This transcript was generated from an audio file by AI, and may contain inaccuracies.
Transcript
Lovely citizens of the pencil community, welcome to the very, very special 100th episode of the Erasable podcast. I'll be your host for the evening. This is Jimmy Olson checking in from the Daily Planet, and I'm here with three pencil superheroes. More than four years ago, Tim Wasem, Johnny Gamber, and Andy Welfle were just mild mannered men until the day they were stabbed with radioactive graphite that turned them into podcast hosts. They hit the topics harder than a 4H and interviewed guests with the smoothness of a 6B. No stationery is safe from the Erasables.
Yay.
We put our.
Hey, Caitlin.
Very good technical prowess to good use in taking only 40 minutes to set up our livestream.
That's all it does. Record time.
Yeah.
Hashtag worth it.
So podcast recording is not one of your superpowers?
Apparently not.
Apparently not. Not.
The Internet you're shooting for.
Episode 200 is going to be super smooth.
Oh, it's going to be amazing. Yeah.
Or it's gonna.
That'll be a VR episode.
Absolutely.
Just keeps building up. Well, episode 100. Thanks for doing this, Katelyn.
Episode 100. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you so much for having me. I'm really excited to grill you guys on some pencil questions.
It's making me amazing.
I may have an answer.
Oh, are you? You may have an answer.
We'll see.
Great. For everybody who's listening, what we're going to do tonight is we're going to skip all of the tools of the trade and the fresh points that you've come to know and love. We're just going to ditch that format all together and hit the hard topics. So if you have any questions that you want us to ask or address, hit us up in the chat if you can actually get in there. So we've already established that you guys are our pencil superheroes. I want to hear your origin stories, and I just want to make a note before you jump into it that I went back and listened to episode one, so I'll know if you're lying or not.
Oh, man, that's a lot of pressure.
Johnny, do you want to start? I'll tell you it has something to do with Hemingway.
Yeah, sure. So my pencil superhero origin story is that I liked pencils. After I read some Hemingway in grad school and learned more about Thoreau and his, you know, innovations in pencil making and then, you know, being the heyday of blogs and not social media, I started a pencil blog and just really got into pencils. That's John.
That's Boring.
Yeah. Yeah.
That was like. I got stabbed one time and bought. It was a pencil, and I pulled it out like, this is badass. It all got really, really awesome from there.
Yeah.
Tim, how about you?
I guess for me, it was getting into. It was like a couple years after I started teaching, and I was into mostly pens initially. And then I kind of wrote about this for the New Plumbago, but a few different instances where I had started this. Originally a pen blog, it was called the Daily Carry, and then it was called the Writing Arsenal, and now it's called Nothing, because it doesn't exist anymore. But in that process of doing that, nothing, it's impossible to Google. So it really not working for me. But I had reached out to Andy and Johnny on two kind of separate questions, kind of, and gotten some answers from them. And this was back when I thought it was totally ridiculous to pay $25 for a dozen black wings. And I was like, well, I'm never going to need that. Why would I ever. Why would I ever do that? And so I remember having a conversation with Johnny about the Palomino graded drawing pencils, the black and orange ones. And he kind of schooled me on what are the. Like, what the different grades mean, Because I didn't even really know much about that at that point. I mean, I kind of knew, but I didn't know how to calibrate it. And so I remember texting him and he was very graciously explaining things to me and saying, well, if you want to go for a black wing, but pay half the price, then maybe try this. And I tried it, and it was cool. And then that was a slippery slope. And then with Andy, it was a pencil I had stolen from my church. It was a. It was a road.
Was it worth it? It was going to hell.
Remember that?
Totally worth it. Yeah, totally worth it.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And you've never seen one since, have you?
No.
It's worth going to hell.
Never went back. No, it's. It's. But it was a round Ticonderoga, like a really cool round tiger. And I was just really wanted a round pencil at that point. And so I remember reaching out to both of you and saying, like, what is this? Where can I find more? And then that led me down another rabbit hole towards, like, the Ticonderoga lady, which is one of my first favorites that I got into that I found. And it was like this big discovery. And I wrote. Wrote a review about that. And then, yeah, I guess that was the start of it. Those Two. Those two instances. And then it kind of blew up from there. And then talking these two guys into doing the podcast, which was very lucky on my part because I didn't know what I was talking about. So that's me.
I mean, not. Yeah, like, I'm agreeing with you, but I didn't.
I do. Yeah. Now I sort of know what I'm talking about.
Nice.
Andy, how'd you get into pencils?
Oh, man. I've always really liked stationary, but I think I never thought, like, I didn't really, like, think about pencils very much until I was on. I think it was probably boing, boing. Or maybe it was in Wired magazine. It was one of those two things. And I saw that you could order a pencil sampler pack from this website called Pencil Things. So I went to Pencil Things and I ordered that sampler pack, and I tried them out, and I'm like, holy crap, these are amazing. And one of them included. One of them was a Palomino hb. There was also a Golden Bear and a Prospect and a couple, like, Tombos. And so I wrote a review for my personal blog, and then I emailed the. This is maybe like, 2007. I emailed Don, who was the proprietor of Pencil Things. I was like, hey, I wrote this review of those pencils. It was so great. He was like, this is great. Would you consider writing for our blog for free stuff? I was like, yes, yes, for sure. So we started talking, and I reviewed products there. And this is, I think, in kind of the. One of the golden ages of blogging where, you know, the whole community was in the comments and everybody would just check out each other's blog all the time. That's where I met Johnny, in the comments of his blog and in the comments of Pencil Things. So, yeah, started there. That. That shut down. They stopped doing the blogging after Don sold it to somebody else. And so I started my own blog, Woodclinched, just because I wanted to kind of, like, keep on with it. And I emailed everybody who I'd ever. Who had ever commented on my post before. And I was like, hey, come check out Woodclinched. That was maybe 2010. And so I started there. And, yeah, the rest I worked at for a brief time. That led to a brief job at Cal Cedar, like, right after the Blackwing MMX came out. Yeah, so I've been doing that ever since. I think that would probably. Yeah, I was just at the right place at the right time, talking about niche stuff and sort of the golden Age of blogging. I think I missed the golden age of blogging.
The golden age of pencils. What blog platform were y' all using?
I always use WordPress. Although when I was on Pencil Talk, I think we used TypePad, if you remember that one.
Oh, man, Typad was cool, though.
Yeah. Yeah, it worked out really well. Yeah.
Squarespace. For that. Originally for the. For the first blog, it was a Squarespace. Squarespace site that I think I made from a pen addict coupon code or something like that.
Yeah. 10% off using pen addict.
10% off. We should just start using that as an advertisement on our podcast. Be like, if you'd like 10% off on Squarespace, just put in the code. Pen addict.
Hey, you know what? We owe the bulk of our audience to the pen addict, so any way we can promote him? I think we should.
Yeah.
Les says in the chat that Scription, which is a really good stationary blog, is still on TypePad, which is kind of amazing. I didn't know you could still be on TypePad. Yeah. Good job, Patrick.
