This transcript was generated from an audio file by AI, and may contain inaccuracies.
Transcript
All right, let's do it.
Okay.
As usual, this will probably take me like five tries. Hello, and welcome to episode 62 of the erasable Podcast. Later on, we'll be talking with Joey and Adam Baron Fig about their brand new pencil, the Archer. And no, General Pencil Company isn't the only place with a grooving department. I'd like to introduce ours. Johnny Gamber and Andy Welfle.
Oh, yeah,
little shout out to the video I'm going to be talking about later in freshpoints, but the grooving department. How are you guys doing?
Pretty good. It's been raining for three days in San Francisco, which is really unheard of, so I'm just a little wet around the edges.
And Tim is in homestretch before baby number two.
Yep. Lila, Catherine will be here in two weeks. Or within two weeks.
Wow. I want. I want to.
It could be tomorrow.
It could be, like happening upstairs right now.
You don't even know.
It'll freak you out. My second, my second and third kids were both two weeks early.
I'd be fine with it at this point.
Get it out.
Yeah, well, even taking two weeks off, so it'll be nice.
Even more importantly than, you know, Tim having another baby. I'm surprised that you're recording today considering the Cubs are playing right now.
Yeah, full disclosure, I am watching the Cubs game right now, so. So any expletives, you can just typewriter bill them out if I, after that
last episode with Johnny, had become an expert, so.
So, yeah, it's nothing in the sixth. We're good. Dodgers are up, but, you know. Yeah, okay.
Yeah. Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.
Yeah. This is like, my wife is like a baseball widow right now, so I had to inform her the other day. I'm like, you know, Lila's due date will be right in the middle of the World Series. So, you know, if you think, you see. If you think you see headphones in my ears while you're. While you're giving birth. It's, it's. You're just hallucinating. It's not actually, so. Well, I'm excited. Excited to talk about the Archer later on with Joey and Adam. That's going to be great, guys. I'm sure they'll have some really great things to say. They're really thoughtful designers. Really looking forward to that. But as always, let's just start out with tools of the trade. And Andy, why don't you get us started?
Yeah, well, I am writing in my field nose lunacy, which we're going to talk about as well in Freshpoints, I think. But then I'm also using my. My Baron fig. Archer. So I'll. I'll hold off on talking about it until we. Until we get the guys on. What am I consuming? I'm consuming a delicious mango lacroix. Lacroix. Lacroix. Depending on where you're from. How you say it.
I think I never had the mango. Is it very strong?
I. It's not strong. I. I think a lot of people like the Pamplomouse, like the. The grapefruit one the best, but I
don't like that one.
Yeah, I'm a big mango fan, so coconut's my favorite. Oh, you're. That's controversial.
Yeah, I like the coconut, and I like the skinny cans of the cherry lime.
Oh, yeah.
Awesome.
Yeah.
Yeah, those are good. Yeah, the mango is my personal favorite,
but we actually use the. The lime one for, like, low calorie mojitos.
Really?
Yeah.
Well, that's a good idea.
Yeah.
I am.
Less sugar.
My sister, who drinks a lot of. Drinks a lot of soda. I'm not gonna out her and say which one, but I gave her a. A lime La Croix one day, just. She was over my house, and I was like, it's like, oh, hey, do you want to try one of these? She's like, sure. Like, it's lime flavored. It's like seltzer water. She's like, okay. And I think that she didn't realize that it was not sweetened because the look on her face after she took a drink. She was just, like, trying really hard to be, oh, wow. Like, diplomatic about it.
Yum.
She's like, mmm, it's very wet. Yeah, thank you. That's a very wet drink you gave me.
So what media am I consuming? I just finished season three of Halt and Catch Fire. Have I talked about that on here before? It's a really good kind of, like, under the radar show. It's on amc. I usually watch it on itunes. It's kind of like a cross between. Oh, I wouldn't say a cross between. It's kind of like they took the concept of Mad Men and applied it toward the early days of personal computing in the 80s. Like, it's a fictional company, but they are making, like, a laptop in the first season. And it's. There's a lot of, like, real companies that are interspersed in there. So it's really great show. They just finished season three, and they're just starting to talk about the early days of the Internet, which is cool. So how about you, Johnny? What are you. What are you consuming and writing with?
Well, like you, I'm writing with the Baron Fig Archer with a really, really, really pretty hand sharpening that I'm very proud of. And I wish I could show you, but I'll probably drop it and break it. And I'm using the Lunacy edition from Field Notes. The full note, the full moon edition. But the biggest cutout, which I'm happy to report has not ripped. And I think I'm on like the last page or second to last page.
That's exactly.
And I even put it in my back pocket.
Yeah. Yeah.
Was that one on top? I think I feel like it wasn't. I just wanted to use the big hole first.
Yeah.
Plus it's a full moon right now.
I think it's a super moon, isn't it?
Is it?
Which is just a fancy way of saying it's like extra big, super effing bright.
Yeah, I'm out of the loop.
I actually walked out of my deck last night and thought that I left the light on on the deck. Like it was so bright here.
Cool.
Oh, man. So I've been consuming a lot of Halloween related stuff, unintentionally. I mentioned last week Penny Dreadful, which I'll probably finish up, which is on Netflix and very, very delicious.
I need to watch that.
Like super violent but not violent in like a really. It's not. Like if you're sensitive to violence, you might find it almost comical sometimes. No spoilers. And I'm reading a book with my kids they really enjoy called the Crow, A not so scary story that was written sort of along the lines of a raven, of the Raven, but about a crow, which is really cute. And I've been listening over and over to the Pale Emperor, which is Marilyn Manson's latest album, because Henry really likes it. And luckily, you know, he can't understand the lyrics. Like his favorite song is the third day of a seven day binge. It's a really, really good song. I think. Like, was it Rolling Stone said this was the goth rock album he's been trying to make since Antichrist Superstar.
Lines of that.
For some reason, I'm not surprised that Henry's really into Marilyn Manson.
