Inside One of America’s Last Pencil Factories – The New York Times

Inside One of America’s Last Pencil Factories – The New York Times

Such radical simplicity is surprisingly complicated to produce. Since 1889, the General Pencil Company has been converting huge quantities of raw materials (wax, paint, cedar planks, graphite) into products you can find, neatly boxed and labeled, in art and office-supply stores across the nation: watercolor pencils, editing pencils, sticks of charcoal, pastel chalks. Even as other factories have chased higher profit margins overseas, General Pencil has stayed put, cranking out thousands upon thousands of writing instruments in the middle of Jersey City.

In further proof that I’ve not given this site the attention that it deserves, it seems this is the last pen and paper blog on the planet that has not linked to this. Stunningly beautiful photo essay.