So funny. Yeah, so, I mean, I love that your love of pencils goes back to, I think, Johnny, on the episode you mentioned 2004, which. Which seems like the dark ages a long time ago. What's kept you with pencils after all this?
I was a sophomore in high school.
Shut up, dude.
Really?
I was a junior in high school.
How old were you?
I was in my second year of a PhD program. I was in my mid-20s.
I'm sorry.
That was the year I graduated from college. Both my undergrad.
God damn.
Yeah. So, Johnny, I think that question was,
oh, am I going first?
Yeah, I think that was directed to you. Age before beauty, Johnny.
Well, you know, since I'm the oldest, pencil is forever. It never fades. You can find some, you know, junk pencil in your dad's house and sharpen it, and it'll still work. So I'm gonna play the old person card. That's why pencils all this time, but. So I don't pay attention to fountain pens and inks, obviously, but in the realm of the sorts of pens I'm likely to use, there's not a lot that's new. But oddly enough, in the pencil world for the last few years, there's always something cool and new coming out, at least from Blackwing or Baron Fig or somebody and a pencil store and then new sources for stuff. So you can stick with pencils and still try, like, lots of cool new stuff. So that is the largest reason for why pencils all this Time. The other one is I keep having kids, and kids like pencils, so there's that.
How about you, Tim?
One. One reason that I got away from the. As far as, like, the blogging and talking stuff, I got away from pens more is that I'm. I'm very much like, tactile, like the feel person or whatever, kinesthetic, whatever you want to call it. Like I. The feel of. Of whatever it is on the page is really important to me. And pencils just make me happy the way they feel on the page. Whereas pens, if they're super glassy and smooth, my handwriting's all over the place. And I just like to have a little bit of a feel and a little bit more of a attachment to it. And then other reason being that I can get that feel from it. Pencils are also pretty inexpensive. And so once I. With this whole venture and this whole thing and getting into this world, I was always looking for the one pencil or something that I could get and then get us, you know, stock up on a huge supply with. Which I had already done. But that was just really exciting to me to be able to find something that I love that fit this urge for something that is, like, simple, nostalgic, but also has this feel where I feel productive when I'm writing with a pencil, when I'm working with pencil and I'm sharpening pencils and I'm working my way through a box. And then I was able to find it for me, it was the Palomino hb. When I landed on that and then bought a gross of those, and I felt like just this gratification. It's like I found it and this is really just an awesome. An awesome find that I can stick with for a very long time. And I know that they can sit up in this closet right above my head and they can last forever. I'll be able to use. I'll probably be sharpening those for the next 50 years because I've just got so many of them. So I think that's it for me. Just the simplicity and then just the feel of. Feels like something that is earthbound as opposed to something that's made of weird extruded plastic and doesn't write.
Hey, sorry, are you talking about Vopex? We're not friends anymore.
Don't leave. Unblogo.
Yeah, I love you. I don't know about why pencils. I think. You know what, we've talked about this metaphor a little bit on the show before, but I think that like. Like when you, when you compare pens, like if you have to compare something. Pencils or pens, for me it's pencils. Because like, like judging pens is very much like, like wine tasting and pencils are very much like coffee. Like, I feel like there's more of a. Not only price but also like difference in quality and taste and variation in, in wine. And I think that pencils are a lot. Pencils and coffee are both a little bit more subtle in the way that like you can compare them just for me at least. And so I think I really like to. I really take a delight in that subtlety. I think that pencils feel so much like a niche within the community. Like, I never would have thought that I could keep it up for, you know, 100 episodes. So if, you know, if we can do this for 100 episodes, like, how much further can we go? So I think that's why I'm still on pencils and notebooks too. Yeah, like, you can't, you can't talk about pencils without talking about like, you know, the thing on which to use them. So there's certainly a lot of, there's a lot of interesting like spaces to explore within paper as well.
I think what you're, you're saying reminds me or just made me think about another reason that a difference between the two. The reason why I love pencils is that it's a process. Like using them is part of a process. Like, yeah, like the sharpening process, the erasing process, the, like, how are you going to carry it around with you? And I just like things that have a process to them as opposed to something that I don't. I would much rather, if I have something important in front of me that I want to take care of and, and even if it's urgent, like, I would much rather be like, okay, I need a pencil grab pencil, sharpen it up, get ready to go. Kind of get into the swing of things rather than grab a click pen and like immediately be scribbling away at it. Just something that like, I like that it slows you down a little bit. I think we talked about that a lot early on, that pencils slow you down in like kind of the perfect way. Yeah, it's very anti immediate gratification, technology sensibility that's, you know, most of US function in 90% of the time.
Yeah, that's funny, Tim. That's almost exactly what you said in the first episode is early.
There you go.
Yeah, like word for word, Mr.
Consistency there.
Talking about how it slows you down and how, you know, just a process of sharpening, like, centers you like.
So in other words, I haven't changed in 100 episodes. I am exactly. I have not evolved at all on brand, which.
Which leads me to my next question. Let's talk about where you were four years ago versus where you are now, and what do you feel?
The biggest change I am four years ago.
I mean, I know, like, your personal lives have changed a lot. I mean, Andy, you've moved all over the country.
Yeah, I don't know. It was definitely. Yeah, like, my personal life has, like, really, really shifted. I went from, you know, living in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and working kind of in tech, but at a very small agency, to moving out to San Francisco and at a huge software company. But, you know, honestly, like, erasable is the, like, consistent thing since then. Right. Like, when I moved, you know, for like a month, I was living by myself in a temporary housing in, you know, pretty close to where the Facebook office is. And I would like, you know, text with Katie and we like, I FaceTime with my family just to say what's going on. But I was out there by myself. And so when we recorded that first episode of me moving out there, it was like, at my, like, temporary housing kitchen table and. And I was so happy to be talking to Johnny and Tim that I, like, I like, teared up a little bit. It's just like, it was, you know, it was a friendly, consistent voice, like in this really, really different situation.
That's. It makes me. It reminds me of the. When you were in Valparais and I remember you talking about sitting. Were you in your basement? Is that what it was? It's your.
Yeah, I remember that.
Yeah, you're sitting in your, like, super hot basement and recording from down there in the summertime. And. And we were all. And I remember you telling us about your move and just it was like a weird sensation to be like, you're moving. What? Oh, but we're on Skype. So it's like you're moving to a different time zone, which is still. Was still like a different, like, caliber. You know, we calibrated to it and it was like we could feel your move in our own kind of weird way. And. Yeah, but it is just amazing to have this kind of a way to stay in touch and to talk about something. This format. Just the fact that you could be like, well, I've got to move 2,000 miles away. And it's like, okay, we'll talk to you next Tuesday. And
Exactly. Johnny and Tim you, you both had, you know, one less kid each when you. When we started.
Yeah, Yeah.
I think that the Henrys were born, like, right around when the show started. Right.
Like a year before.