Yeah, I mean, I'm not gonna say it's not totally my fault.
The kid is pretty hardcore.
I don't know if you saw my tweet the other day, but he has reached a point where he can recognize the sound of the grateful dead with 100% accuracy. Like, I hear a song I'll be like, hey, Henry, what do we listen to? And he'll go, grandpa, dad. And he'll nail it like, every single time.
You know that kid in school who just, like, clearly has music taste that's like, decades evolved from, like, your own? He's gonna be that one.
Yeah.
And I'll talk about this more later since NaNoWriMo's coming up. But I finally picked up that book, no plot, no problem, by the founder of NaNoWriMo, which has so far been really good. There's a lot of good advice in there about buying yourself junk food, so I'm enjoying that very much. How about you, Tim?
I am reading Richard Russo right now. I've just gotten into him. I've been meaning to read his books for a while. I've had Empire Falls on my shelf for, like, years and years and years. But I actually started out with a book called Nobody's fool, which they made a famous movie of with Paul Newman, which I'm excited to watch once I finish up the book. But it's a book that happens. It's a small town in the northeast, and it follows just this guy named Sully. Main character who's 60, divorced, handyman, just kind of one of those characters that just kind of doesn't do anything right, but is also, at the same time, really admirable. And you kind of love. You just can't help but love them. So it's just a good kind of moving novel about a small town. I'm a sucker for small town stories, so really enjoying Nobody's Fool. And the reason I was reading this one first is that Everybody's fool just came out like 20. I think it was like 25 years after nobody's fool came out. So it's a sequel done by Richard Russo that just came out last year. So I'm planning to read that next. I've been watching a show called those who Can't. Have you heard of the show? Maybe. Maybe.
Yeah.
It's on TruTV. Have you watched It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia?
I have not.
No. Okay. Well, it's basically the exact same premises. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. There are like two or three guys and a girl, and they're just in a certain setting and they are super irresponsible. And so this one is three teacher or four teachers. So three guys and a girl that are just like the worst teachers you could possibly imagine. And it's just there. It's just a show about their ridiculous antics in this little school in Colorado. It's hilarious. It's probably a little cathartic, but I can't. I feel like I might have talked about it before, but it is a hilarious show, really. It's pretty nasty sometimes, but it's really fun, really funny. So I've been like, pushing it on all my teacher friends and be like, hey, when you have a really bad day, watch the show. But it's really funny. It's made up of all people from Boulder, Colorado, I think it is. So it's nobody you'd recognize until the second season. Sherry o' Terry makes a. Makes an appearance, which is pretty cool. And the only other thing is the new bonaver album called 22amillion that I picked up when it came out, I guess about two weeks ago. And it's really thrown me for a loop. It's a really beautiful album. I've been a big fan of Bonavera since the beginning, and this one just takes them in a whole different direction with these just crazy kind of orchestrated glitch fests. I mean, it's just like electronic glitch sounds that are just really. That stand to be somehow very beautiful while also having some kind of minimal guitar in the background, a lot of keyboards. So if you like Bon Iver, I feel like 22 million is a natural progression of where he's come from. So a beautiful album. Definitely. Check it out. And this is kind of a side note, but I actually just got into Amazon's Spotify competitor, like their.
Their service.
Have you guys seen this yet?
Oh, the new one, the Amazon music. That's like 10 bucks a month for whatever you want.
Yeah, yeah. But the awesome part about this for me is I've done Spotify before, but if you're a Prime, if you subscribe to prime, then doing their music service is like two or three dollars less a month. So you get like a discount.
Oh, nice.
So I started doing that this month and I love it. So great.
Do they have a selection that's like Spotify?
It's not as big, but it's pretty. It's pretty fantastic though. I mean, I. There's only been a couple things I've gone to look for and both of them were newer and they might not even be on Spotify. Like I went to check if Van Morrison's new album was on Amazon Music and it wasn't, but it might not even be on Spotify, so pretty awesome. You can do a 30 year or a 30, 30 year trial.
They have a. Is there a mobile app for this? I Usually do. Pandora in the car.
Yeah, there's a. There's a mobile app and they have a radio service as well. Awesome. It's. I love it. It's awesome.
We. We hit a low point out here. You know in some cities they have like that Amazon prime now where you can get something within like an hour.
That's crazy.
Yeah, we have that here.
I got. We really wanted ice cream but we didn't want to like walk down the hill. So we just Amazon prime some pints of Ben and Jerry's to our house.
Oh my gosh, that's awesome. I would again. This is Tennessee so we'll have that in about the year 2045 or something.
Once they just have Amazon. Like teleportation. Yeah, 3D print, some ice cream.
And I am also writing with my Archer, beloved Archer. And I am using a Wright notepads. Royal blue which I adore. They're fantastic. I love, love, love, love these notebooks. The blue lines.
We missed you last week when we were talking.
Yeah, yeah. And I'm sorry I didn't address that that I had to miss but it's been crazy town here for a while. So we had a. Actually my brother lives in Hilton Head. So when we were recording my brother was headed in town on evacuation orders from Hilton Head. So we were with my brother because the hurricane. Hurricane Matthew coming through. So he's okay. And his house was pretty much untouched which is amazing. But yeah, I appreciate you guys holding down the fort without me. Yeah, that's me. Sweet. Let's.
Let's just.
Thank you.
Let's go right into Freshpoints and Andy.
All right. The only one I have since we recorded really recently, not that long ago. So I. I just wanted to do a follow up. We announced the Lunacy edition and I know that I hadn't had it since then or when we were recording last. I got it like since then. Did you have it, Johnny? I can't remember.
Yeah, I actually got mine early this year. This go round.
Okay. Yeah, mine came a little late but I'm a big fan. I love the reticle grid as I think I've mentioned before. Like when it came out Night sky, it was amazing. Then I was excited to see it again and unexposed and I'm glad to see it here.
I like it better on this gray paper.
