Why Incense Cedar?

Note: This color pencil drawing of a California Incense-cedar tree comes from the cover of one of our California Cedar Products Company brochures dating to the early 1960’s. The artist is unknown.This…

The Chinese Pencil Industry & World Reaction: Part 2

My last post covered some of the competitive developments in our industry as a result of the large growth in the Chinese pencil industry.While I mentioned that about 52% of the world’s pencils are now…

The Chinese Pencil Industry & World Reaction: Part 1

The third in a continuing series of posts on international trade issues affecting the pencil industry.My earlier posts focusing on pencil Anti-dumping duties provided first, a primer on the purpose and…

Mongolized

Photo: courtesy of our friends at Sanford Faber Venezuela.With the buzz of pencil talk going about the blogosphere recently I have seen several comments on the Mongol brand. These reflect preferences for…

The Pencil as Art

Photo Credit: C bookBack to the creative side for a day.We generally think of the use of pencils to generate art. However, it seems the pencil itself is continually viewed as a source of inspiration for…

Pencil Anti Dumping Duties: Are Changes in the Air?

This post continues a series of Timberlines articles discussing the impact various world trade issues and practices have upon the Pencil Industry. In my previous Primer on Pencil Anti-Dumping duties I…

Pencil Anti-Dumping Duties: Primer

The following is the first of a series of Timberlines articles to be posted in the coming weeks discussing the impact various world trade issues and practices have upon the Pencil Industry.Import and export…

Explore the World of Pencil Collecting

Given my family history in the in the pencil industry it’s not too surprising I tend to have a wide selection of pencils stashed in desks, drawers, closets and cabinets around my house, my office and…

We're a Proud Bunch: Who's Got the Biggest Pencil?

Those of us in the pencil industry are all quite proud of the origins and traditions of our companies. Many of us like to tell our historical tale of product innovation and organizational development.…