Year before. Yeah, the year before when the. Yeah, we were. Yeah, I guess four years ago. So, yeah, I was. Yeah, I was in my second year of teaching at that point. I was teaching middle school. And, yeah, Henry was a year old. We were living in this tiny little house in John or in Elizabeth in Tennessee. And it was. Yeah, it was an awesome thing. I loved that time. And I loved talking to people, you know, and they'd be like, so I heard you're doing a podcast. And I just loved telling them what it was and just waiting for their response. Be like, let's see what he says. Let's see what they say to this. Which now, like, everybody knows, but I just feel like, yeah, it's about pencils. And then, like, just wait for them to, like, watch what you could, like, watch their brain process it and be like a podcast about pencils. What do I say now? Now what do I say?
I think in 2014, I still had the specter of having a career again before all of these kids keep getting born. Sad face. Yeah. I think I'd only been not, you know, working outside the home for three years at that point, but now I think my whole higher ed career is probably over. I was, yeah, smiley face.
I've always thought it was interesting. Like, people, people talk about how they just don't know any, like, stay at home dads. And I'm just like, oh, I'm like friends with a stay at home dad. And it's like, he.
We know. One of the best.
Super busy all the time. Like, yeah, that's a career.
He looks tired all the time.
That's why I drink so much coffee.
Yeah, he used to drink like a whole French press during a recording of a podcast.
Yeah, I used to always lie. I'm like, I'm drinking booze, guys. I was just sitting there sucking on coffee. Yeah, I just wanted to sound cool.
I think as far as, like pencils go, like changes over the last four years. I definitely. And this is the nitty gritty stuff. But I like super soft pencils now, which I never would have touched back then. I think that's the biggest difference for me, actually. Interestingly that I think I've gone in both directions where now I'm willing to use like an H or an F pencil where I wouldn't have touched it then. And I'm Also willing to use like a 6B or like a Palo, you know, Palinino MMX that I. Blackwing MMX that I wouldn't have used back then. Just kind of willing to just mix it up and try different things all the time and just pick up something different and just enjoy it for. For being different. Which back then I was very. I remember having conversations where we were just talking about, like, it's got to be a B or A to be or I'm not going to. Not going to use it. That's where I. That's all I want. That's all I get. Why would I like anything else?
Be your gtfo.
So one of the things that's changed a lot in the last four years is that when we first started podcasting, we each sent each other a package of pencils that we thought the other ones didn't have. But with the pencil store and people trading so much in the Facebook group, it's become impossible to give someone a pencil that they haven't seen before.
Yeah. One of the biggest changes in four years.
It's really frustrating. Yeah. You'll meet up with someone, like, I know that they would like this pencil, but I bet they've got like, four dozen of them.
We've had four years to hoard.
Yeah, that was gonna be my next question, which is, like, how much has the pencil landscape changed since you guys started getting into pencils? I mean, I imagine the community is a lot different because now you have, like, the Facebook group and you have so many different places that you can. Can gather and talk about these things online that aren't blogs, unfortunately. And you have so many more places that you can get pencils now.
Yeah. It's funny to think about how Blackwing volumes did not exist when we started recording. What do we talk about?
It's almost unrecognizable when you think about it. Like, what it was when we were talking about it originally, because we had. We had pencils.com and we talked, you know, and when we would talk about ordering things, we would talk about Amazon, you know, like, that was. That was all there really was.
Yeah, like ebay.
I mean, it was just like those. There were, like, a couple options and. And when we talk about. And I remember all the time, like, one of those subjects that kept coming up that we were talking about all the time that I even. I got, like, annoyed about was just. We kept talking about, well, still can't find anything in the big box stores. The pencils still suck around here. You guys Staples still sucks. They've got those one pencils that are good, but they haven't changed in six years or whatever. That's all it was. And now there's. And even. And I think what the Facebook group has become, it's almost like Facebook group has become for, you know, a thousand. However many active people there are. If there's like 400 active people on there or something, that. Or there's 2,500 members. That. For them, that podcast group has become what this podcast was for us early on, which was like, a place to, like, just constantly be throwing stuff at each other and talking about a topic that we wanted to talk about. And that's pretty cool. But.
And for sure, Facebook is, like, problematic in many ways, and I completely respect people's decision not to use it. But. But I do think that like. Like our group and really, like many groups like ours, is kind of a net positive just to the world in general. It doesn't have to necessarily be Facebook itself, but just being able to connect people who wouldn't otherwise ever talk to each other. Like, think of all the trades that have happened in our group and the RSVP group and the Notebook nerds group.
Finding your. Your safe space for. For whatever you. Whatever you're into. Pretty cool thing.
Yeah.
And maybe the best thing about Facebook is giving people the room to do that. Unless your safe space is something hateful. But pencils are really great. So.
Yeah.
Or unless your group that your safe space is in is enabling you to do bad things. No, this one is enabling you to spend 25 cents on a pencil and then be like, hey, everybody, this one's awesome.
Check it out.
You know.
Yeah, that's actually been my favorite experience with pencils since I started getting into them. Is like, 99% of pencil people are nice. People when they're talking about pencils, like, are generally, like, really excited. Because I think that the community. Communities feels large sometimes, but really it's still small enough that it. I don't know, it just has, like, an extra level of friendliness to it, and people are still excited to share and learn and find out new things.
And then you see, I'm sure you all have noticed, like, when you engage with certain people and you even find certain people within the group who share your love for pencils but also share things outside of that, and you're like, well, that's neat. You also like this thing. And then they start showing up where you'll see them on the Facebook group, but also they'll. They End up following you on Instagram or you follow them on Twitter or something. And then it just is like you're kind of in a continual contact with somebody who's on the same wavelength as you. And. Well, I know that's one of those weird things of our time in the social media age. It's weird, but it's also nice. It's cool.
Yeah.
As long as that's not your whole world, then it's really cool.
But what if it's your whole world?
Actually my favorite crossover I've experienced. Not to take the interview away from you guys.
No, please do.
Recognizing people's names on Amazon reviews.
I remember. Oh, that's funny. That's really funny. And I remember signing up for Reddit like 2 years ago and I'd never been on Reddit before and I signed up for Reddit and I commented on a pencil thing and I made my username Mitt Mesaw because I talked about, you know, I had mentioned that, like my name, I made it, I made that and I commented on a pencil thing. And the first comment after, like within an hour was, is this the Mitt me? So, So I had, I had, I had been on, I'd been on Reddit for like an hour and I found my like, niche of Reddit and somebody immediately was like, hey, there you are. Found you.
Oh, yeah.
Which is not a story about me being recognizable. It's just that it's such a small, small world and that like you. Yeah. You start to recognize each other and you start to. There's really not much to hide behind because you've got this sort of. Yeah. Tight knit little group, which is cool.
And I think more broadly, like outside of, you know, erasable sphere of influence, like, we, we're certainly like a, you know, a symptom of a resurgence of love for Analog rather than like the cause. I like just all of the books and resources that are out there kind of just like independent of that. Like, you know, Caroline's book and you know, I just read she's writing something else. She didn't give any details on that. But there's that resurgence of Analog book. There's a book about paper. There's all of these things that are just about pencils and stationery and typewriters and records. So for sure, like, you know, there's a certain like hipster fetish element to all this stuff. But I honestly, it, based on what I've, you know, talked with people about, it seems like it does go a little deeper than that.