Yeah. And that's the other weird thing is I didn't even notice that it was gray until I held it up next to some white paper. And even then it's still really like, light gray. It's just, like, a couple shades off white. I think it's not nearly as gray as, like, you know, the white lines paper. Yeah. So I'm a huge fan. It writes really well with, like, even light pencils. It still shows up. I think you mentioned that, you know, it was you. You know, you didn't like or you thought it still looked really good with pencil.
Yeah, I thought I was gonna hate it.
Yeah.
Like gray and a reticle grid. Like, I'm not even gonna open these damn things. But it was a new paper, and it has a really, really nice texture.
Yeah.
So I'm a big fan. I'm. I'm totally, you know, interested to see how long it does last with the big cutout. But I guess if yours has been in your pocket for, like, two weeks now.
Yeah. I had mine in the back pocket of the Renaissance Festival yesterday. I sat in some water a couple times.
Oh, wow.
And then mud once. That was all good.
Gonna say if it's. If it's like the medieval days, it's probably not water.
Yeah.
It's either egg or beer. A little bit of horse crap.
Yeah.
Don't drink the water.
I actually passed a pile of elephant crap yesterday.
Wow.
Yeah.
Renaissance Festival.
Yeah. They have elephants there that you can ride. And we were coming in. I'm like, oh, my God. They're just like these poop bricks from something with a very large butt. So.
Episode title, Maybe. I haven't. I haven't tried them yet. I don't have one. There's a shop downtown here that I'm going to try to stop by tomorrow to pick up a pack of Lunacy. So I'm excited about that.
Cool.
Yeah. So that's really all I had to talk about since then. How about you, Johnny?
Well, I got another literary tattoo, but I still don't have a pencil tattoo now. Like, I'm running out of places to put it that's not, you know, underneath my clothing. And also, I don't know, I'm psyched out. I've gotten so many that aren't a pencil. I'm just kind of afraid to get a pencil. So I got a really creepy raven on my arm, which looks terrible. It's peeling and disgusting, so. Oh, tattoo etiquette, people. If you're. If you work at a coffee shop and you see somebody, you say, oh, is that new tattoo? That tattoo new? And they say, yes. You have to compliment them or you just sound like you're being a jerk and saying, wow, it looks like, crap.
Did this happen to you?
Just by.
For example, I might have said something under my breath that I can't say on the podcast. I'm like, are you serious? Like, tip you a loogie?
Yeah. So, well, so what you're saying is we need to meet up in person soon so we can all get these tattoos?
Hell, yes.
Yeah.
I guess we need to just go down to Tennessee this summer and hang out with Tim.
All right, it's done.
We'll all show up to the birth of his child.
That could be tomorrow. Get on a plane, man. I'll guess see what I can do.
I've got the surprise for a good time. So.
Are you guys members of the manuscripting Facebook group? I think you are, Tim.
I love it.
I don't know if I am.
So we'll put a link in the show notes, but there's a group. I don't remember who started it. I think Les started it. But it's devoted to the handwriting writing, which is awesome. So there was a thread somewhere about, like, NaNoWriMo, as is national novel writing Month, if you're not familiar with it. So we are trading usernames, so we're writing buddies and cheer each other on.
So.
Yeah.
That's awesome. And related to that, Amazon.com just had a deal on General's layout pencils, which are super dark, so if you've got to type this damn thing up, you know, it's like a dry gel pen of a pencil. Mm.
So without the skipping.
Yeah. Thank you.
And smearing.
Well, yeah, they don't smear. The layout is. It's an awesome pencil. Yeah. So maybe we can talk in a future episode if folks are gonna do it longhand and what sort of gear they're stockpiling besides layout pencils.
Yeah, we've been for a while, so we'll definitely do that.
Yeah, I bailed last year and didn't do it this year. Like, I'm doing the damn thing.
I told you that one of my co workers is married to, like, one of the, like, directors, like, somebody on the board of NaNoWriMo. What? That's awesome. So I remember I talked to the guy who runs it, and I. He said he would be interested to be on the show sometime, but I guess we're getting close to November, so he's probably getting really busy, so we should probably do this soon.
Do it.
Oh, my God. That'd be really cool.
Yeah.
Yay.
Awesome.
Well, the only other thing I had to mention was the inktober continues, but I Haven't put them on Instagram. But Charlotte is a very, very good little five minute artist. She makes some really, really cool drawings and she laughs at all of my anti Trump ones too, which is funny. I think she just doesn't like the sound of his name.
See, Henry, it's like driving me nuts that he like he heard his name once and then like he'll show up on TV and he'll be like, daddy, is that Donald Trump? I'll be like, nope.
Who is that orange man?
Who is that huge Oompa Loompa on stage? Yeah.
How about you, Tim? What kind of fresh points are you looking at?
So one thing I noticed a couple days ago, someone tagged me in this. I think it was. Gosh, I don't remember who it was, but someone. I'm sorry if it was a listener, but someone tagged me in the new NPR article about the remarkable history of the humble pencil. Yeah. Which was on All Things Considered. There's a little video done.
Which video is really cool.
Yeah, it's amazing. Yeah, Skunk Bear. That's when you look at the video on the bottom, it says credit NPR's Skunk Bear. Which is kind of a cool new trend for kids, this idea of getting kids to ask questions about something, a simple question, and then they answer them in like a really interesting way. So I guess that's what this segment is going to be doing. Which actually, did you see what the segments called? Oh, it's Tools of the Trade.
Oh, man.
It's called Tools of the Trade.
Npr, you'll be hearing from our lawyers.
