Responsible, Sustainable Forestry at the Collins Almanor Forest
A few months back, I had the opportunity to explore the Collins Almanor Forest in Northern California. My guides were Collins Pine Company Forest Manager Jay Francis, longtime CalCedar employee (and...
View ArticleClive Thompson on the Typing vs. Writing Debate
“Type as quickly as you can, and always carry a pencil.” We’ve weighed in on the struggle between typing and handwriting before. We found research that showed how handwriting was better for retaining...
View ArticleBlackwings in the New Yorker’s Comma Queen Series Premiere
Yesterday, the New Yorker launched Comma Queen, a web series “devoted to language in all its facets” starring none other than New Yorker editor and Blackwing aficionado Mary Norris. The inaugural...
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Answering the “Why” Question
The past few weeks have been weeks of discovery. When we set out to design a new web home for Blackwing, we were preoccupied with questions of “how.” How would the new site look? How would we use it to...
View ArticleIntroducing “Volumes”– Limited Edition Blackwing Pencils
One of the most common questions we get is, “What does the ‘602’ on the Blackwing 602 mean?” Most people expect a profound story filled with deliberation and insight but, originally, the Blackwing 602...
View ArticleThe Making of the Blackwing Volumes Launch Film
Last week, we unveiled Volumes, our new limited edition pencil subscription program. If you missed that announcement, you can read more about it here, and you can subscribe to the program here. We...
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The Background and Design Behind Vol. 725
The Background When Andrew Combs was in town last summer, he was talking about a recent tour up the east coast that ended at the Newport Folk Festival®. He raved about the experience and the festival...
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Dylan Goes Electric – 50 Years ago Today
If you’ve been following us for the past few months, you probably know the number 725 has some sort of significance. Not only was it the number of our first Volumes edition, July 27th also marked the...
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Levi’s X Fort Lonesome X Blackwing at Newport Folk Fest 2015
The 56th installment of the Newport Folk Festival was a weekend to remember (more on that in our recap post). We met a ton of awesome people (hey Nic, Steve, Amanda and Max!), listened to some great...
View ArticleMeet 14 Year-Old Folk Singer Sammy Brue
Last week, we had the pleasure of meeting Sammy Brue, a 14 year-old folk musician from Ogden, Utah. Sammy was participating at the Wildwood Revival Showcase at the Museum Stage of the Newport Folk...
View ArticleA Pencil. An Apple Parody – Wood & Graphite
This morning, TJ over at Wood & Graphite sent us a link to a video he had been working on, and it is one of the most glorious things we’ve seen in a while. When Apple announced their Apple Pencil...
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Volume 725 is Sold Out
It’s official. We’re sad to see these babies go, but Volume 725 is officially sold out. A big thank you to everyone who subscribed or bought our first edition. If you missed out, here is a list of our...
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Introducing Volume 211
When we started brainstorming ideas for our second Volumes edition, we knew we wanted to show a different side of the program. The 725 was a musician’s pencil: loud and in your face. The 211 is just...
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What’s Inside the Volume 211 Subscription Box
By now, subscribers have started receiving their subscription box containing Volume 211, but that’s not the only surprise tucked inside that little brown box. We threw a little something extra in there...
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Exploring the John Muir Papers
It turns out, Blackwing has more ties to John Muir than just the new 211 edition pencil. We’re based in Stockton, California, home to the University of the Pacific, the oldest chartered university in...
View ArticleSubscriber Unboxing Video
Blackwing Volumes subscriber Pat Hannon posted this awesome video of him unboxing his Blackwing 211 subscription. Subscribe to Volumes The post Subscriber Unboxing Video appeared first on Blackwing.
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Introducing Volume 1138
It’s here, our third Volumes release, the Blackwing 1138. We’re calling this one “the sci-fi pencil.” Movie and science-fiction buffs probably already have an idea why. This pencil has a story to tell....
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The Process Behind the Blackwing 1138
Last week, we unveiled the Blackwing 1138. If you haven’t already checked it out, read the scoop here. This post will make a lot more sense if you do. With the reveal, the focus was on what was on the...
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Our Day with Steinbeck
Our Day with Steinbeck – by Grant Christensen and Alexander Poirier He entered the room with a presence befitting of his pedigree. His slicked-back hair and low-cropped beard had long since conceded...
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Volumes by Blackwing – Vol. 24
The Blackwing 24 – A Tribute to John Steinbeck MAR. 2016 To round out the first year of the Blackwing Volumes program, we wanted to pay tribute to one of our personal heroes, John Steinbeck. Designed...
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