Yeah, so what's the most surprising thing you've learned about pencils? Over 100 episodes, there's still stuff to talk about.
Yeah, we're still talking about pencils.
Yeah.
You know, before we started podcasting, before the pencil store, you thought, or at least I thought, in terms of global availability, like, you know, in the Taiwanese market, I can get these BIC test scoring pencils and etc. But then in the last hundred episodes in the Facebook group, there's all this other stuff where they're not just Japanese pencils, they're vintage Japanese pencils, and not just vintage Japanese pencils, but like 80s Japanese pencils. So I guess in a hundred episodes, it's that I will never have all the pencils. So I don't even care about trying to.
That's my. I think mine is. I totally. I totally agree with you. But then mine is also kind of the opposite, where as far as who's making pencils that I. It was really interesting to learn over 100 episodes, how few companies are actually making them in certain senses. You know, like where you find out when you start it, you're like, oh, they must be making them all over the place. But then when you get like a behind the scenes kind of, you know, you get some insight into it, and then you learn that there's only a handful of places in America that are making them. And then there's, oh, there's some pencil. There's a couple people or a couple companies in Portugal making them. And then there's these. These certain ones in Japan. And when you actually start to learn about all these different companies, again, it's a much smaller world than you realize. And. And then it was just interesting to learn about all the. I don't know what you would call, like, cross pollinating between brands and manufacturers. And where does this pencil come from? Oh, that's interesting. So that's made here one, but that one's made in Japan. So they got pencils that are being made on two part. Two parts of the. Or two sides of the planet. That was super interesting for me just to understand the. A little bit more of the business and kind of global scope of. Of pencil manufacturing was super interesting to me.
It definitely becomes. The world becomes a little smaller when you can look at a pencil and be like, oh, hey, Musgrave made this, made this, or something like that.
Exactly.
Ye.
It's.
It's.
I totally agree. It's. It's just weird because at the same time, like, it's. I think the one of the most surprising things I've learned is that there's always something to learn too, because I feel like every episode I'm gaining another little bit of knowledge about pencils from you guys and learning something that I didn't know. Whether it's a small, trivial thing or it's like a major thing about the history of pencils, or if it's about a certain company and what they've, where they came from or where they split from this other company and just all that there's. There's always something to learn. I think that was, that was surprising to me because I think one of my expectations of this podcast not going very, very far to not having like, what are we going to talk about? Was that I just assumed it was very simple and. But we're constantly learning that it's not. Like nothing is. So that's really gratifying and really exciting.
It's just so interesting. I think it's a lot. Because pencils are a global tool and like you said, they're all over the world and there's lots and lots of different companies that are making them, but there's like, way fewer than you would think. But that doesn't mean that the distribution of pencils isn't worldwide. So everybody has some kind of pencil story to tell.
Yeah, that's the staggering thing to think about. You're totally right that it's. Pencils are so ubiquitous and they're everywhere. So like, you learn that there's, oh, there's not as many people as we thought making them. But then that's also mind blowing in itself because everyone has a pencil in their house. They're, they're literally everywhere. They're all over the place.
The few people that make them churn out millions a day like Hindustan and whoever makes Ticonderogas.
So now that we know, the most surprising thing that you know, we've learned about pencils. You guys have spent years getting to know each other now. What's the most surprising thing you've learned about each other?
I can answer that.
I want something juicy.
I can recognize Johnny's voice and Tim's voice via their waveform now.
Wow.
I can look at an audio channel and I can see when Johnny is clinking his glass or Tim is, you know, sniffing.
Yeah, yeah, we, I come from a sniffing.
Really intimate.
A sniffing family.
It's like how we, we do. We put. Yeah, people are gonna start noticing that now is. Yeah, it's like our family, especially me and my brother, we punctuate Our sentences with sniffs. It's like when I get to a period, I sniff. Yeah. So. And now I'm gonna be super self conscious that. No, it's. Start coughing or something. It'll be like, hey, hey. We're still gonna talk to you. Yeah. Is that better? Yeah,
no, I.
That's funny.
Yeah, it's.
It's definitely like, it's interesting that we have never, like, you know, all three of us been in the same room before. Like, Tim and I have never met in person.
Yeah.
And we could be meeting right now, Tim. We could be recording this episode in person.
Yes.
Yeah, no, it's.
Well, Sam, are you still coming to Washington?
Yes. Yes.
September 9th, Andy.
September 10th.
We got to do this.
September 9th.
That's only a week and a half after my birthday. We'll celebrate my birthday.
Yeah, we need to crowdfund you a plane ticket and just get you over for. For two days. That's all we need.
Let's see what I can do about that.
You can sleep on my graphite colored couch.
We'll get the tattoo that we talked about at the beginning of this or the beginning of the season.
I will go make us appointments right now.
Everybody buy.
I'm going down there tomorrow.
Buy lots of plumbago issues and buy me a plane ticket.
So as the only one who's met both of you, one of the surprising things about you guys is how freaking tall you both are. A lot of times when I meet people that I've met on the Internet, I'm like, wow, you're really tall. Like when I met Harry Marks, he tapped me on the shoulder at the pencil store and I turned around, patted you on the head like seven feet tall.
Hey, little guy. Yeah.
Yeah.
And also you're both very good huggers. As the only one who's gotten a hug from both of you.
Well, Andy, I'm saving a good.
Saving a good one for you, Johnny.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
Same here.
Yeah. One surprising thing is. Well, I don't know if it's a surprise, but it's just like. I think it's fascinating though the worlds that all three of us are in. Like whenever I think about that and I think about, you know, Andy being on the west coast and like light your lifestyle out there and then Johnny's lifestyle on the east coast and then mine and the sort of south and it's just, it is always like, it's always surprising and interesting to talk to each other because we're in places that are so distinctly different from one another. I Mean, I mean, you two are in a sort of bigger cities, so you've got that kind of similarity, but we all have. And then, Johnny, where'd you grow up? Was it in Carbon and here you grew up. There you were, but you were in Illinois.
I grew up here.
Undergrad, was it, or.
Yeah, I went to school in. Well, I went to school in Boston and Carbondale, so that.
That makes it even. Like, another level of surprising about each other is that we have a little bit of Midwest in our blood just from time spent there. And. But then we're also in these very different lifestyles. And so I think one thing that I would also just tag on to, that that would be. Surprising might not be the right word, but I remember being overwhelmed by both of your generosity early on. Sending things, offering things, helping with things, and that a hundred episodes down the road, it hasn't changed at all, which is pretty amazing. I just think you guys are really great. So I just have to say it like that, because you got. You're.
Well, thank you.
You're so. You were so.
I'm tearing up.
Yeah. I mean, so generous and so open and so helpful early on. Then it's. It's. Nothing changed. And I don't really think our. Well, I'm. And I don't know if I'll do this, but I don't feel like our dynamic. Our dynamic was pretty natural from the beginning.
Yeah.
Yeah, I think that's definitely true.
It's just gotten more. More and more comfortable, so.
Yeah.
And one day, all three of us will be in the same room, same bar.
Yeah. Drinking Blackwing Lager, and then the bar will explode.