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. See you in court. There's a really cool trend right now of shows and websites giving kids a chance to ask a simple question and then answer them in an interesting way. And I think that's what this Tools of the Trade segment is for npr where they, a fifth grade class asked how is pencil lead made? And they answered the question. There's also Netflix has a show called Storybots right now for kids, which Johnny, I don't know if your kids have watched this, but it's a really great show. It's awesome. There's not many episodes yet, but there's basically, the premise is there's these teams of little robots that live inside of computers that answer essentially Google questions from kids and they have to go on a hunt and figure out how will I explain this to a kid? And it's things like why is the sky blue? Why does night happen? Why do we have to brush our teeth? Stuff like that. But it's super entertaining. Henry loves it. But NPR Tools of the trade segment came out with a show on how the pencil is made and more specifically, how lead's made. And it's just. They have this really great video with it, which obviously we'll link in the show notes, but it's stuff we've talked about already. But it's presented in, like, the most attractive and just fun way. On the website. When you see it, you can see some gifs of different sections of it. And the coolest part, I think, for people who love pencils will be to see how they've used pencil artwork and animated it. It's really cool because it looks like they're just drawing it with a pencil, but then obviously they've worked in some sort of digital animation where things will move. It's really amazing. So have both of you seen this?
No. Never seen this before.
Oh, man. I almost want to listen to you watch it because it's pretty neat stuff. It's stuff we've talked about before, you know.
Oh, wait, do you mean this YouTube video?
Yes, sorry.
I'm gonna screw those.
We talked about it in the group.
Yeah.
There's a few inaccuracies in it, I think.
What were they?
Well, there was one where they said that and I should. I should look this up, but they basically said that Thoreau invented sort of the combination of, like, clay and graphite. And really, that was like Nicholas Conte, but then also, like, somebody kind of simultaneously across the sea. And really, like, Thoreau came up with machine. Yeah, with a machine that, like, optimized it.
Yeah, yeah.
And then I guess there's also a little contention about Thoreau and Sons being the first ones to kind of use the, like, number one, number two system, like, system of grading. You know, it was. It was developed, it sounds like, I think, earlier than, you know, the European, like, HB scale. But we're not sure if it was Thoreau and Sons that first used that. But that's. The video kind of made a bold claim that it was. But, I mean, it was an amazing, amazingly done video.
Yeah. And I think one of the most valuable things from the video will be the GIF that is created of Henry David Thoreau winking.
Yeah, I agree.
I think that will be in a heavy rotation in my texting conversations.
Yeah.
Really cool video. So if you haven't seen it, check it out. Read the article. I mean, yeah, maybe there's some inaccuracies, but at the same time, this is supposed to be for fifth graders, so if they said something about Conte. People would. The kids would be like, okay, I already forgot whose name that was that you just said. It's already gone. Like Henry David Thoreau. We might have talked about him in class, whatever. But cool video, cool animation. There's some footage of General's pencil company and the grooving department, as I referred to earlier. Yeah. Where Parliament Funkadelic had to get my
bass,
lay down a funky bass track. So, yeah. Cool little article. Check it out. Another thing I wanted to share is that we had gotten a great, just amazing box of things from Kickerland a while back. We talked about the erasers, and one of the things that was included was the writer's block planner that they sent us that is now October. So it now is usable, you know, because it didn't start until October of 2016. So I just started using a couple weeks ago, and I am loving it. There's a great. A great planner. It's set up in kind of traditional sense, kind of like the Moleskine Planner is where you've got the days of the week on the left and then just a page of lined paper on the right that you can make notes on. But I have been sticking with this with more intensity in the last two weeks than any planner I've tried to use. There's nothing that super special about it, but I just really love it. It's nice hardback. It's got some cool little features in the back that are New York specific, but still just kind of fun to look at, even though I don't live there. Really good planner.
So.
So that's the writer's block for some reason, spelled B, L, O, K.
I
don't know if that's. If there's some significance there, but it's the writer's blok.
The writer's bloke.
Writer's block.
Block.
So really great planner. I know there's lots of good planners out there, and I didn't get to grab one of the Baron fig planners. I actually had forgotten. I guess I just missed it completely when that came around. So I'm looking forward to maybe grabbing one next year. I just keep missing out. I didn't get a squire, didn't get a planner, and I haven't gotten any Vanguards yet. Like, I just keep. I just. These. This is like one of those periods in life where, like, I'm behind on everything.
You just need to live your entire life online, like I do. Tim.
Love to. Yeah. Yeah. So I need to. I need to play some catch up. But really cool things out there. So I encourage everybody to check them out. But that's me. That's all I've got. Cool. So what do you say we talk to the fellas from Baron Fig?
Oh yeah, we'll get them on the horn.
Let's do it.
Cool.
Now we're excited to have the creators of Baron Fig here with us. Joey and Adam. Thanks for being on, guys. And we are so excited to talk about the Archer. But first of all, let's just introduce yourselves. People can hear your voices and then if you, why don't you could tell us about the. Just kind of the history of Baron Fig for people who might not be as familiar with your company.
Cool. Hey, Joey Capone here, one of the co founders of Baron Fig. I'll let Adam jump in a little bit.
Hey, it's Adam Kornfield here. Yeah, one or the other half of it. So Baron Fig started kind of six years ago when Joey and I originally met. And Joey could never get this date right. Sometimes he thinks it's three years, sometimes he thinks it's seven years. But 300 years ago, 300 years ago,
we met the dawn of time.
So he had the observation that in his art School at SVA in New York here, everyone had a MacBook Pro or MacBook Air, but when it came to a paper notebook, it was kind of like all over the map. There's nothing anyone was really happy with. And I was always a big fan of stationery and paper and writing. And I thought it was a great idea. And you know, we acted on it three years later. It took us a while to get going, but finally we rolled out our confidant notebook. We talked to. Was it Joe?
300 Thinkers.
500 Thinkers.
500 wow.
Thinkers, yeah, from around the world. To get feedback, we just emailed them asking a question, like, what do you like or not like in your paper notebook? And the response, Well, A, was actually overwhelming that so many people got back to us and B, a lot of people really want to book the open flat. So that was kind of the origins of the confidant and put it on Kickstarter and did really well with it. We were surprised. We end up selling like 8,000 notebooks in a month, raising over $160,000. And that, that was the genesis of Baron Fig.
And since then, you guys kind of, you know, you've made the Apprentice, you've made the Vanguards, you've done like a cover for the, what is it called?
