We love stocking products that are made with passion by real people, especially products made on home turf. Rosanna is one of those people, and also someone who I've been quietly stalking on social media for a while now. Together with her husband Joel she runs Iron Curtain Press, a letterpress shop founded in 2008. They're also the masterminds behind Shorthand--a perfect stationery shop in LA that we're always telling people to visit. This year during the National Stationery Show we finally got to meet both of them in person and were especially excited to see their new pencil case, which Rosanna showed to me in great detail. From the interior piping to the zipper to the dimension--it's a really awesome find. That's when I knew that we were a match made in shop heaven! She really gets it and so I was thrilled to have the opportunity to ask her a few questions about all the things she does:

What was the first product you ever made for Iron Curtain Press?
My foray into creating products started with a small line of letterpress greeting cards. Over the years the line has kept expanding and greeting cards are still the bulk of the products we make - I think we have over 150 different cards at the moment. I love thinking of messages I want to send someone and then turning that idea into a greeting card. 

The most challenging product release was our Standard Notebook. I had a favorite notebook I used all through college, I would buy several at the beginning of each quarter. When I started thinking of what I wanted to add to our product line-up, I realized I had never been able to find a better notebook than that original notebook I had loved. I set out to create an even more perfect version, and I am pretty stoked about how it turned out. 

Tell us about the moment you realized that you wanted to open a physical storefront. We needed to find a new location for our print shop, our business had expanded and we just needed more space. While we were looking, a space on a busy street in our neighborhood opened up and was a good size for both a print shop with a small store space in the front. I initially thought the store would mostly be a showroom for our own products with other products that complement our line-up. Once we opened the doors, the store took on a life of its own. I love hunting for great office supplies that are beautiful and useful. It’s been such a delight to see how excited our customers are about our selection.

Are there any items you’re coveting right now for your own personal stash?
We have so many amazing planners on order right now (all arriving towards the end of the summer) and I can’t decide which one will be my go-to planner this year. The Appointed Weekly planners are so beautiful and then I’m just a nut for the Midori paper and the layout of their planner is so beautiful. It will have to be a game-time decision, but I’m pretty stoked to see them all in person.

What are the things that were most important to you when designing your perfect pencil case?
The number one most important thing to me when conceptualizing our pencil case was that it would be able to fit an unsharpened pencil. It seems that the bags that are large enough to fit a whole pencil are more “marker bags” - larger rectangle bags. I wanted a long, narrow pouch that could hold a handful of my favorite writing utensils, plus an eraser and sharpener. It was also important that we find a way to manufacture the bags in Los Angeles. Since we currently make all our products in-house, I wanted to be able to ensure the quality matched what we make ourselves and making them nearby ensured that we could be part of the process each step of the way. We were able to source all the materials in Los Angeles. It’s great to meet the people you’re working with and see the environment in which your products are being made and be able to pop over quickly to answer questions or make decisions in person.

Has the transition from running your studio to doing that AND running a shop presented any surprising challenges?
My job has grown a lot and I’m learning how to better delegate - we essentially operate 3 separate businesses that overlap (custom letterpress print shop, wholesale line of greeting cards and notebooks, retail office supply store) and it’s been a learning process. Our team is absolutely stellar and we have grown so much in the last two years. When I naively started a small letterpress business almost 10 years ago I couldn’t have imagined how many long-term business decisions I’d have to make; decisions that allow us to adapt to the rapid expansion and keep up with demand all in a way that allows us to grow responsibly. I suppose anyone who runs a business will tell you that it feels like a split personality to live in the moment creating and running a business, yet to be thinking for the future growth of the business so as to dodge any potential missteps. But every day I love coming to work and am so thankful for this wonderful little world we’ve created. 

If you could only use one writing instrument for the rest of your life what would it be?
How can it be possible to choose only 1!! The Craft Design Technology pencils made by Camel are my current favorite. The graphite is just the right softness for me and the color is perfect. Plus I love the erasers. 

My current favorite pen is the Sierra Wooden Needle Point, but (nerd alert) I switch out the ink cartridge and put a .5mm gel cartridge in there instead of the .7mm ball point cartridge. It’s a wonderful hack that makes this pen even more of a joy to write with than it already was. I finally just placed an order for a massive amount of these gel refills so we can offer this combo in the store too. The body of the pen is made with incense cedar so it feels like you’re holding a pencil but writing with a gel pen. It’s a true delight. 

Do you have any wild dreams for the future of your brand(s)?
I’d love to create a full line of office supplies, from a wonderful stapler and tape dispenser to a great trash can and filing cabinet to a rubber band ball and rad paper clips (plus so many more ideas). We’ve even spent some time mocking up what each of these items would look like in my ideal dreams. It’s good to dream big, right? : )

^(editor's note: YES PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!)

You can find Rosanna and her businesses here:

Shorthand LA: 5028 York Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90042

Instagram: @ironcurtainpress and @shopshorthand

ironcurtainpress.com 

shopshorthand.com

*Photos stolen from the Iron Curtain Press and Shorthand Instagram accounts

As we all know, pencils come in many shapes, forms and colors. Though there's no right or wrong way to use them, many come with specific purposes. One thing we're constantly trying to combat is the stigma that just because a pencil is made for something doesn't mean that it can't be used for everything else. We want you to use your pencils for everything! As an everyday user of pencils that are not always graphite I'm here to explain how you can find practical purposes for those random colored stragglers hanging around in the your pencil cup. 