Well, look, if we're gonna drink Blackwing, we've got to come to Baltimore. We can go down to where it's brewed, which is pretty near where I
live, and then it can blow up in your hotel room later.
Okay, so let's hear some highlights from your 100 episodes. Favorite guest moment, Johnny Go.
Ah, man, that's hard. Crap. Can I do three?
Three?
Yeah, I'm doing three.
Off the top of your head, I'm doing three. So one was when we had Thoreau on because Richard Smith was really generous with his time, and he dressed up as Thoreau because we said we were on Skype, and I didn't tell him that we weren't doing video.
Oh, no.
And I thought that went well. Plus, like, oh, he's a really, really cool guy, and I totally copy off of his whiskey recommendations on Facebook,
and
I'm not gonna name Anymore. Everybody who's ever been on our show has been a very good guest, I think.
Oh, yeah, there's a.
That's a safe statement.
There have been so many.
It's. It's always fun when we have a really. When we have a guest on.
Maybe my favorite experience was getting Doug Nichol from California Typewriter on the show and talking to him about the documentary. That was a really fun episode. Really interesting. And it was a little out of the ordinary, too, to be talking about typewriters. I really enjoyed that episode and. And I have very fond memories of the episode. I think it was the only one that was just me, but I recorded an episode with Mike Dudek. Oh, yeah. Pretty early on. And that was. That was fun because I love Mike. He's one of my favorite people in the stationary community, and I have fond memories of that one. But, yeah, Doug Nichol was a great, great episode. Great conversation.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I don't know. Part of it is I really liked that first episode we ever did with Anna because we didn't record until halfway through, so we were, like, pretty plastic by the end. Yes.
I remember I had had a lot of coffee by the end.
Lots of coffee.
It was making me slur my speech.
That was really good. And I honestly really love the April Fool's Day episodes. Like that. That one, Caitlin, that you and Carolyn and Alex did was just, like, amazing.
Yeah. Yeah.
That was a lot of fun.
Just all the, like, thought that went into it and, like, you know, calling, like, interviewing Brad, that was just super good. And then later the next year, sort of when Les and Dee and Lenore were on. I'm not going to take credit for this because it would have happened originally, but it spawned a podcast, a really great podcast. So the RSVP podcast, for those of you who have never listened. Yes. So I really like those just because they. They do shake it up. And I guess I shouldn't, because those are the ones that we aren't on.
You like it the best when you have it, right?
I still have to edit it, but, you know.
Yeah. Tim and Abby get, like, a month off.
Exactly. Yeah.
Yeah. Do you have any favorite pencil experiences? Like, any. Any favorite pencils that you've picked up since you started or anything that's really, like, small stood out to you as a really cool. Gosh, I don't know, pieces of camera you picked up?
Obvious. One we have to mention first is the start of the volumes. Like, when that started was pretty big. And then, like, when the 211. Because that was we had been talking about the 211 in theory. Like, we really got a pencil, a black wing that's natural and this and that. And then it was like they gave it to us here. Oh, here it is. Yeah, that was pretty, that was a pretty big one. And just the, I think the, the volumes in general, and I would definitely have to include the, the launch of CW Pencils as a, as a pencil experience, just to, like, have this new home base that was suddenly dropped in our lap. Like, that was, that was kind of unbelievable. So, if I do say so myself, to have that kind of a place all of a sudden available, like, what? And I still haven't been there in person, but just to even have that website. And that was amazing.
Yeah. This is the same for each of you. Andy, do you have any favorite pencil experience?
Good question. I don't know. I, I, I loved, I guess, I guess I love, like, proselytizing the, the Golden Bear, like, for such a long time in my life, that was just sort of this, like, this pencil that nobody used or had really had heard about.
And.
Yeah, then suddenly, like, everybody started using it, and everybody, like, knows what it's like, and even if you don't like it, you know about it. That's fun, Johnny. Definitely. The Wolfex is my favorite pencil experience ever.
Hey, throwing them in the trash is super satisfying because that sound it makes because it's so heavy.
Yeah, it sounds a bit. No, that's a. Yeah, it's a hard one. I, I would agree with Tim. I think, I think the sort of, like, quarterly cadence of being able to, like, you know, try to guess at the, the volumes edition, and it comes out. We could, like, talk about the Baron Fig pencil. Yeah, yeah, Baron Fig pencils. I really, there, there's a lot of quarterly editions right now, and it's just kind of like a huge, like, influx of products, which, I mean, is like gold for product podcasts, because we just have something to talk about. Right. But, like, I really do. Like, just geeking out over details like that just lets us be pundits, and it lets us, like, really, like, dive deep into that stuff.
But to jump back briefly to when you were talking about the Golden Bear. Yeah, that does. I, I'm a, a naturally kind of like, sentimental, nostalgic person. Like, and I think two things. Like, basically, I have a pencil in mind from both of you that you gave me. That was really, like, a cool moment. I remember early on you talking about the Golden Bear, the triangular golden Bear that you had bought like this, like gross of or whatever it was. And I remember you talking about those things, they don't make anymore. And I remember that it was meaningful to me at that point. Just when you sent me a package and you threw like three of those in there. And I remember, I mean, you know, it's 80 cents worth of pencils or whatever, but I remember just being like, oh my gosh, he gave me three of those. Are you kidding me? This is amazing. Thank you. Like I would never have gotten a hold of one. And that was like. And then on and on Johnny's side, I remember getting. When he found out that I. And I had kind of, or I guess I had kind of parsed out that I loved round pencils. And I like natural pencils. And then he started sending me one by one when he'd find them, those unmarked, natural, unfinished pencils. And I think they were. I remember you were kind of guessing at where they came from because you.
I know where they are, but I'm.
And I still don't really understand where they came. And I remember you gave me a kind of a vague answer. I remember trying to reach out and ask Charles Berlsheimer about it, like, where, where do these come from? How can I get more? Because I love them. But every time you'd find one, you'd send it to me. And it's like they don't even make them anymore. And I just, that I still use those. They. I think the, the few that I have left of both of those pencils are right up there reverence wise with my original black wings and stuff that I've got that I'm like, I gotta, I don't wanna burn through those because those are kind of special.
Say my favorite thing about the last four years for highlights is every single time that I mention to somebody that I co host a podcast about pencils because they always look at you and like, what? And like, oh, that sounds awesome. I wanna listen to that. I don't know if they actually do. Maybe they're just being polite to my face, but it's pretty interesting to see people's look on people's faces. So every time that happens, that's a super highlighted memory for me. I'm like, oh, I thought you were kind of nerdy.
But like, whoa, Absolutely, I agree with that because I mean I. It takes you right back to the beginning when somebody asks you about it and they're like, well, how did. Because every time you tell them about it and you're like, well, who does it with you? I'm like, well, they actually live in different places. And then they say, well, how did you get to know them? And then you get to tell that kind of early on story over and over again, which is fun. I enjoy telling that story whenever anybody wants to listen until their eyes glaze over because they're like, and I'm done.
Dude, shut up about pencils.