The.
The Guardian.
The Guardian, yeah. And you've done a pen, you've done the Squire, and the archer is your pencil, which is awesome. So first, I want to ask kind of what made you decide to design a pencil, but secondly, how you guys came upon the name the Archer. Let me ask that first, if I may ask, how did you come up with the Archer?
Yeah, that's a great question. Naming is a big thing for us. We try to choose names that are like, could be a person, so like your confidant or you're, you know, a vanguard, which is like sort of an adventurer, pioneer. And so Archer is the first name where it sort of is a play on the words of like and the physical product itself because it's sort of like an arrow. So you are the archer in this case, and the pencil is your arrow. Yeah. And that's where it came from.
That's awesome. And so what's. What's really interesting is I feel like this, this has been in your thoughts for a long time. Like, we first met in 2015 in the spring. And I remember we sat down with some coffee and we were drinking and you guys started asking me some very pointed questions about pencils. So how long before that have you sort of decided to make a pencil? And, and how did the genesis of that go?
So pretty much from day one, we knew that we wanted to create a company that created tools for thinkers. Right. So a notebook was just a starting point. We felt like the notebook was at the center and then we could draw rings around it. Right. Each ring was sort of things that were related to the ring previously. So ring number one now is writing instruments. Right. So we've got the. The Squire pen and today the Archer pencil and the. I think the squire took us 14 months to design. And the Archer. Yeah, we talked to you. Oh, man. A year and a half ago.
Yeah.
Wow. So, yeah, it's 18 months. And I'm sure it wasn't that we didn't start that day either. So it's quite a long time to. To get to this point.
Yeah. So can you talk about some of the, you know, nerdy specs of the pencil, like how much they cost, what they're made of, what sort of grade you put onto the lead and you know, where they come from, things like that.
Yeah, sure. Basic specs of the pencil. Pencils of European origin. HB hardness. We sell dozen 12 pack for $18 on our website. Baron Fig. Joe, what else can we tell them?
I mean, it's curious. It's an HB that's somewhere in the Middle between hb, B or F, which is why I like it so much. And I think that you guys can speak more towards this than even I can. So what do you guys think of the Archer? You've had it now for almost a week.
I think first I feel like I've been testing out a top secret prototype. I've been taking it to work and it's like, oh, somebody's going to see what, what this is. It's like when people with iPhones go out in the like, who work at Apple, go out into the world, they have to use like the special case that hides the shape of their like prototype iPhones.
Interesting.
Yeah. You didn't leave the pencil in the
bare pencil at the bar and it was terrible.
No, I did a really nice knife sharpening on mine and I couldn't put it on Instagram because it's still secret.
It was like, we're technically recording before, before the, the product is announced. So don't worry guys, we won't release this accidentally. Early pre release. Oops. Tim, what do you think of the pencil?
I'll say the biggest thing that stuck out to me in using it. I've been using it exclusively for several days since I got it. And it is. You mentioned that it's in the HB range, but my experience, and we actually had an episode recently where we talked about F pencils. Like pencils that were just a little bit on the harder side and those, they're all over the place as far as how smooth or how well they write. And this felt as far as the line it put down on the page, like a good F pencil because it held a point. Put down a slightly lighter line that held a point really nicely. But at the same time it felt just as smooth as an HB or a B pencil, which was kind of befuddling, you know, as I'm using it. But I really, really, really enjoyed that because I could carry it around with me around town like I did with a cap on it, and I didn't have to worry about having to sharpen it as I went. As I was just jotting down, you know, jotting down things in a pocket notebook and stuff. So that was just really. It really is a kind of best of both worlds kind of experience for me.
I really like how, how light it is. It's. It's very light when you pick it up. And at first I was a little bit afraid it was going to be like cheap because of that, but I think it's just very like lightweight. And springy, you know, without an eraser on the end of it. You know, there's. There's not a lot of, like, extra weight to hold it down. So.
Yeah, I've noticed over the years, just with exploring all the different kinds of pencils is that when you have a pencil that's really light, sometimes it's in. This has to do with the wood as well, but it's. It has the risk of feeling scratchy, like when you're writing. Writing a line where it'll have a light line, and it kind of. It's almost like it vibrates in your hand. But with this pencil, it's very light, but feels smooth. Like, you don't feel. You don't feel the lightness that makes. That's like a super nerdy, like, pencil guy thing to say. But it was one of the first things I noticed is that. Yeah, you don't get that kind of. It just feels really solid, really well put together in that sense.
Yeah.
Awesome.
It's, like, it's super well balanced between, like, you know, a black wing can sometimes get, like, super buttery, which is great for, like, you know, smoothness, but sometimes it gets a little, like, extra smudgy being so buttery. And then on the opposite end of the spectrum, you have, like, the FABER Castell Grip 2001, which is just, like, super scratchy and kind of light. And this feels like it takes out the best characteristics of both of those and, like, leaves out, you know, the bad ones. So it's just super balanced in the middle.
Nice.
Yeah.
Plus this. This mat is really where it's at.
Yeah.
This finish is perfect.
Yeah.
And your arrow looks a lot like
a tattoo that I have.
Oh, yeah.
So you guys didn't send me any free pencils. I would have been really pissed.
It looks really good.
I like how you guys really, really. You guys always do a really good job being really minimalist with your branding. And this is a really, really good example for people that aren't looking at it. Like, on one face, it says Baron fig, and on one, it has an arrow. That's it. It's just gray and black.
It's perfect. Awesome. I'm glad you like it.
So in the one question I definitely have for both of you as you come up with a pencil that I feel like a lot of people have this question or have this thought is, is there a possibility that in the future you might do alternate versions of the Archer and what those variations could look like? Like, what kind of routes could you go and Limited edition sector.