Colored Pencils: They come in sets, or they're sold individually. For the average pencil-using adult, the only colored pencil that is often encountered is a red or red/blue editing pencil. Otherwise, they're still often categorized as being mostly for actual coloring--which we well know by now is totally acceptable as an adult activity (check out some of our favorite coloring books here, here, and here). If you're editing a big project, using a color to check off your to-do list or color-coding your planner, we encourage you to depart from the norm and try something new! Pull an old favorite out of the coloring set that's collecting dust on your desk or go to your local art supply shop and just pick an individual one that speaks to you. 

Rainbow Pencils: Clearly we can get enough of these because we sell many varieties. They come in a couple of different forms, from the Czech-made Koh-i-Noor Magic pencils to the Japanese 7 color variety. A rainbow pencil has at least three colors swirled into its core and upon first glance may seem to have few practical applications. My first neon Magic pencil was purchased at a museum gift shop in Barcelona when I was in college. I used it for sketch book notating and also as a highlighter pencil in books. While writing my book, I used one to cross out each sentence of a printed draft after I'd entered the changes into my word doc (the final result being an ultra satisfying page with multi-colored stripes). The 7 Color Rainbow Pencil has even become one of my all-time favorites for addressing envelopes as you can turn it slightly to get different colors--it's awesome because it's totally legible. 

Highlighter Pencils: These are a little easier to figure out as they serve the same purpose as a regular ink highlighter. The advantage of a pencil, though, is that it doesn't bleed through or smudge ink. If you already keep one of these on hand for highlighting, try using it to embellish notes or to keep your task list on point--you'll find that they're addictive for organizing and color-coding. I like to carry a neon pencil in my travel postcard writing kit because they're not water-soluble and often show up better on the weird, glossy postcard finish than a regular pencil because they're so waxy and pigmented. They're an excellent addition to a minimalist pencil case if you like having something different. 

Combo Pencils: There are more out there than just the red/blues we're used to seeing! We made out graphite/red Editor because we wanted to be able to have one single pencil that's perfect for task lists, editing for whatever you may need that lovely red for. Milan makes an awesome graphite/highlighter combo too, which is perfect if your preferences tend towards the bright or you're constantly in need of an accessible highlighter. The point of these things is convenience and their ability to make your EDC a little more minimalist. While traveling in Colombia last summer I didn't bring any postcard supplies and instead picked up 6-pack of cheap double-ended colored pencils to play with--twice the options, half the pencils! 

Copying Pencils: The indelible sort may have seen their prime come and go nearly a century ago but these things do still exist and do have a place in your collection! I use them for writing letters I wish not to be erased or smudged, for signing things and also for when I want that ultra classic violet hue. Most customers who buy them for the water-solubility and ink-like permanence use them on surfaces while they're still a little damp--whether that be fabric, paper or even plaster molds (hi to all the dentists out there!). 

No matter how serious the pencil-user, there's always a place for something colorful in your stash. We even just made a Notes and Notations Sampler full of some of our favorites for everyday organizing, planning, writing and journaling. I dare you to find a new use for each and every one of them!

PS. Looking for a new task pad to test all these out on? Try this one. 

This month's #PencilPrompt: Where do you take your pencils on vacation? We'd love to see! Special BONUS: Throughout the month of July, in each online order we will be tucking in a #pencilsonvacation postcard. Color it, doodle on it, whatever you want, and send it back to us for a discount off your next order! 

We're deep into summer travel season, so we've got a bit of vacation-brain here in the office. (It doesn't help that we don't have shop hours to adhere to currently). Of course this gets us talking -- how do you take pencils on vacation? 

Perhaps the first and toughest question is just how many pencils to bring? We discussed the every day carry in last month's Prompt, but packing for a vacation requires some extra thought. I mean, it seems silly to add too much bulk to luggage by bringing too much stationery, but what if you lose one pencil, or work all the way through it, or *GASP* you need to take a cute Instagram and don't have a pencil to match. 

I like to take a PYP approach (because if I don't establish packing rules, I will just dump my pencil cup into my suitcase.) for traveling, though I do usually bring a multi-colored pencil just for embellishment on postcards. PYP is a terribly genius term we came up with that stands for "pimp your pencil." Basically, it's pencils that are fully accessorized - an eraser cap, a point protector, and a pocket clip*. Or, you can even go one step better and use a Perfect Pencil cap or a Kum Tip Top, so you don't even need to add a sharpener to your carry on. 

Speaking of sharpeners, we have been asked a number of times if sharpeners are allowed on airplanes. The short answer is yes - TSA regulations do not prohibit small bladed items like razors and pencil sharpeners. Of course just because these things can be unpredictable, there's no guarantee that your sharpener won't be inspected by TSA, but I have truthfully never heard of that happening. Except that one time Caroline brought an El Casco 24ct gold-plated canister sharpener in her carry on to bring to the Paul A. Johnson Pencil Sharpener Museum in Ohio -- OF COURSE the TSA were like "WTF is this?" I mean, how often do you come across a gold-plated sharpener in someone's bag? They were terribly amused to discover it was a sharpener. Traveling to a sharpener museum. Lesson learned: gold plated sharpeners go in the checked luggage. 

Pencil tourism in and of itself can be a really fun addition to a vacation. Our secret trick for finding unique pencils is to dig into old art or office supply stores, or even places like used book stores, antique stores or thrift shops. Pencils are collectible, but still many people think of them as a discardable item, so it's easy often easy to snag vintage finds on back country roads. And, of course, nearly all gift shops everywhere all the time have advertising pencils, so those are easy to pick up.

