Our pencil family has grown since we first introduced the pencil ladies last summer! Say hello to these lovely writing utensil enthusiasts, who now grace our store with their different insights and personalities: 

Alyx Cullen - Pencil Lady, Pen Lover

What do you do when you're not selling pencils?
I'm usually reading, writing, or compulsively buying plants.

Favorite pencil?
My favorite pencil is the MONO100 F. Japanese pencils tend to run a little softer, so I like to go a grade harder in the MONO100 HB. It's smooth and dark, but has great point retention. Softer pencils tend to make me write like  six-year-old. Other favorites include the Viking School pencil, the Caran d'Ache Black Wood, the Tombow 2558 HB, the Musgrave Bugle, and the Ticonderoga Laddie.

Preferred pencil-using activity?
I use pencils exclusively for writing—I can't draw to save my life. I just finished my MFA in creative writing and am now tasked with finishing my novel. Testing new pencils and using my old favorites definitely make it easier to sit down with the blank page every day.

Favorite memory involving pencils?
A few years ago I spent six months in Paris and fell in love with the stationery floor at Le BHV in the Marais. Among many other art supply treats, they sell colored pencils individually. One day I picked out a slim, clear pencil case and filled it with all the colors I love—mostly pastels and way too many different kinds of grey. I still use it regularly for color-coding and making my calendar look pretty. Every time I look at it, Paris comes rushing back to me, which always makes me smile.

What's in your backpack? 
My pencils share space with pens, but they all get along. Recently it's been my TWSBI 580 and a few Bic Cristals. I always have at least one notebook with me, usually the Traveler's Notebook where I keep my calendar and notes, and then whatever notebook I'm using for writing. I carry a book (everyone read The Quick and the Dead by Joy Williams!), hand cream, a toothbrush, and the KUM Masterpiece as well.

Meredith Miotke - Resident Illustrator

What do you do when you're not selling pencils?
Typically battling/cuddling my two cats, obsessively listening to podcasts, and eating hummus, all while drawing a thing or twelve (I'm an illustrator in addition to a pencil lady!).

Favorite pencil?
I still have so many pencils to explore, but right now I'm really into the Camel pencil and the Grafwood 2B.

Preferred pencil-using activity?
Drawing tiny things and sketching out cities

Favorite memory involving pencils?
Getting a set of personalized pastel #2 pencils with my name on them when I started elementary school.

What's in your backpack?
It's pretty gnarly in there, but some highlights are: my sketchbook, a brick-like case full of pens, a brick-like case full of pencils, How to Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran, a bag of coffee, tragically empty tupperware, and a broken phone charger I'm hoping will magically fix itself at the bottom of my bag.

Max Hoerner - Official Pencil Dude

What do you do when you're not selling pencils?
When I'm not selling pencils I'm in school for the most part. I'm now finishing my last year of high school and planning for college. Other than that, I create, play, and listen to music.

Favorite pencil?
I have a few favorite pencils. The Musgrave Bugle was my first favorite. I love the Bugle for its great writing abilities, point retention, and lovable scratch. The Craft Design Technology is the pencil I find myself returning to the most. For how smooth the Craft Design pencil is, it doesn't smudge—something I look for in a pencil. More recently, the office Viking pencil and the Write Pads Lenore pencil have become favorites of mine. Both embody all of the qualities I want in a pencil: good point retention, smooth writing, a dark mark, and no smudge. Furthermore, it doesn't hurt that these pencils are all quite attractive.

Preferred pencil-using activity?
My preferred pencil-using activity is writing. Writing small things in notebooks, songs, or stories, I always feel better doing so with a pencil.

Favorite memory involving pencils?
My favorite pencil memory is recent. I learned about pencil fighting through the Erasable Podcast and did some research on it because I was intrigued. So after learning how you pencil fight and what the basic rules are, I went up to my best friend and asked if she wanted to pencil fight. Naturally, she was confused, but I explained and it turned into a sort of bonding experience. It's a terribly wasteful activity, but winning by breaking the other fighter's pencil is extremely satisfying. I wouldn't recommend doing this because of the waste of a pencil, but I can't say I didn't have a nice time with someone close.

What's in your backpack?
In my backpack there's a pencil case filled with pencils and an eraser. A glasses case holding a polaroid picture and the KUM Masterpiece pencil sharpener. I also carry a notebook, a book, and a bottle of water.