The Week Of The Pencil. Crayola Carving.

There's a powerful nostalgia for me in Crayola. Diem Chau makes carvings from these iconic crayons and sells them via her website. More via our title above.

The Week Of The Pencil. Extracurricular Pencils.

Post two during the Week of the Pencil and these Extracurricular Pencils are built around Max Fischer's -the hero of the film Rushmore- extracurricular activities and clubs. You don't need to know the film, though, to enjoy these pencils. Available -I think, although today they seem to have disappeared- via our link above.

The Week Of The Pencil. Blackwing 602.

This week I am going to be posting mainly on pencils. Why this most humble, everyday article? Well, because at Pedlars we have secured exclusive rights to sell the Blackwing 602, which is widely regarded as the finest pencil in the world. We had a few hundred packets of 602s before Christmas and were (cheerfully) taken aback by demand. So we spoke to the manufacturers who were similarly pleased with the response from our customers; and a deal was made. Why are these the finest pencils ever? Well, probably the best place to refer you to for an answer is an outside, independent source, and there's a link to an article in Fortune mag via our title. You can buy them at www.pedlars.co.uk now.

What We Did At The Weekend.

It was a weekend of two halves; the first in The Highlands, the second in London. We went to the Carling Cup final to support our beloved Liverpool. Not only was it good to have something to celebrate after the recent racism debacles, but our youngest declared it 'the best day of his life...so far'. Enough said. - Posted on Charlie or Caroline's iPhone.

Location:Harley Rd,Harrow,United Kingdom

Maddie On Things.

Have you seen Maddie on Things? We absolutely love it. See more of the photos via our title.

Three Excellent New Records.

Here are three new albums that came out this week and that I have been enjoying; Lampchop's best for some time, another good 'un from Perfume Genius and the best Tindersticks record for ages. All recommended.

Netherland. Joseph O'Neill.

I've just finished this and really enjoyed it; it was recommended by two of the girls in Lutyens and Rubinstein, our -excellent and previously posted on- local bookshop in London. Both of them raved about it and said that they had 'been giving it to all of the men they could think of' for some time. At the centre of the plot is cricket, but you don't need to enjoy the sport to love this. Weirdly, it has a recommendation from Barack Obama on the cover; I'm amazed he finds time for novels.

Today In The Highlands.

It has been one of those days here at Glen Dye; crystal blue sky from dawn until dusk but with a strong, cold wind reminding us not to try sun bathing. A perfect end-of-half-term-week day, in fact. In addition to a fair bit of time in the office, we had a good long walk this morning. Wonderful stuff.

Artisanal Pencil Sharpening.

This is not a joke. First we had Slow Food, then Slowear, then, well, Slow Everything (Praise the Lord: I LOVE Slow Stuff) and now we have real, proper, slow pencil sharpening. David Rees, a political cartoonist who lives in a part of the US over-flowing with artisanal food producers, has become an artisanal pencil sharpener; really, he has. For about £15 he will select a pencil, sharpen it to perfection for you and mail it to Britain. It all sounds at once beautiful and bonkers to me and I love it. There's an LA Times article about Mr Rees via our title above. Apparently -and google doesn't seem to want to confirm this- a book by Rees is to come called “How To Sharpen Pencils: A Practical and Theoretical Treatise on the Artisanal Craft of Pencil Sharpening, for Writers, Artists, Contractors, Flange Turners, Anglesmiths, and Civil Servants, with Illustrations Showing Current Practice.”

Acme Whistles. A Great British Company.

I have a very old Acme Police whistle sitting on my desk at home; I can't remember where I found it, but it is a perfect thing. Acme are a fascinating British company; founded in Birmingham in the early 1800s and still making whistles there today. Things took off for the company in 1883 when they were approached by the Metropolitan Police to see if they might design something to replace the rattles that bobbies had previously used to alert their colleagues and the public to danger. Joseph Hudson -the founder- came up with a whistle that could not only be heard at a range of over a mile but could also be held in the mouth, thus leaving both hands free. And the rest is history. Today Acme make 93 different whistles and claim that every whistle made anywhere in the world owes its existence to Acme. This is the sort of company we should celebrate and support.