Of course, if you REALLY want to be a pencil tourist, there's a number of places you could pilgrimage to around the world. Caroline's even got a short chapter on it in The Pencil Perfect. (Also: please don't worry, CW Pencil Enterprise will be back to a physical location you can actually visit in the very near future). Here's a few in the US: 

Paul A Johnson Pencil Sharpener Museum

The Pencil Factory (aka the Eberhard Faber Factory), Brooklyn, NY

Joseph Dixon Crucible Company, Jersey City, NJ (these are actually apartments now, but the building is a neat walk-by!)

Pencil City, USA (the Musgrave factory in Shelbyville, TN)

Henry David Thoreau Collection, Concord Museum, Concord, MA 

World's Largest Pencil, City Museum, St. Louis, MO 

Anyway... Here's a couple extra tips we've picked up in our travels: Toothbrush holders make excellent pencil cases for 2-3 pencils, which is good for keeping things minimal! Collapsible shot glasses are great shavings catchers on the go (though my person trick is using the plastic case the Masterpiece comes in). Drug store makeup sections always have pencil sharpeners in a pinch. Do you have any tips or tricks for toting pencils on vacation? 

Where are you and your pencils going? We're eager to see where in the world our pencils travel to! Share your #pencilsonvacation with us on social media, or send us back this month's special postcard with your destination penciled in. 

 *Pencil clips coming to CWPE soon!! Stay tuned. 

Two years ago, I worked on a blog post suggesting some of our favorite pencils for crossword puzzles, which still remains one of our top store requests! We recently broke out a copy of the Sunday Times, as well as a regular daily crossword to revisit the subject with our current (and much broader!) selection of pencils. 

For newspaper and glossy magazine print, you need a pencil that's dark, but not too crumbly or smudgy. A firm pencil pretty much destroys newspaper - they indent the sheet so the marks are too hard to erase and are generally too light to show up very well. Not ideal. If a pencil is too soft, it will make a mess - especially on magazine paper. If you're using pencils for crosswords, you also need a really good eraser (because otherwise, you could just use a pen, right?) - it's got to be nice quality and sort of soft because hard rubber ones will easily tear newspaper. 

Our original picks: 
Craft Design Technology HB
Palomino HB
Blackwing 602
Blackwing Pearl
Yellow School Pencil

At the time of the original post, we didn't have many of the lovely Japanese pencils that we have now, and we've since discovered some pencils that we prefer more than the original selection. Here's our updated picks -- which are available as a Crossword Puzzle Sampler Pack! 

Swapped: Blackwing 602 for 2558 B: While the graphite in the 602 is a great hardness for both newspaper and magazine paper, we much prefer the soft plastic erasers on the end of the 2558 B (which is almost as dark as the 602) instead. 

Swapped: Craft Design Technology for Camel HB: Okay, these are essentially the same pencil, and both are great general use pencils. We prefer the Camel HB here simply because they come in loose stock, so you can try just one before developing an addiction. 

Swapped: Blackwing Pearl for General's Test Scoring: Similar to the 602, the Pearl is lovely and dark and great for magazine print. After testing however, we determined the Test Scoring pencil just has better point retention, which is needed when filling out small spaces. 

Kept: Caran d'Ache Yellow School Pencil: I think this is one of the most underrated pencils in our collection! This is a great #2 pencil with a nice plastic eraser. It's got great point retention, too. 

Kept: Palomino HB: This is one of our very favorites just because it's such a well-rounded pencil. It's got nice, smooth HB graphite that's just a little bit dark, it has really nice point retention and sharpens well, and it has a great eraser. 

Introduced: Mitsubishi Office Use 9850: We like this one for similar reasons to the Palomino HB - it's just an all-around great pencil. It shows up nicely on newspaper and magazine print, erases well, and had a decent eraser. 

Other accessories: Most pencils could use an eraser upgrade, and these hi-polymer caps are perfect for that! For on the go purposes, these pencil caps are also a great accessory to keep your points sharp and your bag graphite-free. 

 What are your thoughts on using pencils for crossword puzzles? Are you a purist who only uses pen (if so, you are much better at crosswords than me!)? 

P.S. These pencils are also great for those newsprint puzzle books, too! 

When I first heard about Caitlin's prompt, I'm pretty sure I instantly turned a nice shade of red. My EDC situation is kind of embarrassing. And seems even more embarrassing after reading all my coworkers' beautifully refined EDCs.

I like to blame my career. As I'm sure I've mentioned an irritating amount of times, I'm a freelance illustrator in addition to being a Pencil Lady. One of the great things about being a freelance illustrator is that I have a lot of flexibility and can work from just about anywhere. The downside is that the supplies I use for illustrating can really accumulate.

Instead of a nice bag or small backpack, I honestly lug around an overstuffed, gray backpack that looks like it's been trampled by all of NYC most days. When I say overstuffed, I mean it's filled with everything from pencils to peanut M&Ms to maybe a pair of socks with avocados on them and it weighs about half as much as I do. My fellow Pencil Ladies (who have all made the mistake of picking up said backpack) can attest to how just how overstuffed/damn heavy it is.

Anyway, let's ignore the socks, the tupperware, the laptop, and the peanut M&Ms (which'll likely be eaten by the time I finish writing this), and just focus on the stationery, writing, and drawing supplies.  

Here we go:

First thing's first, my utensil case. For the past few years, I've been rocking a custom-made case by Allison Bamcat, a talented artist and my former coworker back in my Converse pattern and graphics department days. As a going-away gift (moving from Boston to NYC), she created a case tailored to fit my favorite pens (which I'll get to later) out of a french fry fabric she designed. There's even a perfect little pocket on the side for erasers!

Since we're on that eraser pocket, I usually have two erasers in there. Lately it's been two of my all-time favorite erasers--the Caran D'Ache Technik and then a nub of a Matomaru-Kun long rectangular eraser. I've recently added the Mono Zero to the mix as well, because you know what? Odd numbers are nice.

