There’s been quite a few posts in the stationery blogging world over the last few days about the demise (or not, as the case may be) of the pen/pencil, instigated by this post in the New York Times. I think this Pen Addict article pretty much tore the NYT one apart and I didn’t think much more needed to be said on the matter…
Until I saw this on It’s Nice That and couldn’t not share it! A brilliant feature – from none other than the New York Times! (albeit in their style magazine) – celebrating famous designers’ and artists’ favourite writing instruments.
Each artist was asked to do an illustration showing their favourite pen/pencil/paint brush etc. My favourite one was by designer Milton Glaser:
This is his ode to the Koh-I-Noor multi-coloured Magic Pencil. He says: “When you use one, it makes even a simple drawing look complex and difficult, so the client thinks you spent more time on it than you did.”
Another one I like is jewellery designer Maria Black’s:
Her choice is the Staedtler 0.5mm mechanical pencil, which she explains works for her “crisper, sharper, more geometric” drawings.
The others include Manolo Blahnik, Peter Ragonetti and Kulapat Yantrasast – do check out their illustrations on the NYT article.
I find it funny that 2 so contradictory features came for the same publication within a couple of days…But anyway, it’s just nice to see some positivity!
All pictures courtesy of nytimes.com
Thanks so much for linking to this article! It was so interesting. I kind of feel vindicated by Milton Glaser’s pick, as when I went to buy the Koh-I-Noor magic pencil last year, the salesperson at the art store looked at me funny and led me to the kids section. But I’d seen a fabulous illustrator use it (of course, her name has slipped my mind, but she’s one of the Urban Sketchers) and her quick sketches did look like high art just because of it. And, uhm, rainbow colours all at once. How can you go wrong? 😉