It's been quite a while since we did one of these installments, but this week has been so eventful I felt it merits a comeback! 

2016 is off to an amazing start for us! We hit the ground running and already have our plates full. We're currently excitedly (and maybe a little frantically?) planning for next week's trip to Paperworld in Frankfurt and Caran d'Ache in Geneva. Seriously though, I never imagined in my wildest dreams a job at a pencil shop would turn me into a world traveler. That's 

Here's the shortlist of what's going on right now! 

1. This week, we say goodbye to our beloved Pencil Lady Chloe. She's headed off to finish her masters in Spain! We will certainly miss her infectious spirit in the shop (and I'm sure many of you will miss her handwritten notes on your orders), but wish her all the best and will send lots of love her way. 

2. We discovered a podcast called Mystery Show and obsessively listen to it in the office (we hope it comes back soon!). We were turned on to it by a customer who described an odd episode featuring David Rees and Jake Gyllenhaal. It's a weird but interesting listen. 

3. Coming soon: some super fun soft erasers from Japan and Musgrave Harvest Number 1s (who doesn't love an inexpensive soft pencil?)! 

4. Because of our aforementioned trip (during which we promise to find new lovelies for you!), the shop will be closed from January 28 to February 4. Online orders will be fulfilled during this time, but may be fulfilled 2-3 days later than normal (Izzy will be in the office a couple days while we're out to process orders). We'll be keeping an eye on emails, but again, things might be a bit delayed. February POTM will not be affected by this (and may even be early)! 

5. If you haven't already heard, we partnered with Artifact Uprising for a gratitude giveaway! We're obsessed with their new line of Thank You cards, so of course we jumped at the chance to contribute to this contest. Check out their tips for creating the perfect Thank You card and enter the contest here: bit.ly/TheGratitudeGiveaway