Okay, let's go inside the case. The pencils. In a perfect world, I'd just have an HB, a 4B or 6B, and maybe a 2H on me so I could have access to a range of grades while working in my sketchbook. In reality, as I drew out above, I have:

• 1 Viking Element 1
• 1 Mono100 HB
• 1 Editor (which is sort of my 2H substitute, since it runs a little hard)
• 1 Mono KM-KKS 6B (my pencil crush of the moment)
• 1 yellow HB Bruynzeel from Holland that I think Caitlin gave me?
• 1 Franky and Friends Ibis B that just sort of appeared in my case one day
• 1 CWPE x Caran D'Ache Black Wood, that I use on everything from concept sketches, to To Do lists, to murals.

Now, this always feels a little blasphemous here, but let's move on to the pens. Again, in a perfect world, I'd carry a black gel pen, a red gel pen, a blue gel pen, a brush pen, a white gel pen, and then maybe a regular ball point. Of course, given the brick-like state of my utensil case, that is not the case. Here's the truth:

• 1 black, 1 red, 1 blue, and 1 sky blue Muji gel pen, all with 0.5mm points
• 1 0.4mm Hi-Tec-C Pilot pen with navy ink
• 2 0.5mm Hi-Tec-C Pilot pens with black ink
• 1 0.3mm Hi-Tec-C Pilot pen with black ink
• 1 Pentel brush pen with black ink
• 1 Uni-Ball Signo pen in white ink
• 1 Prodin Seven Year ballpoint pen in black ink
• 1 empty yellow plastic Lamy Safari that I swear I'll refill soon really
• 1 Super Fine Zebra Disposable Brush Pen
• 1 Fine Zebra Disposable Brush Pen ( honestly, I was carrying two, but I just gave one to Caroline)
•  and 1 neon pink Gelly Roll pen. You know. For good measure. 

I mean, what girl doesn't need to carry around 700 black pens at once. 

Now, my notebooks and sketchbooks. Given the state of everything else in my bag, I show a moderate amount of self-control in this area. I usually have on notebooks for lists, ideation, and occasionally thumbnail sketches. Lately, I've been using my Mnemosyne 195 for that.

And then as far as sketchbooks go, I always always always have a 5.5" x 5.5" Handbook Journal on me. Right now I have one with a black canvas cover that's nearly filled--it's actually what I drew all these illustrations in for this post! It has beautifully thick, toothy paper that works well with pencil, ink, and some light paintwork. I've used these obsessively since college. 

Last two bits that seem relevant here (since I use them for art things), are my laptop (which 85% of the weight in my backpack) and Wacom Tablet. 

So there you have it! My EDC. Hopefully for the sake of my sanity and back I pare it down a bit. 

I am an extremely lucky pencil lady: my Russian boyfriend has an apartment on Brighton Beach, which means we get to spend the summer on the ocean. Besides the obvious advantage of being able to jump in the water whenever we want, Brighton Beach has a number of advantages: great food, two bookstores, and the feeling that you are partially in a different country. So when I have the day off, we usually stay in the neighborhood, for which I now have a great deal of fondness. On this particular Saturday, we started the morning with a cup of coffee on the balcony, enjoying the view seen above.

Next we headed out for a walk along Brighton Beach Avenue, the main drag, under the elevated subway tracks. I wish I could tell you what Gold Label International Food's full selection of provisions is like, but I've never actually set foot in the place. Instead, this little window is the provider of one of my favorite snacks: пирожок с капустой ("little pie with cabbage" -- it's a cabbage pastry). I think there are meat and potato options available as well, but the cabbage is the most special (possibly because Nora Ephron's "The Lost Strudel" has imprinted a perpetual desire for cabbage pastries in me).

A little further down the avenue we stop at the first bookstore of the day: RBC Video. The ground floor has a large selection of Russian film and TV on DVD, plus some music (CDs and vinyl). The upstairs is a bookstore. My own Russian is sadly lacking (I get excited when I can identify words on the awnings of shops in the neighborhood), so when we go here I take a leisurely lap around the shelves, trying to sound out authors' names.

My partner, on the other hand, being both Russian and a professor of literature, actually opens the books. On this occasion, he purchased a ten-volume edition of Chekhov, which we left with the very friendly shopkeepers to pick up later. If you can read Russian, I highly recommend visiting the upstairs. The Russian editions of the classics are really beautiful and tend to be satisfyingly completist. In fact, there's a whole section devoted to multi-volume complete works, each set wrapped carefully in cling wrap. There are other gems to be found too: Sherlock Holmes, a graphic novel version of The Master and Margarita, philosophical works with bodice-ripper covers.

A little further down the street, we popped into Saint-Petersburg, a bookstore and general Russian Things store (their website is fromrussia.com, after all). We just did a quick lap around the shop, browsing the books, this selection of banya hats:

and this giant stuffed pencil: 

After these morning errands, we went back home for a quick lunch that we picked up at Gourmanoff, my all-time favorite grocery store. Then we took a walk in the other direction, towards Manhattan Beach, which is smaller and less crowded than Brighton Beach (which is in itself smaller and less crowded than Coney Island, so the next time you're planning a trip to an urban beach, keep that in mind). I saw something moving in the surf, and yelped a bit when I discovered it was a teeny tiny sea turtle:

It's hard to tell in the photo, but the turtle was about the size of a silver dollar. We spent a long time researching whether or not he was supposed to be there, since it was the middle of the day and he had no siblings in sight. Our search did not reveal any conclusive answers, but I remain pretty convinced he wasn't supposed to be there. On the other hand, he seemed to be having a great time tossing around in the surf, so I hope that he is continuing to enjoy Brooklyn's waters and will grow up to be the king of Manhattan Beach.