Yes. So after today, once we see sort of when the dust settles, I guess, and see how people like the product and how well it does, if it's moving along quite nicely, then like our other products, we will almost definitely make limited editions. And sort of our philosophy on limited editions is we try to start simple, right? So maybe the first one, I'll just have a different color or something. And then as over time, as we. As we release new limited editions, I try to design more and more complexity into them. So you can bet that they evolve over time. Like the confidants that we have planned for this, this fall, this winter, they are way more advanced than our original limited editions, and I think that's the way it should be. So.
Yeah, buy lots of these.
Yeah, exactly.
I'm gonna go ahead and put in a. Put in a vote for a pencil that's in that really awesome red of your boxes for your. For your confidants. Love. I love that color in your scheme. That's just. That color is gorgeous, and I would love to see that.
So awesome.
It's worth.
Yeah. I got to see the. I got to see the infamous cast couch that. That red comes from when I was there.
Yeah, yeah. That's our Baron fig wine color. It's like. I mean, essentially like the color of red wine, and the couch is one shade off of that color. So what we did is we painted one wall the correct color, and then we put the couch against the opposite wall. So we figured you couldn't compare them, so you never really know. It was slightly off.
So how about a Baron fig wine? Like a nice cabernet?
Yeah.
Wow. Fuel your creativity.
That's called the. Oh, the. Like, I'm trying to think of the server in, like, feudal times who serves wine like the deliverer, the barmaid, the muse. Yeah, the Baron fig mews.
Just a box of wine.
That's awesome.
That's sort of like Soylent. You know how Soylent shows up every month, and it's like a dozen bottles of protein or whatever, Dozen packets of. Dozen boxes of creativity in a box.
So as far as the. We've been talking about some of the particulars of the design from our point of view, kind of what we saw as far as the. The matte finish and the lead grade. And can you just kind of walk us through the design origins or kind of what you were going for? And then maybe if you're willing to tell us a little bit about versions that you went through or different kind of incarnations. Of the pencil that happened over time?
Yeah, sure. It seems like we go through dozens and dozens of prototypes. Adam, we must have, like, how many confidant prototypes sitting on our shelf?
Oh, I mean, dozens. Pretty much every time we make a product. It's not a small feat by any stretch. I mean, maybe I wish it was sometimes, but it takes scores of prototypes and testing and samples and on and on until we finally arrive at the right thing.
Yeah. So I've got. I've got this analogy or something that I'm going to throw out here. It's going to be the first time I've ever said it to anybody, like, I guess in public, besides just, like, chilling dinner. So I had a friend ask me recently. It's like, how do you know when the design is right? And my friend happened to be a musician, so I tried to relate in music terms, and I think I hit on something that felt really good. So I'll tell you guys what it is and see if it makes sense. So basically, you know, I can't be, like, a pencil expert and a notebook expert and a pen expert all at once, right? But I know in the end, hopefully, I will be quitter. But you know what I am? I am a pencil user, and I'm a pen user, and I'm a notebook user, and I've been doing this for life, right? So instead of trying to design it, I think my strategy has been to just try to use it and see how it feels. And so, like, my analogy with music is that my friend, he. He plays the guitar, but he doesn't know the notes, right? He does tablature. He does tabs, which is kind of says, put your finger here, put your finger there. And he's still creating the music, right? But he doesn't know the specs of the music. He doesn't know the notes he's playing, but still can sound beautiful. And I think the process, at least approaching it from this angle is the same. It's like, I don't know necessarily what I mean, I do now, but beforehand, I don't know exactly what lead it is. I don't know exactly what type of wood or, you know, what finish it is or how long it is at the moment, but when I use it, I'm like, this is the one that feels right. Let's figure out what this is and then go, I guess, backwards into the process so you just make sense.
You just have to pay more attention to, like, the tools you're using and kind of, like, articulate why it Feels right.
Yeah, it sort of feels like, like a meditative process where you have to, like, instead of looking outward, you're looking inward at your response while using something. Yeah, so we. That's what we did. We used, like, dozens of pencils with our notebook until we got somewhere that felt, like, really pleasant and then built upon it.
Yeah.
So can you talk about what some of these pencils were that you tried out or even, you know, if there were certain pencils that you guys really liked that were sort of inspirations for certain parts of the Archer, like the finish or the lead or the dimensions and things like that?
Yeah, sure. The most obvious is the black wing. The black wing pencils and, like, the variations that they've got. We tried, like, I mean, Andy talked so highly about those, all the way down to pencils that are, you know, like the yellow number two, and trying to figure out, you know, why is it that this blackwing is so popular and so loved and, you know, why is it that the number two is so ubiquitous? What do they have in common? What don't they have in common? We went to Caroline's shop. Adam, I think you went, right, you had a conversation with Caroline and picked up a ton of stuff.
Oh, I've been to Caroline's shop. Caroline's shop is not too far from where I live, so I end up walking back by there quite a bit. Probably make some of you guys jealous, but.
Oh, I'm super jealous.
So, yeah, I'm sure I was there and I was talking to her many times.
So, I mean, just like everything you guys do, I think the just presentation and the. Just the, like, the visual aesthetic design of these things are really amazing. I think even more so than the boxes that your confidant comes in, which. Which is an amazing box. I just use them all over the time, and it fits the confidant perfectly. I think the packaging for these pencils are, like, especially interesting because it seems impossibly thin. Like when the tube came. So these all come in. Come in tubes. I think there's probably pictures on the website that you all see. And the tubes, I can easily get my, like, my middle finger and my thumb just wrapping around it to, like, touch it feels impossibly thin. Was like, there's no way we can put 12 pencils in here.
How.
How did you come up with the design of the tube and. And how difficult was it to just get as exacting as you did?
It was a combination of, like, Adam, Jay, and myself. Like, I think I might have said something along the lines of, hey, guys, what. What would it take to make a standing tube for our pencils? And then I saw on Adam's face just, like, immediately, like, the math just going through his head.
It's like A Beautiful Mind. Just, like, start sketching in his mind.
Yeah. How did you guys. Adam, how did you guys figure out, like, exactly how to make those fit?
