REFLECTIONS ON THE UBIQUITOUS PANTONE SYSTEM.

PANTONE MATCH

A brilliantly simple project by Inka Matthew. Why don’t I have great ideas like this? Don’t answer that question, please. Anyway, more examples can be seen here: http://tinypmsmatch.tumblr.com

 

CHRISTMAS CHEER

With the holiday season approaching you might want to start thinking about a designer tree: https://www.shopspring.com/search?query=seletti+pantone

More stuff at Pantone Universe: https://www.pantone.com/pantone-universe

 

 

THE WORLD’S UGLIEST COLOR

In a 2012 market research survey, 1,000 smokers selected Pantone 448 as the world’s most repulsive color. The Australian government was looking for a suitably awful color to mandate for cigarette packaging. They combined this with shocking images of the effects of smoking in an attempt to reduce cigarette use. Other countries are now following the same track. In May this year, the United Kingdom introduced the same approach.

 

THE PANTONE HOTEL

Next time you’re in Brussels, stay at a hotel that’s a tribute to the color system.

https://www.pantonehotel.com

 

WHAT’S BETTER THAN A SMALL STORE THAT SELLS ONLY PENCILS?

On a visit last week to CW Pencil Enterprises (https://cwpencils.com) in New York City, I had trouble leaving the premises. There are all kinds of pencils there from around the world, along with sharpeners and notebooks. You can even have the pencils personalized with a 1960s foil-stamping machine. Coincidentally, or perhaps it’s just good karma, the store is right next to the studio of Bryan Christie Design (http://bryanchristiedesign.com). The owner of this pencil-lovers paradise, Caroline Weaver, is (of course) pencil-crazy, which is confirmed by a sizeable pencil tattoo on her arm. She had thought about selling pens as well, but decided to stay faithful to the pencil, and not dilute the concept. Yes, to that!

Pencils are such a great bargain. You can buy someone a beautiful, creative gift for a very reasonable price. Inside the package above are five gems that I chose on my visit.

And if you really want to go for it…

VINTAGE GRAPHITE

I talked about the original Blackwing 602 pencil in a previous post (https://www.johngrimwade.com/blog/2016/09/05/the-ultimate-pencil/). You can see a Palomino Blackwing Grand Piano Box Set in the photo above. Go to eBay and see if you can get a Eberhart Faber original set for less than $400. I have not bought one. Yet.