After this wildlife adventure, we relaxed at home for a bit, reading, writing, and enjoying this sunset: 

For dinner, we went across the street to Kashkar, one of our favorite restaurants that serves Uygher food (Central Asian/Western Asian cuisine). It looks pretty unassuming from the outside, but the family-run restaurant makes DELICIOUS food, and usually has Uzbek music videos playing on the television in the background. I recommend any of the salads (one time we asked what a mysterious and tasty green item in a salad was, and received the answer, "Its name is so complicated I don't even know how to pronounce it"), the manti (dumplings, fried and steamed options), and fried lagman (noodles).

Summer at Brighton Beach is really a lovely experience, and I hope you'll check it out the next time you have a spare day in New York. If you've been, what was your favorite spot?

If you've made it this deep into our website you probably already know that this week I made the really scary/nauseating/painful decision to temporarily close the shop. As I write this, it's Wednesday evening and this is very new. Actually, it's 6:41pm and I'm still at work because it hasn't really hit me yet that I can leave at a normal time because there's no shop to close. I haven't even posted on social media about it yet because I'm afraid of what will happen. When I opened this shop just over two years ago we were getting TONS of press. We were new and people didn't 100% get it yet. The worst part is that a lot of these people were sure that we would fail. I had to learn not to ever read the comments. That's where the worst of the internet trolls live and it's a place that made be feel like everyone was just waiting for the wave of excitement to end so we would go out of business and prove them right. 

The thing is, that we're DEFINITELY not going out of business but it kind of feels that way. We'll all still come to work everyday and we'll still do the things that we do. We'll even have time for other improvements and projects that we haven't had time for before. But it still feels like an arrow has punctured my heart and I can't get it out. We're in New York City--which is an amazing, alive place that can make crazy businesses like mine happen, but also one that can kill them in a second. It's not easy to have a business in a place where people expect the world but the world is always throwing little hurdles in the way. I'd never want to be anywhere else, but all of this has taught me that to stay here I have to fight for my business. That it's not going to always be amazing press and endless praise. There will be evil landlords, environmental problems, plant thieves, horrible skeptics and a very real potential for failure. 

I don't feel like I've failed. I just feel like this city has let me down a little bit. Maybe there's a metaphor to be found somewhere in the mold that's festering, hidden in my beautiful shop. I've prepared the Instagram, all I have to do is press "SHARE" and it's out there. I'll probably then turn my phone off until tomorrow morning so I don't have to be reminded of it. 

I now know a lot of things that I didn't know two years and I know that I'll figure it out and that even if we re-locate it'll be easier to re-open than it was to open in the first place. I know that tons of people will show up on that day to show their support. I know that I'll have other business and that they'll probably be mostly successful, even if it's hard and even if I sometimes feels like I've failed. 

For now, I'll sit here until exactly 7pm and I'll hold my breath and press "SHARE". 

Illustration of the mural painting by Meredith Miotke

6:00 AM: Wake up and rapidly remember that getting out of bed early is doubly impossible after an 11-hour road trip the day before. I drag myself to my parent's coffeemaker to get the day's fuel going while my boyfriend Narciso, my stepdad, and I finish loading up the cars with paint and ladders.

7:00AM: Head out to Detroit! It's typically a short drive from my parent's home, but I, the Detroit-area native, cleverly made it nearly twice as long by giving Narciso, who is Jersey City-born-and-raised, the wrong directions.

8:00AM: Three freeways and a very unnecessarily lap around our destination later, we finally arrive at the Detroit Institute of Bagels and start setting up. D.I.B. is an awesome little bagel shop (the best bagels I've had outside of NYC) in Detroit's Corktown neighborhood. They asked me a few months back to illustrate a map of the area for them and paint it as a mural on the side of their building. Now that the weather was finally consistently nice, it was time to put on my big girl pants and tackle my first-ever mural. 

9:00AM-11:00AM: During this time we get the feel for painting over brick (bumpy) and lay down the primer/base coat. We sneak in a few pics and then slide into the shop for breakfast before the brunch crowd picks up. I split the "Leo" and the "La Colmena" with Narciso, and internally weep due to with how tasty they were. I mean, chorizo on a bagel. Chorizo. On. A. Bagel.

Wall ready to go! The sign in front of it says "Wet Paint. BRB." 

11:15 AM: Supply run madness! Narciso and I pop by Blick on Woodward to scoop up some more tape for blocking out areas of color and paint pens for the upcoming line work. We then run by the Russell Industrial Center (a former factory that's been turned artist studios in Detroit's north end) to borrow a projector from a friend who was going to beyond kindly let me borrow it last minute (thanks, Wes!).

12:30-1:00PM: Narciso and I get back to the wall and a few friends--Andrea and Grace--are waiting to help us bust out the next bits. We rapidly learn that it is way too gorgeous out (i.e. bright) to use the projector, so work is temporarily halted due to my lack of emergency planning.

1:30PM: Narciso figures out a grid system (yay bricks!) for us to use to lay out the roadwork of the map. From there, we decide to just eyeball it. Andrea, Grace, and Narciso block out colors where buildings are going to go according to print-offs of my illustration we scraped together. I start sketching the line work of the buildings out in my trusty as hell CWPE X Caran D'Ache Blackwood.

Sketching with the Blackwood, being far too cool to wear sunglasses

2:30PM-7:00PM: During this period, we wrap up laying out the blocks of color, and I start busting ass drawing all the final line work with the paint pens. It was beyond nice to finally hit a stride and see the mural really start to come together.

