Behind The Scenes NYC is all about hidden gems. This time, one of our Contributors recently visited CW Enterprise, one of the coolest pencil shops we’ve ever seen!
Behind The Scenes NYC is all about hidden gems, as you already know. This time, one of our Contributors, Cris Peixoto, recently visited CW Enterprise – one of these NYC gems. It’s one of the coolest pencil shops we’ve every seen. Definitely a nostalgic feeling!
The charming, small shop, located at the Lower East Side (LES) is devoted to one single item: pencils. Yes, you heard it right, pencils! Something that, in the digital era we are living, might sound eccentric and unusual.
The shop is a dream come true for Caroline Weaver who was fascinated and in love with this very simple object since her childhood.
“I wanted to make the best pencils from around the world available to everyone, as well as make pencils feel special again.”
And they are definitely very special!
Caroline travels the world searching for the best ones – France, Germany, Switzerland, India, Portugal, Denmark, Japan, Czech Republic – and she is proud to represent the three remaining pencil factories in the US.
“Most of the companies have long family history in the pencil industry, so there’s a lot of really amazing stories to share. Most of these companies have been around for at least 80 years and are often still family-run.”
The store is Instagram perfect. An example of neatness and organization with the pencils displayed in glass jars with a label telling you their origin.
The top-sellers, according Caroline:
“…are the Blackwing 602 from Palomino and the Bugle from Musgrave. The 602 is a reproduction of a very famous pencil originally made by Eberhart Faber, is well-known for being an incredibly great quality writing and drawing pencil, and it has a unique look. The Bugle is a best seller simply because it’s a really great inexpensive pencil and has a very old-school, classic look.”
Along with the pencils you’ll also find a small selection of erasers, pencil sharpeners and notebooks, but that’s about it. The pencils are really the stars of the show!
I asked Caroline about the customers. Who are they?
“Our customers are all kinds of people, from every corner of the world. We have a lot of people who come in simply because they’re curious about a shop that just sells pencils, but we also see a lot of customers who use pencils regularly in their everyday life – students, artists, musicians, basically anyone interested in analog tools.”
She is so passionate about her pencils, that I can guarantee you’ll fall in love too.
Write it down! Definitely a Behind the Scenes NYC spot!
You might also want to check out Pink Olive, a neighborhood gift store we are sure you’ll enjoy!
Photo Credit: Courtesy of CW Pencils
*Last Update on March/2020.*
