Blackwing: More Than A Pencil

Several years back I entered a conference room to interview a candidate for an open CMO role at my previous company. He was a quirky guy and as we exchanged the quintessential small talk and gathered our pads and writing utensil, we both immediately noticed something strange, an affinity for analog instruments, albeit of a different variety. As a youth, I was always a “pencil dude” and became particularly fond of a few Japanese manufacturers mechanicals. This bias was driven by one of my fondest memories as an even younger lad when my father gifted me a rare Tombow Oceanic, which was lost and resulted in a decades long search for another, but that’s a story for another time.

At any rate, pencils used to be my bag baby. Somewhere along the line of my professional journey into corporate America, I became an “ink dude”. Maybe it was time to “grow up” or maybe it was just a phase, but for a decade plus I wouldn’t so much as look at a pencil while amassing a sizeable ink collection. However, on this day as both the candidate and I sat across from each other, I pulled out one of favorite daily drivers, a Matte Blue body Pilot Vanishing Point fountain pens. The other gentlemen was packing something different, he would pull a elegantly simple Blackwing Pearl out of a pretty nifty little pencil bag if I might add. Something about the look drew me in.

We went through the formalities of the interview process, but quickly switched gears at the end to focus on our collective passion for analog instruments. At the end of it, he gifted me a couple a Blackwing Pearls and the rest is history. I was no longer exclusively an “ink dude”. Something about a pencil is just fun. It’s forgiving allowing you to take more risks. You can let the guard down a bit and just enjoy it. Yes, it’s just pencil to most, but tools have always held a special place for me and that is the passion we bring here at Makers & Mavens.

If you haven’t tried out a Blackwing, I highly recommend it. A couple must haves would be some spare erasers and I personally love the two step sharpener. You can see above that you can even have a little fun with a 3D printer and an Altoids container to create your own accessories. Also, jump over to Blackwing and take a peak at one of the cooler new releases, the 2023 Blackwing ERAS collection!

https://blackwing602.com/