7:30PM: My parents come by to see what their crazy illustrator daughter has done so far, help us (it was just me, Narciso, and four ladders at this point) pack up for the day, and go grab dinner.

7:45PM: We get robbed. 

I know, right? In my 20+ years living in the Detroit-area, Detroit itself, and this dual city life I'm living now, I had never been robbed. Needless to say, I felt my heart leap into my throat when the 70-year-old man who owned the neighboring bar ran over yelling to us that two kids had taken mine and Narciso's backpacks from the car while we were packing up just a few feet away. The bar owner, the fantastic PJ of PJ's Lager House, and his employee had just gotten back from chasing the two kids down. Absolute heroes. They lost the thieves, but suspected our bags might have been ditched nearby.

8:00PM: My mom and I search the abandoned lots behind the Michigan Avenue businesses while my stepdad calls the police. No luck. I feel like an enormous idiot. While Narciso had nothing of value in his bag, but I had just about everything in mine (laptop, credit cards, money, etc.).

8:20PM: I switch with my stepdad and wait for the police while he and my mom do another search. A wonderful woman who was at the bar and P.J. keep me company and bring me some water. 

8:30PM: Defying all odds, our bags are FOUND. Completely intact. Nothing missing except a credit card that we would find the next day. Thankfully Narciso's bag is bright red and was spotted through the overgrown grass in the lots. We all breathed for the first time in an hour.

9:00PM: We securely pack up our things and put the cars in safe spots. The four of us then collapsed at a table outside PJ's. We all sipped on some much-needed beers (shout out to Bell's Two Hearted Ale), laughed/exhaled in relief, chatted with PJ and thanked him for the billionth time, and were surprised with some chicken fingers and burgers from the kind woman who kept me company earlier. We wait for the police, but they never show up.

11:00PM: We get back to my parent's place. I drag myself though the shower, round up all the cats in the house, and fell asleep in a big pile with them. 

Our NYC shop is in a pretty special/odd little corner of Lower Manhattan, something we talk about a lot and wrote about here. One thing we joke about a lot is just how many inexpensive treasures can be found here, from the Chinese dollar stores to the fruit markets on Grand Street. There's a lot going on in these parts! 

This week I challenged everyone to see what they could find around here with $5. Here were the rules: 

At least half of the things we sell are less than $5, so I also asked everyone to spend $5 (including tax) in the shop to see what they could do with a budget. 

Caroline 

CW Pencils: 

• Pastel Camel Pencil in Sky Blue - $1.50
• Uni Palette Sharpener in Light Blue - $3.00 (see a pattern?)

TOTAL: $4.90 including tax

$5.00 Challenge: 

• Three toothbrushes with matching toothbrush holders - $1.29
• Pack of 8 squishy pencil grips - $1.00
• Fancy flat peach - $1.50
• Hamburger gummy - $0.50 

TOTAL: $4.29

TIME LEFT: 1 second

Notes: Having already chosen my CWPE items, I was on a mission to find accompanying things. As per Caitlin's excellent suggestion, I was on the lookout for a toothbrush holder to use as a pencil case and found a great trio in my favorite colors, including a sky blue one to match my pencil. The other thing I was really set on finding was some lychees, because they're EVERYWHERE right now. Much to my dismay, the lychee prices went up this week and it was out of my budget, so I settled on a nice looking flat, white peach (which was delicious! I'd never had one like it before) and a hamburger gummy from my childhood. This challenge was much harder than I expected, mostly because I wasted a lot of time trying to find the right fruit. Overall, I am pleased with my purchases. The pencil grips are actually really comfortable and I will definitely put all of the toothbrush holders to use. 

Alyx:

CW Pencils:

• Seven Color Rainbow Pencil - $1.60
• Mitsubishi General Writing 9000 Pencil - $1.00
• Magnesium Long Point Sharpener - $2.00

Total: $5.00 including tax

$5.00 Challenge:

• Avocado - $1.75
• JJ's Sweets Sea Salt Cocomel - $0.79
• Jane Jenni Buttons - $1.00ea x2
• Haribo Gold-Bears - $0.25

Total: $4.97

Time left: 2 min, 56 seconds

I immediately messed up the $5 challenge by totally forgetting that we needed to get at least one stationery item! And as it turns out, most of my items were food, which is not a total misrepresentation of my understanding of our neighborhood. My first stop was AAA Avocados, which is right across the park from us and, if I may say so, one of Manhattan's unsung treasures. Caroline tipped me off to this place several months ago, and it truly is a wonder. Mostly they do wholesale avocado orders for shops and restaurants around New York. But you can also walk in, like I did, and ask for a single avocado (you can even specify the ripeness you want!). From there, I went over to Orchard Grocer, a vegan market/deli. I'm not vegan (or even vegetarian), but they have delicious sandwiches. I always get one of these sea salt Cocomels (vegan caramel) and swear I'm not going to eat it until after my sandwich, and invariably end up eating it while I wait for my order to be ready. The Tenement Museum is just a few blocks north of there and they have a pretty good gift shop. I originally went in thinking I'd get a postcard or a pencil, but then I got distracted (see this is where I forgot about the rules...) by a bin of PUN PINS. I spent most of thirty minutes reading them--there must have been 20 different ones, at least. I picked "cutie pie" and "handsome devil." I thought I'd be done after that, but I had a quarter and some copper left over, so I stopped at a dollar store and picked up some gummy bears as well.