Well, I can tell you there's a lot of math. I mean, I remember when Joey's like, all right, we want to put 12 pencils in a tube. How do we do it? I remember thinking, oh, my gosh, we better get this exactly right, because otherwise it's either going to be too big and they're going to be rattling around, it's going to be too small, and we're going to have an 11 pack of pencils. So, yeah, I remember sitting there with measuring out the length of the hexagon and then coming up with the inside diameter and then using PI with circumferences and how thick is the cardboard and then how big is the outside piece. So I remember the one day Joey was designing the printing that was going to go on the packaging, and he had to come up with the exact dimensions of each panel on the tube. And you can imagine it's like, okay, how long is that top part? How long is the neck of the tube?
Oh, that's right.
So we sat there for, like, Joey's like, I just need your help for a minute doing this math. And a minute turned into, I think, 45 minutes of, like, intense math. But, yeah, in the end, it worked. And very glad that seems to fit
well, especially considering the, like, the sides on this hexagonal pencil aren't, like, super sharp. You know, they're just kind of like a soft, well, rounded side. Yeah, I feel like. I think it's so difficult to just,
like, so actually plan out. I think Adam and Jay put together a 3D model of the tube with pencils, didn't you?
Yeah, yeah. So I actually. I think Jay and I both did it independently. We came up with our own math, and I sketched out on paper, and Jay did it. I look over, I was like, jay, what do you think of these dimensions? And I'm staring at his screen. He literally had it laid out in CAD program, and he's like, yep, yep, it fits. So it was good to see that we both, theoretically, it fit. And then the moment of truth came when we had to actually put the pencils in the tube. And there was a collective sigh of relief around the studio when 12 pencils actually fit inside the tube.
Oh, my God.
So how would you. Which you said a lot of stuff that kind of factors into this. But how do you feel that the Archer fits into the Baron Fig lineup? Because everything's very intentional that you've put out so far, and everything fits nicely. It makes sense. So how would you describe it in your words, how it fits into the lineup?
So overall, Baron Fig is a company that makes tools for thinkers. So we started off at, like, the most obvious place, which was the notebook. Okay. Where do you write your ideas down with the confidant. And then as kind of Joey talked about before, we started getting a lot of feedback, and it was part of our roadmap. Okay. People keep asking for recommendations for a pen and then a pencil, and it was killer giving recommendations for other brands, that's for sure. So we came out with the Squire, did the Kickstarter, happy about that. And then Andy, as you mentioned before, meeting up at Washington Square park, spring of 2015, we've been dying to make a pencil because it's just a different experience. Different with writing, it's a different tactile function, gives the ability to erase. And it's just something that people demanded, they wanted, we wanted. And so if it's in the lineup and, like, making it work with our paper, it's important all of our things work together well. And fortunately, we're able to make this work along with everything else.
Was the Archer designed specifically to perform well, like, specifically on Baron Fig paper?
Yeah, it was tested, like, first and foremost in our notebooks, in the confidant and in the vanguard.
What are some of the things. What are some of the things you noticed and looked for when you were trying that out?
So I went to school for design, graphic design, But I started as an illustration major, and I had taken a first semester of figure drawing. Just like drawing in general, which I have found to be so invaluable in terms of, like, handling a writing instrument and just knowing different qualities of line and how to use a pencil to create, like, beautiful imagery. So for me, like, every time I pick up a pencil, I drag it across the page and I see what kind of line it produces. Then I press it down as hard as I can, see how dark it goes. Then I scribble a lot, and I'll see, like, how quickly does the tip disappear? You know, like, how quickly do I need to sharpen it?
Yeah.
And then my favorite is where I like to create little gradients starting from left to right. Dark to light and to see how much pressure I need to go from, like, hard and dark to where I'm just pressing barely at all to create a nice light gradient. And I find, like, there are certain pencils that even though they're high quality, it's hard to do that for some reason. And so it's important to me that, like, if you use this pencil for drawing as opposed to writing, does it have the ability to hit that whole spectrum easily enough? And I think you guys actually mentioned earlier how it's a soft pencil, but at the same time it still isn't extremely dark. Like, it sort of hits that HBS realm. Yeah. And that's like the perfect way to have it. Is it soft? And it doesn't just, like, want to give away all this darkness. It's what gives you such versatility. If you're image making, it's really well balanced.
Yeah. You're not going to be sharpening every two or three minutes. You can. You got some leeway there. Carrying this thing in your pocket with a cap on it is really a pleasure because it's. You don't have to worry about that. I've carried it out with me, you know, around town, and I just don't have to worry, which is nice.
So do you guys carry erasers as well?
No, I sometimes do.
I don't need erasers, man. He never makes a mistake.
I always have one in my bag, but I don't usually have one in my pocket.
So how do you feel about it not having an eraser?
That's a good question.
In general, like, I don't care, but the design of yours is so perfect. I think an eraser would completely ruin it. It's a short answer.
Unless. Unless it was one of those erasers that kind of sat flush with the barrel. Like the Itoya pencils or like the craft design technology pencils, Camel pencils, they kind of do that. So something like that would be good for me. But like. Yeah, I feel like a feral. And an eraser would just kind of like disrupt these. These lines that you have.
Yeah.
This end is perfect. Not too rounded and soft like a Japanese pencil.
Yeah.
And this is me getting too, like, creative, touchy feely. But I dig when. When you're. When you're making something for people who create, who. There's. There's a lot of wisdom in not having an eraser just to kind of keep going, keep putting it down. So I like not having an eraser for that reason. You know, when I'm sitting Down to write if I pull up the stuff. Pencil. An eraser is like having a backspace key that as soon as it's there, I want to use it.
Totally.
So I appreciate that.
Awesome.
Cool.
Your paper has always been very good for pencil. That's something that we pointed out a lot and it's come up a lot in our Facebook group. So I know you guys were sensitive to ink users and even sort of like pocket watercolor stuff, but was it intentional to make your paper that's in all of your notebooks very good with pencil the way. Way that it is, or it's just like a happy accident?