The Collarbone.

This is an app for iPad documenting 'the beauty and eccentricity of professional bicycle riding'. There are some lovely photos, even if you're not particularly interested in this sport. More via our title.

Some Envelopes We Just Have To Have.

You know how sometimes you see something and you just have to have it, even though you know you don't need it and probably don't even have a use for it? These envelopes are just such a thing. These are available from Kauffman Mercantile in the US; we have blogged about KM before and we bought quite a bit from them for Christmas (the best of which were an apple carrier backpack for my parents and some of their lovely Everyday Carry Kits, the tiny tools shown here). International shipping and customs always add up, of course, but with stuff this great, that really isn't a problem. More via our title.

PS. Notice the Blackwing pencil here too, Pedlars are now exclusive UK retailers of the wonderful thing.

The Joys Of Clutter (John Pawson Would Hate Our House).

Wandering around our house at the weekend with my camera around my neck (yes, it's always there) I was struck by quite how much stuff we have; big stuff, small stuff, valuable stuff, worthless stuff. And on and on. Our life is the opposite of minimalist; but our clutter is also considered; everything has a place and -cliche alert- everything has a story to tell. The objects in our house all mean something to us and I deeply believe that it is this that gives our house -any house- its soul. When I see minimalist houses in mags with everything tidied away (except a tasteful wooden toy, perhaps) I feel like weeping. I could have taken masses and masses of photos; but here are four.

What We Did This Weekend.

Here's another chapter in our What We Did This Weekend series. We played outside; in spring sun, gales and snow storms.

Lambchop - Gone Tomorrow

This is strange video, inevitably; Lambchop remain resolute in attempts to remain a minority interest (their label told me that Pedlars were their biggest retailer one year). But what a wonderful song; Kurt's voice is perfect. The new album is out next week. Exquisite.

tindersticks - Jumpy Dog

There's a new Tindersticks lp on Monday. We listened to some of their older stuff last night and it sounded magical, after all these years. This is lovely. Good dog, too.

Art & Coffee.

These cappuccinos are the creations of Mike Breach, barista at The Breslin in New York. The Breslin is the restaurant attached to the Ace Hotel in New York, where we stayed -en famille- before Christmas. Everything (with the notable exception of one, err, 'greeter' who was so unbelievably, internationally, weirdly rude to us one morning that we left -the hotel were incredibly apologetic, I don't think it was the first time it had happened- but beware, success sometimes breeds contempt) was great about the Breslin, but sadly we didn't see Mr Breach's coffee designs. The coffee is by Stumptown and is excellent. And the ability to do this sort of things shows not only well-made coffee, but love and care. More via Smith & Ratliff via our title.

Be-Poles Books.

I bought a beautiful small book of photos of Paris a couple of years ago; a slim volume that I often look at and enjoy. I didn't know much about it until someone pointed me in the direction of the publisher, Be-Poles, recently. They publish a number of similar books on other cities and make some other things too, including these bags that you'll recognise if you've shopped in Merci in Paris. Well worth a visit, via our link.

Hulk, Porto.

I was watching football last night; Manchester City versus Porto. It was a good game and all that, but the best bit was the discovery of a Porto player called Hulk, who actually, really, looks like the Hulk.

New God Save The Queen Prints At Pedlars.

Here are two prints by Sara Mererid Williams at Pedlars. Sara is a recent graduate of Chelsea School of Art and is the author of our Great British Food print, which sold out seven editions last year. These are both from signed, limited editions of 20. Find out more via our link, above.

Pedlars Towers.

I was wandering around outside our office yesterday afternoon and it all looked wonderful under a confident February sun. So, I took some snaps (with my phone). Here they are. The 1890s stable block that houses Pedlars is also home to some stables and the HQ of the (unofficial) world's greatest mechanic, Rab.