Caitlin

CW Pencils: 

• Small L&C Hardtmuth eraser - $0.50
• General's Cedar Pointe #1 - $1.00
• Apsara Absolute - $0.50
• Nickel Plated Pencil Cap - $0.60
• Koh-i-Noor Dry Marker Highlighter (red is my favorite!) - $1.50
• Arrowhead Eraser cap x 2 - $0.15 each
• Lemonhead - $Free

Total (including tax): $4.79

$5.00 Challenge

• 3-pack liquid glue sticks - $1.25
• M&G Miffy 4B eraser - $0.75
• Double-sided pencil case - $1.25
• M&G 0.35mm gel pen - $1.00
• Mini Slim Jims X 2 - $0.75

Total= $5.00 

Time Left: 15 min, 40 seconds

I knew exactly where I wanted to go when Caroline handed me $5.00 for this challenge. Alyx and I often go on adventures in the neighborhood when we are tasked with picking up something for the office - this has lead to pit stops in the local aquarium shop, long pauses in the Duane Reade stationery aisle, and discovery of the best bargain stores in the LES. There's one on Eldridge, right across the street from Vanessa's Dumplings (where you can also get a delicious meal for less than $5.00!!) that has the BEST stationery section. The first time I went there, I picked up a plastic hand-crank sharpener with Miffy illustrations on it for $4.00 -- and it turned out to be one of the best sharpeners I have! I went to this 99cent store with the hopes I could get another Miffy sharpener, but they were unfortunately sold out. I didn't fret, the stationery section is prolific so I bought a couple fun things I needed: liquid glue sticks for letter embellishments, a nicely compartmentalized pencil case, a Miffy eraser (I love that Japanese erasers are graded just like pencils), and a 0.35mm gel pen. Up by the front register you HAVE to check out the pens - there are actually really good fine point pens, as well as excellent novelty pens and mechanical pencils. Having a plethora of time and $0.75 left over, I then took a leisurely stroll to our favorite deli/bodega Don Juan, where I picked up a couple mini Slim Jims. Fun note: I've never known either of these places to charge tax if you pay in cash. 

Meredith 

CW Pencils: 

• Mono KM-KKS 6B - $2.50
• Matomaru-Kun Gold Plastic Eraser - $1.50

Total (including tax): $4.63

$5.00 Challenge

• 5-pack of sticky notes - $1.25
• Crazy Plunger .5mm pen - $1.00
• R.I.P. Sanitary Tax button - $1.00
• Peanut M&Ms - $1.00

Total= $4.25 

Time Left: 2 minutes, give or take a few seconds

I had a couple vague destinations rolling around in my mind when I set off on this task, mostly food-related. I thought I'd kick off the hunt with a sweet red bean bun from Vanessa's (a fine dumpling shop which has provided me with many lunches and dinners), but before I could even get through their door, I was sidetracked by the word "DISCOUNT" glaring at me from across the street. Wondering if this was the mysterious bargain store I've heard so much about in the past year, I scurried across the street to check it out. Based off the excellent stationery section, I assumed it was, and I settled in for a solid 15 minutes. I ultimately grabbed some sticky notes (a favorite of mine for doing some low-pressure doodles) and the Crazy Plunger pen ( but only after much debate. There was a 3-pack of toy trucks that were calling my name for whatever reason). With $2.25 spent, I went over to Don Juan's (the bodega down the street from CWPE that constantly surprises me with their humane prices) and scooped one of my favorite candies, Peanut M&Ms, because it just felt right. I had $1.75 left at this point and about 10 minutes. So, I took a quick lap and then decided to take a gamble on TicTail, a favorite shop of mine that's filled with lots of fun, artist-made goods (pens, patches, apparel, etc). Running out of time, I made reasonable choice of entering the shop and immediately asking " DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING THAT IS AROUND $1.75," and they pointed me in the direction of a jar full of $1 buttons. After sorting through the lot and debating the propriety of a few for this blog post (including a brilliant riff on the TV show "Cheers"), I settled on the sanitary tax tombstone pin. With just over two minutes left, I paid for my pin and nearly high-fived the woman working behind the counter.

Max

CW Pencils: 

• Mono 100 - F - $2.50
• CWPE Special Edition Bugle #2 - $0.45
• Brass-plated Pencil Caps (2) - $0.60ea
• Hi-Polymer Eraser (2) - $0.20ea

Total (including tax): $4.95

$5.00 Challenge

• Hot Pink Nail Polish - $1.25
• 5 Pack of Toy Story Themed Gel Pens - $1.25
• 4 Piece Jonas Brothers Stationery Set by Disney - $1.00
• Strawberry Banana Tropical Drinkable Lowfat Yogurt - $1.00

Total= $4.50

Time Left: 7 minutes

Boy oh boy are you in for a treat! There I was, wandering the streets with a vague plan in mind: I'll get some food or something and grab a pack of paperclips from the discount store, I thought, but nay, this venture turned out to be much bigger than I had ever expected. First, I began with a romp, popping my head into many of the delis and bodegas within a three block radius—one of the challenge's requirements. After entering and leaving multiple stores empty handed, I decided it was high time to stop messing around. If I was to complete this challenge and label it a success, I had to buckle down and buckle tight, it was time to get serious. I found myself on Eldridge between Grand and Broome, walking into a Discount Store. It is here that I purchased the Hot Pink Nail Polish, the 5 pack of Toy Story Themed Gel Pens, and the 4 Piece Jonas Brothers Stationery Set by Disney, coming to a total of $3.50. With only $1.50 left, I set off to Don Juan, ready to purchase a snack. I had trouble deciding, Pop Tarts were a worthy competitor, but alas, I decided on a Strawberry Banana Tropical Drinkable Lowfat Yogurt because of course. Now I'm ready for a night of painting my nails and drinking lowfat yogurt while I write about my crush on Joe Jonas in a small notebook with his face on it. Neat. 

