Posts

New Palomino Items for the Holidays


After a long wait we are happy to announce introduction of an eraser tipped option on our Palomino Blue HB pencils just in time for the Holidays. Now by popular request eraser tips are available for both our Palomino Orange and Palomino Blue lacquer variations.

Also for the Holidays we have put together a special Palomino Christmas Gift Pack which includes a nicely cello wrapped set including our 12 Count Artist Color Wood Box Set, a 6 count Palomino Orange HB with erasers and our favorite Palomino-KUM Long Point Sharpener for a special price of $24.95. This is over $6 or 18% savings on this collection of items versus purchasing each independently. Make an aspiring artist in your family happy with this gifts set for Christmas.

Another Holiday selection that makes a great stocking stuffer are our Spangle Christmas decoration pencils available in both 8 pack and 24 pack counts.

While our Pencil World Store is well known for our quick and timely delivery we generally do recommend you place your Christmas orders by December 16th to assure delivery on time for the holiday.

/by

Palomino & California Republic Notes

Hello all you fellow Palomino Riders out there. I’m long past due in providing an update on developments with the Palominos and other brand ranges in our California Republic lines.

First, over the past few months we ran a test with some larger bulk pack formats with banded dozens in 36 and 72 count packs. We’ve had very positive reaction to this packing format. We ran through most of the stock on hand from this test and have just a couple remaining packs available on Pencil World Creativity Store both here and here. You may want to pick these up while they last.

Partially as a result of these tests we have reached a decision to make the banded dozen format more widely available for our internet distribution channel. In addition the banded dozens will be extended from the Palomino brand to also include all items in Golden Bear and Prospector ranges and even a few new Spangle items we plan to introduce by year end. We are a still a while off before these formats are formally introduced on a standard stocking basis, but do expect to have these up by year end. So keep your eyes peeled for this new option going live and I’ll provide more details when teh new stock arrives and we are ready to go live.

In the meantime if you’ve found you do have an appetite for bulk pack pencils we do have ready supply of our popular ForestChoice FSC certified pencils in 1 gross (144 ct) bulk packs. These are available both here at PWCS @ eBay or at our ForestChoice website.

Also comming soon we will be adding an eraser tipped option in our Palomino Blue HB, as well as a few varieties of Spangle jumbo size school learning pencils in both round and triangular shapes.Finally, I am making the commitment once again to more frequent posts on Timberlines so look forward to a series of new articles and weekly features covering a variety of topics. I know I got started last Spring and then didn’t keep up. This time.

/1 Comment/by

The Shape of Things to Come

California Republic has now introduced triangular shaped pencils in our Golden Bear and Prospector product ranges. These are the first of what we hope may become an expanded range of triangular pencils over time.

The Prospector Trianguler HB 40 count tube is available in our Prospector Green color. This pencil is tipped with our standard round white eraser as is the green Prospector pencil in our standard hexagonal shape. On future option under consideration is a natural finish version without eraser, although we have no definite time schedule to add any new triagualr versions at anytime soon.

The Golden Bear Triangular HB 40 count tube features our orange and blue color combination in an attractive end dip. No eraser at this point though we will consider the future addition of a blue triangular shaped eraser version for the down the road.

Sorry to say we have no immediate plans to offer a triangular version of the Palomino pencil.

We do have a few auction items with special savings chances on a few items right now including this, this & this.

We also have a Summer Color Splash pencil promotion going on as well as the extension of our Soccer Mania promotion. So if you haven’t visited our Pencil World Creativity Store lately drop on by with any of these links.

/3 Comments/by

Sharpen those Palominos


We have several long awaited new arrivals this week to expand our range of KUM sharpeners at Pencil World Creativity Store.

First, is our special edition Palomino Long Point Sharpener. This is a premium “Automatic” long point sharpener from KUM that features a two step process to acheiving a perfect point. The first step sharpens just the wood leaving the graphite core mostly untouched for step two; sharpening the graphite core to a fine even point. Prior to being exposed to this two step sharpener I was personally a devotee of the KUM metal wedge sharpeners, which I still enjoy for their simplicity, and clean short points when I’m using a Golden Bear or Prospector. However now I won’t touch my Palominos with anything but the Long Point sharpener. This provides a fine, crisp point that lasts longer between sharpening than the wedge point. When I was first introduced to this sharpener back at the Paperworld fair in Frankfurt by KUM owner-President Fritz Luettgens I knew I had to pair this one up with our Palomino pencils. The group at KUM was great to work with creating a series of color variations until we got just what we wanted, a nice translucent orange with our gold California Republic Palomino imprint on one side. Each sharpener comes with two spare blades and a cardboard case with operating instructions on the two step sharpening process.