So, hearkening back to round pencils for a minute, Spencer asked in the chat, what do you guys have in your current rotation for pencils? Because during episode one, Tim, you were actually using that field notes pencil with the green eraser because you like the round barrel. Andy, you were using a triograph and a staedtler. Johnny, guess what you were using? Starts with a W. Wonderful. What are you using right now?
Yeah.
Wow.
What? I guess. I don't know. I haven't found one that I've like. Like, really just like stuck back and gone. Stuck with and gone back to since then. Besides the Golden Bear, maybe like a 602. But right now I am using still. I'm using one of the Blackwing one zeros. Whatever. Like one of the new.
The new.
The new Black Wings volumes. The Pentagram Pentagonal one.
Yeah, yeah.
Yep. And then at work today, I grabbed a Baron fig, one of those archers that looks like a. Like a school pencil. I grabbed. I was using one too. So I guess that's what's in my rotation today. When we get back to regular episodes with fresh points and stuff, I'll talk about the. The timber or the. The twist that I just got from John Fontaine, which will be entering my rotation soon. Yeah. But, yeah, other than that, That's. Yeah, it's completely changed since this. I remember using that trio graph, which I still, you know, people who are like, oh, I only write with Sharpies or whatever. I tell them about this trio graph because it's the sharpie of pencils, for sure.
Yeah. That is a. That's a big pencil.
What have you been using lately in your. In your rotation?
So I find I use a lot more black wings because, you know, I have a subscription to the. To the volumes, but my kids get ahold of them. So when I come in, I grab them. So my kids will take them all.
Yeah.
Because they disappear like Charlotte.
Really? Like the future box or something.
I don't know if I have more than one. I put them. I don't get them in the closet quick enough. You know what I mean? You want to encourage your kids to draw so you don't want to tell them no, but at the same time you're like, get your freaking hands off my 211 before I break your arm. So I will say neither of my children has a 211.
But. But their arms have not been broken.
Probably not going to change, but they take the rest of it. So black wings a lot. And lately I've been enjoying German pencils again, which I think I talked about toward the beginning of the podcast. Like The Staedtler Mars 105 and F is probably perfect on Moleskine paper and just different German things. So, you know, both ends of the spectrum, the sort of smooth but hard German pencils and black wings, which are like, you know, a gel pen pencil.
Yeah. Yeah. How about you, Tim?
I think I use pretty much the same few like I mean there's always some version of the Blackwing 602 core. Whatever the.
Yeah.
But I'm pretty much always shuffling through some version of the 602 core. The Mitsubishi 9852 EW. Which is becoming one of my favorite finds of all of our time doing this. I adore that. I adore that pencil. I could. I use it almost every day. I mean I've always got one nearby and then the Palmer HP and the, the. The Blackwing 73. Those are still the ones that are pretty much always in. In rotation with me. But the I. The. The hoarding instinct is. Is really kicking in Strong with the 9852 EW. I'm. I keep going to Amazon or wherever and finding a dozen of them and being like I should just get a few. I should just keep. Yeah.
I'm obsessed with the color of that.
Yeah. The Deep Purple Fair. Yeah.
Yeah. That's one that I think the more. And the boxes they come in. Yeah, that's a really beautiful.
That's right there at the top of my list. I've been sharpening one. It sharpens really well in the Pollux and so I've always got one of those sharpener the Pollux with a cap and I love carrying. I've got like three of them that are all just barely sub Steinbeck stage that I've got that I carry in my. Just throw into my pocket on rotation and it's super, super satisfying.
Let's hit a couple more listener questions. What's your favorite paper and pencil combo from John Ruiz?
Oh, man, it depends what you're doing.
It's a hard one. Yeah.
For me it's still a Blackwing 602 in a Baron Fig notebook. Like a Baron Fig confidant. I think ever since I like. They kind of landed on the paper that they've landed on. That's for me just been like the right combination.
Mm.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Oh, I think me, it's.
I'm gonna go in front of you, Tim. Anything. Any blackwing on a right notepads paper because their paper is oddly resistant to smudging and ghosting, which are my two pet peeves about pencils.
That's a good one. I think for me it is the Palomino hb and it's usually a hack winged Palomino HB with a pink eraser in the end on a legal pad. And the one that I've really been using a ton recently is the tops docket that has like a real stiff back on it. Yeah, I love, love those. I got a 10 pack of those. I've been using them a lot. And that combination is. It takes kind of where we started when I was talking about simplicity and slowing down. It's just for me, there's nothing, nothing better. There's not a better combination than those two for me. And then. And also I. I have to mention field notes. Like a regular field notes notebook. I usually use the Chicago one. That's the one I'm carrying most often. But a. A field notes with a. With a black wing is a. Is a beautiful thing. So.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Classic combo.
How about you, Caitlin?
Okay, here. How about me? Well, right now I'm kind of agreeing with Johnny. I've been using a lot of right note bags, but instead of a blackwing, I've been really digging. I go to either a Cedar Point or a IBM Electrographic. IBM Electrographic is like, dang. I know. I have.
I have expensive taste, fancy taste.
I know, I know. But I like. These days, I don't feel. I don't use pencils as much as I was. I kind of keep a rotation of two pencils and a few pens. But I am most often like the last couple months, been writing with IBMs and write notepads paper. And it's just a really, really great combo.
You're gonna love a story coming up in Plumbago 4. There's one about the history of like IBM and pencils together. So what really?
Sounds fantastic.
Yeah, it's gonna be really good.
That is amazing.
Who wrote it?
Dan Lilly, who wrote Dark Roast, which was one of the. An excerpt from his novel Dark Roast, which is about coffee and pencils.
That is so rad.
Cool.
Can't Wait to read it. Okay, this is my favorite question from the. From the chat so far from Alex Park. What is the most desperate you've ever felt to get a specific pencil? That's actually one of the. That's a great one because I. I love seeing the. The fomos on the group. That's when the most drama comes in. Okay, when can I get this? When can I have this question?
So when volume 1.16.2 came out and subscribers were offered the option to buy those natural extra firm pencils, the 504s, I literally, yeah, I lost sleep. And I think I ordered them with a stroller in my hand. Walking to pick up Charlotte from school. I was, like, peeing my pants over those pencils. And then when I got them in hand, they were every bit of what I want it.
Yeah.
Even though I know some folks were upset about how they were offered to only subscribers.
That was broke. That almost broke the Internet.
Yeah, that was. I was, like, crapping my pants and forgetting those pencils. And then the whole time I'm like, why didn't I get more?
But, oh, for sure.
Oh, man. I think mine might have been before the Erasable podcast. When I first learned about the Eberhard Faber Black wings back in 2007, 2008. Like, I was at a time in my life when I didn't have. I was working my first job out of college. It was at a small nonprofit. I wasn't. I didn't have a lot of extra spending money, so the prospect of spending 40, $50 on a pencil was kind of out of, like, was out of my reach, I guess. So I probably didn't try one for maybe about a year until I finally just sort of, like, got permission from everybody involved to, like, go ahead and, like, splurge on one of these things. And I was pretty. Pretty FOMO'd to try one, for sure. Yeah.
Yeah.
What do you think?
