Creator, Andrew Bosely, says:

“I recently finished building a creative tool for writers and artists called the Brainstormer.  It started as a list of words in the back of my first Moleskine, but has since transformed into a free online tool and an upgraded, customizable iphone app.  It’s indispensable to me as a concept artist, illustrator, and amateur writer.  I know it would be a perfect fit for most creative Moleskine users.”

In 1998, Eberhard Faber stopped making the Blackwing 602 pencil, and its cult users have been pining for them ever since. An unsharpened Blackwing can sell for $40 on eBay. One person told me his eBay auction for a box of Blackwings went to a “song writer/composer who’s worked with Barry Manilow and on feature films, and chooses to only write music using the Blackwing 602.”

Today I received in the mail two pre-production Palomino Blackwing pencils, made by California Cedar. Keeping in mind these are pre-production pencils, here are my impressions after using the pencil for a few minutes.

• The color of the new Blackwing (NB) is flat black. The color of the original Blackwing is (OB) is a lustrous charcoal gray.

• NB has a gold band painted near the top of the wood, OB does not.

• OB has a black band painted on the ferrule, NB does not. 

• OB has stamped motto HALF THE PRESSURE, TWICE THE SPEED, NB does not.

• OB has pink eraser, NB has white eraser.

SMELL OF WOOD

• NB has a stronger, spicy smell. Reminded me of Indian food. Not unpleasant. OB’s smell is faint, but this could be due to its age (at least 12 years old).

• NB is softer and darker than OB.

• NB is quieter on the paper.

• OB holds a point longer than NB.

• I also compared the OB and NB to a Palomino HB, one of my favorite pencils. The Palomino actually seems closer to the OB than the NB does!

• A cheap pencil I found in my daughter’s desk was so close in quality to the OB, NB, and Palomino HB that I found myself wondering why I was caring so darn much about pencils.

PRELIMINARY CONCLUSION

I like the OB for sentimental reasons. If the NB ends up looking almost exactly like the OB and costs under $2.00, I will buy it. Otherwise I will use any HB that ends up in my hand.

“Every year in August, the Swiss-Italian town of Locarno becomes the world capital of auteur cinema for eleven days. Aiming to discover new talent and new trends, the Locarno Film Festival has established itself on the international scene as an invaluable launch-pad for the new generation in world cinema, with many world and international premières. 

Moleskine is celebrating the 63rd edition of the festival with a release of two customised notebooks: a Classic Pocket with embossed the Leopard on its cover, symbol of the Festival, and a Film Journal, for recording your thoughts on the films you like.”

For those who have been clamoring for "loose leaf" Moleskine paper, here it is finally

Pencil sketch using a shorty or

We’ve all had a little black book at least once in our lives, some of us still do. Nowadays technology has killed the idea of writing down numbers or addresses in the little book you like to keep in your back pocket.  Here is Pad & Quill’s interpretation of “The Little Back Book”. Designed as a slim journal, the case comfortably slips into your bag, while still retaining its purpose; to protect your iPhone. Get it here.

• Smooth like a pen, erases like a pencil.
• Liquid graphite delivers a strong, bold, erasable line.
• Enjoy a writing experience that is uninterrupted and hassle-free.  No need to load and reload lead!

Dietrich Lubs  of the Braun design team alongside Dieter Rams, has teamed up with Düller and IDEA to create a create a three-pack of writing tools. The collection features a rollerball, fountain pen, and mechanical pencil. Available at  TwentyTwentyOne.