Three other new KUM sharpener listings have also been added. The Softie Grip Magnesium II takes the one hole Magnesium sharpener and adds the ergonimic cushioning of a spongy grip to two sides. This feature provides a unique comfortable feel during sharpening. For another new container sharpener we’ve added the “Oval-Office-Large SOFTIE®-LINES” in blue and orange. This larger container sharpening includes the Magnesium two hole sharpener which can be removed for replacement. The softie lines feature provides a non-slip grip for handling the sharpener, but not the same cushioning effect of the Softie Grip. Next is a unique new combination product ensemble from KUM, the Groovy Blister Card Set. The Groovy set comes in three fun design styles and each set includes a decorates large Oval Office style sharpener with an eraser, 17cm ruler (sorry only metric measurement was available) and a unique graphite pencil produced from wood which has been stained black throughout. These sets will make great party favors or simply a nice gifts particuylary for girls in the 7 to 12 year old age group.

In celebration of the Germany 2006 World Cup we’ve also added a limited time Soccer Mania Promotion. Buy 5 10-packs of Spangle Soccer pencils and recieve a free KUM soccer sharpener. We have a limited group of seven soccer sharpeners and one of these features the Germany 2006 design so it’s first come first serve as to which sharpener you will receive. If you wish you can substitute any of our other Spangle 10 pack decorated pencil items if you don’t want all soccer pencils, just be sure to buy at least 5 packs total in one purchase and we’ll send the sharpener along.

Comming Soon: Two new listings for Golden Bear and Prospector triangular pencils.

/1 Comment/by

The Perfect Match

Special Spring Offer!

New at our eBay Pencil World Creativity Store, get a Free KUM® “Ellipse Office” Orange or Blue Pencil Sharpener of your choice when you purchase a minimum of one 40 count tube of Golden Bear graphite pencils. Offer valid through May 12, 2006. This sharpener includes KUM’s Magnesium one hole wedge sharpener and is designed to fit perfectly in a pocket or purse for easy portability.

Golden Bear Orange Graphite HB – 40 pencil tube
Golden Bear Blue Graphite HB – 40 pencil tube
Golden Bear Orange Graphite 2B – 40 pencil tube

The 2B is also a new item at the store in the past month and is perfect for those looking for a bit softer lead in our fine Golden Bear range.

/by

Thanks from Pencil World Creativity Store

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank the growing numbers of Palomino Riders and fans of our other pencil items that have supported our product and efforts at our Pencil world Creativity Store @ eBay. We are proud that we continue to maintain a 100% Positive feedback rating and have a growing number of first-time and repeat customers who clearly appreciate good quality pencils. Jeanette has done a super job handling the store and I know she appreciates all the kind words of support from you. She continues to work as time allows to expand our offerings or to add special auction items and special promotions like our current Easter Pencil Promotion and we enjoy hearing back from you about your ideas.

Now here’s an update on 6 new listings we’ve added over the weekend. First, we have four new Inventory listings (shown in phot here) to expand our selection of KUM sharpeners, Golden Bear and Palomino pencil items.

The KUM Correc-Tri Sharpener with Eraser is a stylish new item from KUM which includes an integrated magnesium wedge sharpener for standard pencils with container storage for shavings and a high quality eraser integrated into the base. It’s a nice integrated tool for a desktop accessory. We’ve made our final selection of KUM sharpener items and will be adding them as received into our stock.

Our Golden Bear 2B grade graphite pencils are now available in our 40 count tube packaging format. This expands to two lead grades (HB & 2B) in our Golden Bear range for those who prefer a slightly darker mark than a standard HB pencil. The 2B will only be available in our orange lacquer-blue eraser combination. Though not quite the high standard of our Palomino graphite leads the Golden Bear makes a fine writing pencil ideal for home, office and school use The Golden Bear pencil uses a make a nice complement to the orange and blue

Two new package options are available in our Palomino Range. First, is our new Palomino Rainbow Set. This 6 pencil pack selects the vibrant colors of the Rainbow from our artist quality wax color line. Included colors are: Purple, Blue, Yellow-Green, Yellow, Orange & Red. This item provides the quickest, easiest way to sample our artist color pencils in 6 popular colors. If you like these we encourage you to expand your selection through purchase of Wax Color Variety or Aquarelle Variety in 6 packs where you can select your own mix of colors from either our list of Artist Wax Color or Aquarelle ranges. Or go for the whole range with one of our complete wood boxed sets.

The Palomino Graphite HB Wood box set offers a new option to provide a nice wood case to stable those Palominos on your desktop or workspace. This item comes pre-packed with 3 each blue and orange Palomino HBs. However, the box will hold up to 12 Palominos, whether graphite, artist wax color or aquarelle. It takes a bit less space than our color pencil 12 count sets.

Next, we also continue our Vintage & Collectables Series with two new auction listings this week.

