In this time of A.I. “art,” I present you with the humble pencil. It’s a real-life tool that you can write, draw, and drum with. Our future robot overlords need a computer program and accessories to use a pencil. All you need is your hand and some paper.

This pencil is made from Basswood. It’s a real thing that once grew, and I think, with a heavy dose of magical thinking, that your body knows that. A pencil feels good in the hand. It needs to be maintained, sharpened. And like any good stick, a pencil is strong; it can be a weapon in a pinch, but it has its limits.

We all know that aiming for perfection is a slippery slope to disappointment, but the pencil also has an eraser, so we can physically erase our mistakes instead of just hitting undo. You can undo what you’ve done on a computer forever, but if you erase too much on paper, you’ll start leaving traces of the past, which is kind of beautiful.

And even though you can get a laser printer to make you a custom pencil with 100% pinpoint accuracy, I like to think there is more heart and character in a pencil hot-foil pressed by hand on a vintage machine. The slightly askew “s” reminds us that a person made this, each letter and space a teeny tiny metal piece set by hand.

I look forward to connecting with you over custom ephemera. Every pencil made in the studio helps keep my art career, as well as vintage analogue printing techniques, alive.