cw pencil enterprise, nyc…

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cw pencil enterprise, nyc…

June 9, 2015 by redletterdayzine

There is a magical wonderland of a place that you may or may not have heard of, in the heart of New York City. Miz Happenstance and I were lucky enough to get in on the action when we visited NYC two weeks (or so) ago.

CW Pencil Enterprise is a place which, I’m convinced, could only exist in NYC (or Tokyo.) Upon entering the lovely little store, one is immediately transported to a time when the smell of pencil shavings meant practicing one’s cursive writing and hand-crank pencil sharpeners were a staple in every classroom.

Temptation is all around: beautifully arranged glasses filled with all manner pencils line the shelves…

And a lovely cork board displays available models (why yes, they do have the famed Palamino Blackwing!)…

There is also a wonderful selection of journals, erasers, and pencil sharpeners from companies far and wide. Japan, Switzerland, Germany, the UK, Argentina…pencils from across the globe are yours for the purchasing!

The icing on the cake? CW Pencil Enterprise can customize pencils for you! Starting at two dollars per, there is a range of colors to choose from (see the above photo.) And guess what? No minimum order! So whether you want to order one for yourself or one hundred for the holiday season — CW can help you out. The extremely helpful staff is generous with their pencil knowledge, but beware: mechanical pencils have no place here!

Sharpen, sharpen, sharpen —

–JH

CW Pencil Enterprise feature in the New York Times

a fun interview with Caroline Weaver (CW Pencil Enterprise owner) via Pencil Revolution

how are pencils made? the History Channel shows us!

Posted in paper-y adventures, things we love | Tagged CW Pencil Enterprise, journal, letterwriting, pencil, red letter day zine | 16 Comments

16 Responses

on June 9, 2015 at 9:18 am | Reply Monica Lee

This looks like a fun shop! Great photos too.
- on June 9, 2015 at 9:40 am | Reply redletterdayzine
  
  Monica —
  
  It was truly sublime! A little something for everyone, and all price points represented — especially important when we’re talking about Palomino Blackwing pencils (which, BTW, I saw on the counter of the pen department when I was at Flax the other day!)
  –JH
on June 9, 2015 at 9:39 am | Reply pamelaarts

Oh how lovely — I will add to it to my NYC list for my next visit. Thanks for the report!
- on June 10, 2015 at 11:29 am | Reply redletterdayzine
  
  Pamela —
  
  It’s worth the trip, just to see the lovely way that everything has been arranged. There is also a GORGEOUS silk scarf, matted/framed/hanging on the wall of — you guessed it! — A PENCIL.
  –JH
on June 9, 2015 at 10:02 am | Reply nicholasyeager

I wasn’t sure there’d be anything left to see when I visit NYC this summer, Ms. H. Thanks for discovering the graphic (or is that graphite?) underbelly of the city that makes its mark by being unique.
- on June 10, 2015 at 11:28 am | Reply redletterdayzine
  
  Nick —
  
  Definitely “graphite”! And whaddya mean “nothing left to see in NYC”?!?! There’s always Times Square (ack). 🙂
  –JH
  - on June 15, 2015 at 10:02 pm nicholasyeager
    
    Maybe my tongue got caught in my cheek? But if NYCentral is gone, it won’t be fun. 😦
on June 9, 2015 at 3:56 pm | Reply Carole Sauter

I love it! Thank you for interesting posts.

Sent from my iPad

>
- on June 10, 2015 at 11:26 am | Reply redletterdayzine
  
  Carole —
  
  Thanks for your thanks! 🙂 I’ve had a run of “good stuff” come across my radar lately, so the next few weeks worth of blog posts will be packed with interesting places, creative folks, and exciting happenings…
  –JH
on June 9, 2015 at 4:34 pm | Reply ginnylloyd

Thanks for sharing this. I see she carries one of my fave sketch pencils. G
- on June 10, 2015 at 11:31 am | Reply redletterdayzine
  
  Ginny —
  
  Any kind of non-mechanical pencil you care to own, CW Pencil can probably source it for you! And they’re super-nice to boot.
  –JH
on June 10, 2015 at 5:13 pm | Reply missrose10

Oh the class room pencil sharper, the saving grace for a girl who clearly didn’t study for her test and so desperately needed an escape from the tyranny of learning. How you would let me gaze out the window to freedom as I blindly turned your crank while dreaming of a life free of homework and bullies. Thank you for those moments of escape in the hell that was public education system.
- on June 15, 2015 at 10:43 pm | Reply redletterdayzine
  
  Miss Rose —
  
  A poetic tribute to the humble pencil sharpener! You and I would’ve been BEST FRIENDS in grade school too…
  –JH
  - on June 16, 2015 at 8:11 am missrose10
    
    I would like to think so, specially if we didn’t have a class together. You would have gotten tried of my looking over your shoulder for all the answers. It is nice to have smart friends.
on June 22, 2015 at 2:20 pm | Reply sevenhappyhens

Great snaps and write up Miz Red! What a highlight of our trip that place was. I am really enjoying the pencils I purchased there.
- on June 22, 2015 at 3:27 pm | Reply redletterdayzine
  
  Seven Hens —
  
  Meeeeee toooooo…I love those neon beauties more than I realized I would! However: they’re fat pencils, so I have to figure out the best way to sharpen them! D’oh…
  –JH