I think. And this is when I'm thinking back on the one. Yeah. The one that really had me the most fired up is I remember getting my first tombow mono one hundreds. It was a set of just two Bs. I think it was a two B mono 100 set. And I remember it just felt like I had just decided to buy a Cadillac or something. Like, when that box comes and that. The lid, the plastic lid that opens and they. They look like. Yeah, they're in a tuxedo. And you're like, oh, my gosh, what are these things? Like, this is incredible.
Like, I'm not touching These pencils, that
was, that was kind of a. It was, it felt like exciting and memorable just because it was going to a different plane. And that was kind of a step out of the box where I wasn't just doing the same, like all the Palomino pencils or something, where I had found something else. And that was my first, like super, like the beginning of a really addicting, addictive run into Japanese pencils, like Japanese brands like Tombow and, and High Uni and stuff like that. So I remember shortly after that getting, yeah, getting High Unis and getting just some regular monos and things. It just sent me down a path. But I just remember getting that box and not knowing it was going to be what it was with that big plastic lid and just really attractive pencils that had an impact.
Where do you guys think there's still opportunity to innovate in the pencil sphere? This question's from Alex the Hack.
Well, I think it's kind of an
interesting thing to think about because pencils haven't changed too much.
So this is, this has not happened, even though I, I talked about it back in 2011 on the blog and I really, really wanted somebody to try to work on this. But you know, they make pencils that are, that have like a stylus on the end of it, like a, like a capacitive touch stylus, but they have never made one that is both an eraser and a stylist stylus, which I think would be pretty amazing. So I think if somebody can come up with that, it's really amazing. Yeah. As far as, like actual places to innovate, I, I don't know. I, I definitely think that there are ways to innovate, but I think that a lot of that will not happen until we come to a, a place where we can like produce pencils in much smaller minimums for much less money. Like, like, I think a lot of the resurgence in like enamel pins has come from the fact that like, you can buy them in just like quantities of 100 instead of quantities of a thousand now, which it never used to be like that. So that's why there's all these like, really amazing like indie pen like lapel pen companies and pencils just, you can't do that with. So I would love to see more interested in weird graphite. Like, you know, if Blackwing came out with more than just four hardnesses or they tried to tried out really like weird graphite stuff, that would be really great. But that requires like labs and scientists and stuff. So I Think it'll be a while before that might happen. What do you guys think?
Yeah. And I think you've seen Andy. I don't know if it's been talked about in the group a whole lot, but. Perpetua.
Yeah.
Which is a pencil that people tried to innovate and it was a great, great idea, but the execution was so, so poor.
Is that that weird Italian thing made of recycled graphite?
Yeah.
And rubber?
Yeah.
You sent me one of those. I like it. I don't like to write with it. Yeah.
Big Twice.
Yeah.
I pet it.
The design is beautiful, but.
And then there's like that napkin thing. It's made by the company called Napkin that just like, has a, like, oxidized oxidization reaction on the paper. And, you know, I wrote a big review about that that actually gets a lot of play. A lot of people read that and I know that, like, Chris Roth really loves it.
Oh, yeah.
But, yeah, I just can't. Just can't do it. So I guess maybe there is innovation. It's just not very good innovation, perhaps.
I mean, there. There's room for Blackwing to talk to us in private and make a pencil to our specifications.
Hint, hint.
And I think with, you know, how specific we would be, even if it's not that different, that counts as innovation because we would be very, very specific.
I think as far as, like, innovation on the pencil, I don't have a really good idea. But as far as innovation on the availability of pencils, I feel like the next. I feel like it's. It needs to bounce back at some point, and I think it will bounce back at some point. The hint of it is the. The USA Golds and stuff like that. But just to get decent, even cedar pencils back in to places that anybody can get to them, like targets or whatever, you know, or. Or if it's online even. I mean, just to think about how cool would be to be able to walk into a grocery store and see a pack of Forest Choice or. Or some cedar points that are just available that maybe the price comes down a little bit. Where, you know, of course, in my head I'm thinking about, like, if people just knew that spending $5 on a dozen pencils is going to last you a lot longer than spending a dollar on a dozen pencils because they're not going to break every time you sharpen them. But I don't think we really have the.
It's too bad there's not a podcast where you can.
Yeah, we need to raise. We start A Patreon or something.
Yeah.
And raise enough funds to make a TV commercial to air at the Super Bowl.
Can we get that? Yeah, can we get that catheter cowboy guy who's on Oliver?
It's got to be him. Yeah, we'll get. We'll get the catheter cowboy guy, and he will explain to everybody, catheter cowboy with pencils are why you got to buy good pencils. So, yeah, where you can get them.
I think the last thing I'll say about this is that I would love to see innovation in the customization space. Like. Oh, yeah, you know, from. You can. You can order 50, you know, pencils with some words, some, like, letters stamped on it, or you can go and, like, spend, like, lots more money getting, like, a bunch of pencils in different colors with different feral colors and different eraser colors. But I would love to see smaller minimums with, like, more customization options.
I'm like, I want to jump in from the manufacturer standpoint and be like, well, when manufacturing gets cheaper and easier.
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. So, yeah, for sure. That's like the next step after manufacturing, you know, having more options.
So, yeah, that's the barrier, at least.
Yeah.
So what's on the horizon for the podcast, Tim? I know you have some exciting things ahead for. For you that are not related to Erasable.
Yeah, I mean, for on my end, I mean, I'm taking a little break from Erasable to get this started, but with the membership is probably. We're trying to get five or six episodes in the can before we release a first one, just to be ahead at first. And we're doing it in. In season, so it'll be a season of about a dozen episodes. So it'll be like three months on, three months off kind of thing. And that'll probably be around September 1st. Ish. I'm guessing when we'll start publishing those, but we're gonna record the first one in the first official one. We've done some. Some practice. A practice recording which went really well. And the first official episode of our first recording day, where we're going to do two episodes, is going to be in. In about a week and a half. So, yeah, we got the. The website's gonna be up and running fairly soon. We're just pecking away at stuff, working together@membershippod.com really excited. We're just starting to reach out to the Wendell Berry's publishers and stuff about just kind of being in touch with people who are most closely involved with his work and his books and just letting everybody know that it's coming. Stuff like that. Really excited. And it's just been good to get back into his books and be reading his work again and feels really good. But I'll definitely. Once. Once that gets. Gets running, I'll be jonesing to get back to doing. To doing this. I won't be able to stay away long.
But yeah, on the erasable end, I think that in. On the episodes when. When Tim's not joining us, we're. We're going to try. Try out different voices. Not as a replacement for sure, but just like, you know, just see what it's like having. Having different voices on just to people
who might be, like, more interesting or funnier or smarter. You know, stuff like that, you know,
less the stuff like less deep dive less.
I think I speak for Johnny when I say we're looking for people who are objectively better than Tim.
Yeah.
Okay.
Yeah.
Objectively.
Got to keep going up. Can't go backwards. Yeah.
Yes. And they're better huggers too.
Yeah, We've done. There you go.
We've got a couple of good, interesting ideas on deck for the next couple weeks.