No, definitely. I think it was actually more important that it's good with pencil than good with, you know, fountain pens or like more liquid based mediums.
That's a good answer.
I mean, pencil is what I. I personally like. When I go to draw, I grab a pencil against anything else. Yeah.
See, I was expecting like a Squire, but with like a mechanical pencil insert. So I was excited that it was a wooden pencil.
Yeah.
Yeah, sure.
Yeah.
Interesting.
Yeah. Just.
You never know.
Yeah, that's true. I mean, that would look. That would look awesome too, like a match set squire.
But yeah.
Yeah.
Obviously we're biased toward wooden pencils here.
Yeah. Just a little. A little bit.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Do you guys have Squires?
Yeah, sorry, I don't.
I do not.
I've been. I've been wanting one. Yeah, I actually was just looking at them on your website this afternoon because it's something I've been wanting for a while because I love that refill and I love the. I forget what it's called, but the ballpoint, that's kind of a similar. Similar feel that fits in that. That I put in a lot of other things, but I just can't find something that I. That I want to sit down, write with for a long amount of time. So I've been meaning to.
We're gonna have to fix that.
I didn't even know they were on the website.
Have it up on my website.
Are you guys allowed to use pens? Is that. Does that break some rule?
Because you don't tell Johnny.
I would definitely. If I'm using like a pen at work or something and somebody like specifically notices, I usually get some guff.
I can't believe you're using a pen. Totally. Just don't tell anybody.
I bought some gel pens today.
Oh, no.
Did you pay cash for them?
Just so they can't be true?
No proof.
I handed my daughter five bucks.
I was like, get these for daddy.
Well, it's been really awesome having you guys on here. Really, really enjoyed this and we're so excited for everybody to try the Archer. We've had so much fun with it and thank you so much for letting us take it for a spin. Before we talk to you all, we have to finish just to ask, because you've always got something cooking. What's next for Baron Fig that you can tell us about anything or anything you're thinking about or anything you're willing to tell us.
All right, I have good news. I have good news. Every time we are asked this question, I think the answer we always give is something along the lines of, oh, you know, you have to wait and see. We have a real answer this time. And this is something that you guys, any of your listeners, everyone, is totally the first to hear this probably by a long shot. Adam, you want to go ahead?
No, no, go ahead. You're excited. Go for it.
All right, I will. Cool. So we have coming up our first mystery limited edition. It'll be coming in November and it is going to be put up on the page and you're not going to know what's in it except that it's called the Black Box.
Oh, sweet.
Yes.
That's pretty awesome.
It's just going to be. It's going to be full of nothing, is what it is.
Full of mystery.
It's the cards against humanity route.
Yeah, right. It's going to be full of blackness.
Yeah.
Remember last year they did the box full of, like, cow crap or something. People were digging through it thinking there was a trick and there was nothing. I promise you it's not. It's not a problem.
Just trolls, everyone. That's awesome.
So that's what's happening in the next few weeks. The pencil came out today. I'm very excited about.
I like how you did that, Joey. It was like, hey, we're going to give an exclusive to you. It's a mystery. That's awesome.
Yeah, cool.
Thank you so much. You want to tell people how to find you online in the various ways that you want to share?
Yeah, sure. You can check us out. Baron fig.com b a r o-n f I g.com and you know, on Twitter and Instagram and Joe, what else do we have going on right now? What are we talking about before the show?
Oh, yeah, just last year, our planners sold out, like, ridiculously fast. And just if your listeners are interested in planners, definitely grab one before they're gone because they're probably gonna be gone. In a few weeks. Oh, and our charcoal notebooks are. We have a new color confidant charcoal notebooks. Check that out too. You guys have any of those?
Those charcoal ones are good looking.
I've had one. Yeah, I'm using the. Just the regular one right now.
Cool.
I'm still using my three legged juggler because.
Wow.
It is still my.
Oh, man.
I kind of hoarded them well.
That's a nice autumnal color.
Yeah.
Yeah, it's back in vogue in the fall again.
Yeah.
And it looks really good. I have a green, like little pen loop that I stick in the back of it and it matches. It really matches well. The like green bookmark like, like accent color that's on it.
So I want to see it.
Yeah. Very cool.
How can, how can people follow you guys personally on the Internet if you're, if you're willing to share?
Oh yeah, my Twitter is the best place to shoot me a message. It's just joeycophone. J O E Y C O F.
And for me, you can follow me on Twitter. Adam Kornfield. A D A M K O R N F I E L D. Yeah.
And also just as a side note, right, the. The mission of Baron Fig is to champion thinkers. And so it's like creating it, Creating a company that really does try to live the principles of creativity. Right. So we don't just sell the products for it, but we do these Baron Fig projects where we try to be examples of creativity and we're always taking feedback. It's super important to how we develop our products, you know, our website and pretty much everything. So if you shoot us an email, helloirenfig.com Totally. If you've got thoughts or suggestions or you think something sucks, we love all of the above. Let us know.
Yeah, feedback's great. I mean, we love hearing from customers, meeting customers. It's great to, you hear all sorts of angles and things we may or may not be thinking about or reinforcing what we've heard or thought already. It's really useful.
Yeah.
Awesome.
Well, thank you guys so much for being here.
Yeah, thanks guys. That was awesome.
Yeah, thanks for having us. Definitely a blast.
Yeah.
This has been episode 62 of the erasable podcast. You can find the audio and show notes for this episode at erasable us. We do still have stickers on sale. $5 for three of them or $2 each, which you can get to at erasable us shop. Come join our Facebook group, the Erasable podcast pencil community. It is at facebook.com groups erasable there's 1300 of us strong having amazing pencil discussions from day to day. Follow our Facebook page for updates. Facebook.com erasablepodcast we're on Twitterasablepodcast and on Instagram @erasablepodcast. Thank you very much and we will talk to you soon.
The intro music for the Erasable podcast is graciously provided by this Mountain, a collaborative folk rock band from Johnson City, Tennessee. You can check out their music at www.thismountainband.com.