The feature item is a pairing of Henry Petroski’s book “The Pencil: A History of Design & Circumstance” with a 40 count tube of our Golden Bear HB pencils. This particular book is a 1st edition hardcover printing and comes from the personal collection of my grandfather Charles, was a gift from a former employee of the company and includes an inscription to Charles. Petroski’s book is the pre-eminent history of the pencil, of a number of the leading companies that make up the industry and of the advances in technology and materials that lead to developing the modern wood cased pencil. A must reed for any new Pencil Revolutionary.

The final Vintage & Collectable series item is a second Auction of our Palomino Natural finish Incense-cedar cased Ball Point Pen. This pen is one of just a few dozen that were produced for premium gift purposes and only a few remain on hand. We have paired this item with one our popular Palomino 6 count mixed grade Graphite packs.

We hope you enjoy these new listings and will check back at PWCS @ eBay upon occasion for new items we continue to add to our growing selection. We do plan an expanded range of stock Inventory listings as well as running more Grab Bag or Vintage & Collectable auctions as time permits. We’d really love to do one or two of these a week, but time is limited to prepare and manage such one of a kind one time auctions. We do auction certain non-stock items on an occasional basis such as our ForestChoice Carpenter pencil 144 count pack or 18 Count Palomino artist color sets where a special buy can generally be made at below our Buy it Now! prices.

Though I will do a Timberlines post now and then about new listings the best way to keep notified on what’s new is to sign up for our e-mail mailing list by adding Pencil World as one of your favorites while visiting our store site. If you have thoughts and ideas on new items or auctions you’d like to see added just let us know by commenting here. Again thanks for you business and we hope to see.

/5 Comments/by

New Tack for Those Palominos


We’ve been hearing from many of you that while you’re having a great time riding those Palominos bareback your comfort would benefit from a bit of additional accessorizing in the tack department. Well, we listened and here are some of our first accessory offerings includes two new unique Palomino items with erasers now available at our Pencil World Creativity Store.

First, our new Eraser Tipped Palomino HB is available initially as a 6 pack similar to our other Palomino items. Next, our new Palomino Deluxe Mixed Grade 12 Pack doubles up on the pencil count in our normal 6 count Mixed grade pack plus adds two new features: a hand held art eraser and our Deluxe hinged plastic case which provides a sturdy permanent stable for those Palominos and new accessories such as a sharpener and eraser. Quantities of both items are somewhat limited in these first offerings on eBay, but we have more replenishment stock on the way which is scheduled for arrival here in the US during March.

We also now have our first KUM sharpener offering at Pencil World, the KUM Metal Wedge Magnesium 2 hole sharpener. This simple classic wedge sharpener offering from KUM provides the option to sharpen both standard and jumbo sized pencils whether round, hexagonal or triangular in shape. This item comes courtesy of a barter arrangement on some GoldenBear pencils with our new trade partner PencilThings.com who has taken on the full line of KUM sharpeners and soon will be adding a selected mix of California Republic pencils as well. During the Frankfurt fair I also met with our new friends from KUM and we have a few additional special sharpener items we will be adding in the coming month or so including some interesting bundled items. Although our KUM sharpener selection will be much more limited than the full range selection now available at PencilThings.com we do think those sharpeners we will carry should complement our pencil range well.

We’re always looking at other Palomino breeding opportunities including more interesting tack items to add to our stable of Palominos and other California Republic offerings. While we we can’t offer today the breadth of range in tack items you might find here, we promise if you keep riding those Palominos and sharing your experiences with your friends we’ll be listening to your ideas and requests and working away at what we think makes sense for the long term.

/12 Comments/by

Woodchuck: The Pencil Pusher

Note: The drawing shown here hangs in my office and was a gift to my father by a waitress/artist who once served him and the owner of one of our customers from Mexico, Lapicera Mexicana during a dinner in San Diego. She thought it was novel to come across interesting people working in the pencil industry and drew this for my father and mailed it to him later.

Last week I was visiting with a longtime friend and personal advisor discussing developments in our business as well as my recent extracurricular activities with the Timberlines, our new Pencil World Creativity Store and my Flickr site. She later checked the sites out and thought the whole WoodChuck, the pencil pusher alter ego was a hoot and provided me an interesting new outlet for some of my creative energy.

The reality is it’s a challenge running a global business with international sales and operations in several time zones in our competitive industry. This alone is quite a bit before throwing in the added efforts of keeping up a new blog on the industry and starting a new online sales effort for our fledgling California Republic product range. As I hit extremely busy periods with the day to day work like we’re currently in now the picture here seems increasingly appropriate.

Unfortunately correlating with such busy periods is a reduced frequency of posts on the Timberlines. It’s not that there isn’t lots to do and cover here on Timberlines, I actually have a long list of topics I have plans to cover down the road, just need to balance that with the everyday pencil pushing. I’ll do my best to keep at least one meaty post going once a week.

Anyway I’d like to thank those of you continuing to visit Timberlines and especially those that have supported our Palomino launch thus far, particularly our friends via the Pencil Revolution.

Now back to Halloween planning.

/1 Comment/by