So for sure, like, Tim is Tim. You're. I don't want this to turn to a, like, you know, obituary, farewell Tim episode, but I. I think. I think we'll be hard pressed to find anybody who's as, like, thoughtful and steadying as you are. I think that you lend. I mean, when Caitlin said that you said something almost word for word from the first episode. I think that, you know, it's super, like, in character for you because you are for sure, like, the most, like, thoughtful and just like, like, you know, staying the course person. I've one of the. Not to use a bushism, but.
No, I'm glad. I'm glad I'm up here that way because. No, thank you, but I. Tim is.
You're a very thoughtful person.
Tim is steadfast and led fast.
Well, thanks.
I'm gonna cry.
That'll be tough. But I'll be listening and eager to get back. And there'll be some of those, even those recent ones that are coming up that I just don't think I'm going to be able to stay away from. So we'll be in touch about that. We'll be in touch about. Was. Yeah, it was good.
You know what? We're gonna keep pitching one.
Okay. Try me.
You'll be gone for like, maybe two.
Meanwhile, we're. We're gonna start doing musical episodes where we Just sing our reviews.
Okay.
I think. I think we're gonna start doing silent episodes. Episodes. Yeah.
Yeah.
Yes. And also mouth harp.
Just everything's a mouth.
Yes. Andy raps and I mouth work. It's going to be fun for 90 minutes.
So I have one final question for you guys, and that is, what are you doing to celebrate episode 100?
Well, Caitlin, I'm glad you asked. No, I'd love to say that we're all going to go out and get a few drinks, but we are thousands of miles apart.
Space and time is working against us.
We're going to figure out how to get together and get tattoos, I think.
Yes. Yeah. Here we go.
In the meantime, now, someone recorded that also, and he's getting a tattoo.
That'll be our first video on our YouTube channel. I'm going to be like, just Andy getting a tattoo.
I'm going to go, ow. I'm going to make appointments with my guy. Like, this week you are in trouble if you don't show up.
So really I thought this would be a good opportunity to tell everybody about something we kind of tried to spoil a little bit or give a spoiler for, which is for the next two weeks, we are going to have a thing you can buy to support the show and to commemorate episode 100. So if you go to erasable us, erasable 100, all one word, you can see a picture of this, which is a custom foil stamped Baron Fig confidant with a special logo, special erasable 100 episode logo on it. We're selling it. We have to do a minimum of 50 pre orders, which I think we can totally do.
Yeah, definitely.
And yeah, we can get this and send it out. We did mark it up a little bit from what we're paying for it, but only because it's going to go to support the show, like hosting costs and whatnot. So, yeah, if you listen to this episode before July 23rd, please go to erasable US erasable 100 and get this great confidant with our logo on it.
Yeah, I guess we should mention it's grid right on the inside. Yeah.
Stock grid. It's the yellow. It's the yellow stock confidant. Like, we. I don't think we can get a minimum. So we can, like, customize our own cover, but we for sure can get a minimum to, like, to put a foil stamp on a stock color. And that yellow is just perfect. Like, if we. If we customize one, like, completely ourselves. I don't think we could do much better than that. So we have a red foil stamp on the yellow, which are pretty prominent colors in our logo.
I love your little blurb under the image that's going to be stamped onto it on the website where it says, like, terrible Photoshop mockup or something. Something like that. Whatever you, whatever you'd written.
I was reading a tutorial on how
to,
like, simulate a foil stamp texture, and I was just like, I was not doing it correctly. So, yeah, head on over there. We'll be posting this in the group, we'll post it in the chat, I'll have it in show notes, we'll have it all over the place. But that's, that's how you can help us celebrate episode 100.
Support your local podcast folks.
Yeah,
really excited for that. I, I, I've been, I've gotten mushy in a few different ways over the course of the episode, in little ways, but I just. 100 episode feels really crazy. And I really can't believe we've been doing it this long, which we've already said, but just, I think it's worth saying again because it's a, it's been a lot of fun and it's, it's amazing that it feels as consistent as it was. And we, I do like that our approach wasn't as hard lined as, you know, once a week or exactly on the same day every other week, that we just kind of started this thing that we all wanted to do and all love doing with each other and allowed it to fit into our lives. And even when we're on opposite, literally opposite coasts, that's been a lot of fun. Four more years. Four more years.
Four more years.
Look, in the United States, we're not even going to mess with that.
Let's see what we can do.
Knocking on wood. Yeah. Thanks for doing this, Caitlin. It was, yeah, a lot of fun.
We appreciate you coming and joining us.
Thanks for having me on.
I owe you some beers. Next time I come to New York,
which will be soon, man, I'm jealous. I'm gonna go to beer.
That would be fantastic. Everybody come to New York. You can stay in my tiny studio apartment that doesn't have air conditioning.
You know what? You, me, and Henry are going to a delicious bar.
Come on, Henry.
Henry's gonna drink you under a table.
Like four empty glasses.
He got served a couple times. I had my carrier one time. They brought him bubbly water and brought me a beer. It was a good time. He's a party.
Really, really happy that you guys asked me to do this. This The Erasable podcast has been a really, really big part of my. My pencil fandom, if you will. And it's been amazing getting to know you guys over the last couple years. Tim, someday maybe we'll meet in person. Maybe you'll meet. Maybe you'll meet Andy in person.
Maybe you'll one big hug fest in New York.
There's a two day long hug in New York.
So 100 episodes later. Do we know where to find the Erasable Podcast?
You can find me at Erasable Us. No, that's where you find all of us@woodclinch.com on Twitter at Awelfley and Instagram at the same. Yeah. How about you, Johnny?
I am on the interwebs Edit pencil revolution.com and on Twitter and Instagram at Pensolution.
Yeah.
And Tim, find me on Twitter timwassom. And I'm on Instagram @timothywassom.
And Caitlin, you. You steered the ship today. How about you?
All right, well, you can find me on Instagram at Kate Elgin. I do have a website that I just built, but it's not populated very much, so don't get too excited. It's just kaitlinalgen.com cool. Just has my resume.
We'll be checking it daily to make sure that you update it and get it.
Ooh, ooh.
And just so Caitlin doesn't have to do all the little bits at the end, I'll go through it. You can find Erasable at Erasable Us. You can find this episode at erasable us100 for show notes and episode recordings. Our Facebook group is facebook.com group erasable and our page is erasablepodcast. Twitter and Instagram. We're erasablepodcast. And again, plugging our amazing 100th episode notebook. Go to erasable us erasable100 to see this. And if you're listening to this before July 23rd, 2018, that is the date which we will stop selling orders for this. So buy early and buy often. Come and come and pick up your confidants. So thank you all very much. Yeah. And thank you. Thank you so much, Caitlin, for being here and helping us with this today.
Thank you guys and really, really truly congratulations. This podcast is so charming and fun. You really do get the love of pencils from it.
Wait for you. Congratulations on pulling this off because you've. Congratulations on still being here because we can't.
So thank you all of those and all of those of you in the Erasable Discord. Thank you for waiting around for half an hour while we tried to figure out our tech problems, and we'll see the rest of you in episode 101.
The intro music for the original Graceful 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.