artist Yves Klein, the Fixpencil and standard-size graphite pencils were expected, but this item was a delightful surprise: the Klein Blue Maxi graphite pencil. (Unfortunately, it’s now out of stock at the Gentleman Stationer, but Joe’s blog…
Review by Tina Koyama Maybe you’ve been wanting to dip one toe into the Blackwing pencil pool without diving into the deep end of the mixed metaphorical rabbit hole. Or perhaps you are already a Blackwing aficionado, and you want to show your uninitiated friend (the one who insists that pencils are for school kids)…
Review by Tina Koyama Back in the day when I frequented coffee shops, I was often impressed by laptops I would see that were completely encrusted with stickers. I have never been one to sticker up my hardware, not even my bumpers, but my sketchbooks and notebooks are another matter. Stillman & Birn sketchbooks, my…
In the US, there are three major colored pencil brands that vie for the “most popular” spot in the professional/high-quality colored pencil category. They are colloquially known as the Ps: Prismacolors, Pablos and Polychromos. Prismacolors First up are Prismacolors which are currently called Prismacolor Premiers. These beloved pencils have been passed around to so many…