A lot of things go well with pencils, in our minds. A good journal and a cup of tea. Stacks of postcards and a mess of postage stamps. A weekday afternoon at a museum. A picnic followed by a nap. Apart from analog tools, writing instruments, cozy activities and mail-related crafts, the thing we love most is a thing that pencils often yield: books! Because we're always yearning for a good recommendation or for a book club we'll actually stick to, we thought we'd start our own and share our list of recent reads and recommendations.

Caroline's picks: 

Too Much and Not the Mood by Durga Chew-Bose

A couple of months ago, Caitlin, Alyx and I went to an event hosted by Emma Straub and here new bookstore Books Are Magic. Durga was one of the panelists for the discussion, so when I kept seeing her book everywhere I eventually took it as a sign that it should be part of my short but motivating unread books stack. I finished it in two days, not because it was short or particularly easy to read but because reading it felt like I was listening to a friend tell me a story--a friend much sharper and much more observant than I. Her outlook on just about anything is curious and relevant. It's a book peppered with small fragments of her life, told in a way that makes the reader feel like Durga is taken all of those little parts of everyday life and given the words they haven't been able the find. It's refreshing to read a young female author who is so self-aware and alive. This book made me proud to be included in her generation.

Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong

This is not a book that I've read but one that I'm looking forward to reading. I'm not going to try to sum up what it's about because, after all, I haven't read it. But when you see it on your bookseller's New Fiction table next month, do pick it up! It doesn't come out until July 11th but I've had it on my list since I heard about it in the author's NYmag.com Grub Street Diet feature (which is a really great corner of the internet, by the way). When I read I'm looking to trigger all of my emotions, so Goodbye, Vitamin looks promising. A well-read person's vacation book, I'm considering it. When I'm reading a new author I usually judge the book not by its cover but by who's endorsing it. In this case, Miranda July and Lauren Groff--I'll take it. And the cover is pretty nice too. 

Alyx's Picks:

The Double/The Gambler by Фёдор Миха́йлович Достое́вский

Earlier this year I read The Idiot (1869), which was the first Dostoevsky I'd read. I LOVED it and decided to read all of his longer works in order. I'm already cheating because I had a hard time finding Poor People (1846) in English in a bookstore, but this pretty edition of The Double (1846) translated by the inimitable Richard Peavear and Lariss Volokhonsky was easy to find (shout out to Peter Mendelsund too; he's one of my favorite book designers). The Double clearly takes inspiration from Gogol's The Nose, and builds on a tradition that will eventually result in modernist absurdists like Franz Kafka and Samuel Beckett. A civil servant one day find his double (surprise!) has entered his life. They are alike in name, appearance, job--everything except personality. While our original man just wants to go about his life, the double wants to usurp the original. This book is probably a little different from what you think of Dostoevsky as writing, but it's a funny, dark, and entertaining read.

The Broken Estate by James Wood

I only recently started reading James Wood, and by "reading" I mean that I absolutely devoured How Fiction Works. I'll be the first to admit that I avoided reading that book for ten years because I thought I was too cool for it. Why do I need to hear this establishment man explain the New Yorker short fiction sausage factory to me? It turns out I was very wrong. How Fiction Works is not a recipe book for those staid stories of decades past. It's a thoughtful, partially academic, and highly compassionate survey of what makes characters feel real, and what makes readers care. So when I finished swallowing it whole, I hopped out and got his first book: The Broken Estate. It covers authors from Sir Thomas More to W.G. Sebald (Peter Mendelsund recently did some gorgeous covers of Sebald's work too), and traces the relationship between the common demand of religion and literature: belief. Wood is accessible without being condescending, and you'll come away with both a more human understanding of literature, and a much fatter reading list.

Caitlin's Picks:

You Don't Have to Like Me by Alida Nugent

Feminism can be an incredibly polarizing topic, as I've come to discover in my adult adventures in womanhood. It's often all too easily misconstrued as demeaning or derogatory to men, which when you break it down, is not really the point of women's rights movements at all. Alida Nugent broaches this subject gently and humorously, describing her path to embracing her identity as a feminist and her experience as a bi-racial women living in the 21st century. It's broken down into different essays covering topics like casual racism, body image, sex and being a single female walking home alone at night. It's approached in a way that doesn't feel too preachy, and instead offers a great experiential perspective on very common issues that women face. 

 Saga, Volume 7 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

I have long been an advocate of graphic novels. The medium that gets a lot of flack for being seen as nerdy or goofy or generally not serious, but I think deserves a chance because comic books are an incredible collaboration between art and literature and are just an interesting way to absorb a story. Saga is an on-going epic series, first launched in 2012, and is a beautiful blend of science fiction, fantasy and the ravages of war and racism. I think it's an excellent series to try out if you're not into the world of superhero comics, but want to give graphic novels a shot. Now on it's seventh trade paperback volume, which I am currently reading, the series revolves around a family of refugees, trying to find a safe haven for their mixed-species daughter, whose existence came from a forbidden relationship between two people of warring races. It's dramatic, emotional, and adventurous (fair warning, it is also graphic at times). 

Meredith's Pick:

Get Well Soon by Jennifer Wright

When I think summer, I think deadly outbreaks of disease. Wait, no, that's not true. But I do tend to gravitate towards irreverent books on them and other bits of medical history this time of year. Last summer I kicked things off with Stiff by Mary Roach and this summer I thought I'd go for Jennifer Wright's latest book, Get Well Soon. Can't wait to dive in and learn fun new things to share at parties!