The Erasable Podcast

Tonight, we are time traveling: through three times zones and far into the past. Dave T from Pencil Fodder joins us for a discussion of vintage pencils and maybe even how modern pencil manufacturers can learn from what older makers got right.This episode is sponsored by Notegeist, an online purveyor of fine stationery. Through August 5, use the coupon code ERASABLE146 to save 10% off your order. For your order of $30 or more, you’ll get a free Unemployed Philosopher’s Guild notecard.Show notes and linksNotegeist Online Stationery ShopErasable PatreonPencil FodderWork Notes - Endless RecorderWrite Notepads LenoreTombow Mono 100 ‘fashion’ blue cap model (HB)Pentel Black Polymer 999 Alpha (HB)Montblanc Meisterstück Le Petit Prince LeGrand Fountain Pen - Medium nibMontblanc Royal Blue inkDublinersAnton Chekhov - Five PlaysBroadchurch season 1 (rewatching)Lenox Hill1984Ahmad Jamal Trio (street food, taste the nation)Blackwing EraMoleskine Two-GoThe CrownA Beautifully Foolish EndeavorThe Poetry Home Repair ManualBirds, Beasts and Relatives (Corfu trilogy #2)The English GameUSCO 486 No. 2Our GuestDave TPencil FodderYour HostsJohnny GamberPencil Revolution@pencilutionAndy WelfleWoodclinched@awelfleTim Wasem@TimWasem

Maybe you’ve seen artists walking around your city, sketchbooks in hand, drawing what they see — perhaps even drawing you! Our friend Tina Koyama is a veteran urban sketcher, and she’s here to give us the rundown on this growing movement in contemporary art.Show Notes and LinksErasable PatreonFueled by Clouds & CoffeeTina Koyama on InstagramUrban Sketchers ManifestoGabi Campanario (founder of Urban Sketchers)Suhita Shirodkar (an urban sketcher who can sketch anything under any circumstance)Eduardo Bajzek (whose urban sketching workshop changed the way I use graphite)Well-Appointed DeskTina’s sketch kitCaran d’Ache Museum AquarelleViarco ArtGraf water-soluble graphiteBlackwing “MMX” MatteMitsubishi Hi-UniTombow Mono KM-KKS 6BStaedtler Mars Lumograph 12BWhite Gelly RollUni Pin brush penM+R sharpenerStillman & Birn sketchbookJurassic Park)Koshien: Japan’s Field of DreamsThe English GameThe Red NotebookFreud (TV series))Broken BreadNew Waves: a novelThe CrownHamilton)Billy Collins’ NotebooksBlueline NotebookFrench-ruled paperBlackwing Eraser Hack-A-ThonOur GuestTina KoyamaFueled by Clouds and Coffee@miatagrrl on InstagramYour HostsJohnny GamberPencil Revolution@pencilutionAndy WelfleWoodclinched@awelfleTim Wasem@TimWasem(Download)

Maybe you’ve heard of the incredibly popular notebook brand Field Notes. Maybe you’ve heard us mention them a few times over the last six years. Tune in as we get to chat with Aaron Draplin, graphic designer extraordinaire, Field Notes inventor, and all-around awesome guy.Warning: this episode has several R-rated words that we decided not to bleep out, due to the color and richness it lends to the conversation. You may not want to listen to this with kids.Show Notes and LinksDraplin Design CompanyField Notes BrandField Notes Heavy DutyThird Man Field NotesLeah’s Note To SelfBaronfig Simple ObservationsBlackwing Volume 3Walt Whitman, Song of HimselfPadma Lakshmi’s “Taste the Nation” on HuluHow to be an Anti-RacistWhite FragilityJason Isbell Live at the Brooklyn BowlTalking to StrangersHello from the Magic TavernOutstanding in a FieldPencil Sharpener SumulatorAaron on Pencil Revolution (2011): Part 1Part 2Our GuestAaron James DraplinDraplin Design Company website@draplin on Twitter and InstagramYour HostsJohnny GamberPencil Revolution@pencilutionAndy WelfleWoodclinched@awelfleTim Wasem@TimWasem(Download)

We’re not bringing you an episode about pencils this week, but instead a short message, and some resources for how you can work toward ending systemic racism in your community.Black lives matter. Period.If you’re in the United States, please consider a sustained donation to The Bail Project and other organizations working to bring judicial reform to our government.Being non-racist is not enough: we need to learn how to be anti-racist. Author Ibram X. Kendi has an Anti-racist reading list for us as we begin and progress through our journey.And when you do pick up these books, be sure you do it from a Black-owned bookstore nearest to your community. LitHub has a great list.After the media event around the protests against police brutality inevitably ends, white people need to find ways to sustain our support. Tatiana Mac is a software engineer, a writer, and an activist, and has a great Twitter thread with practical ways to avoid burnout and keep up momentum.Last week, one of our Facebook group members crowd-sourced a list of Black-owned stationery companies or shops that we could support. Here’s what we came up with:GREERChicagoLoyalty Bookstore in Silver Springs, MDFrugal Bookstore in Roxbury, MAPage Eleven Paper GoodsKeynote StationeryEffie’s PaperCloth & PaperDrama Mama BookshopThe Quiet Life Los AngelesSemicolon BookstoreOdin Leather GoodsThe Desiderata Pen CompanyMethodical Stationery UKPaper Penguin CoWe’re sure there are lots more. If you have a Black-owned stationery company or shop, feel free to link them in the comments, and we’ll be sure to add to this list.

It’s been a long time since we updated our Top 5, and tonight’s the night! Tune in to find out what’s the same, what’s off the list, and what’s on.This episode is sponsored by Kamikokuen, an online stationery shop selling vintage Japanese pencils and fun pencil-themed stickers. Save 20% on your order of 2 items or more, plus a fun sticker, with the coupon code ERASABLE20.Show Notes & LinksKamikokuenErasable PatreonJason Isbell ReunionsSourdoughBroadchurchBubblegumZoey’s Extraordinary PlaylistMy Family and Other AnimalsRobert Frost, CompleteField Notes Deader PrintsKeith McCleary/RandomThinksRandomThinks at NotegeistWorkFromHomeDesks.comPalomino HBMitsubishi 9852EWBlackwing MMXBlackwing NaturalMusgrave Tennessee RedViking School PencilPalomino Golden BearMusgrave Test Scoring 100Camel HBVintage Velvet(pencilsBerol MiradoFaberCastell/Eberhard Faber “American”PaperMate Mirado Classic

Today’s episode is a short one, but don’t equate that with being light on subject material! We have a chat with Steven Lawson, the creator of a notebook organizational system called Monk Manual. He tells us about his holistic approach to helping people organize their lives and themselves — professionally, personally, and philosophically.Show Notes & LinksErasable PatreonMonk ManualBroadchurchSalt Fat Acid HeatReunions by Jason IsbellThe Wander SocietyAmerican Experience: George W. BushStopping the Noise in Your HeadStopping the Noise in Your Head videosAnimal Crossing: New HorizonsMarvelous Mrs. MaiselRick Steves on HuluThe Membership PodcastWorld-Ending FireField Notes Deader PrintsBaron Fig AdriftBaron Fig FanaticsOur GuestSteven LawsonMonk Manual website@monkmanual on InstagramYour HostsJohnny GamberPencil Revolution@pencilutionAndy WelfleWoodclinched@awelfleTim Wasem@TimWasem

Perhaps this year more than in years past, poetry can help to sustain us spiritually and intellectually during the COVID-19 pandemic. To help us wrap-up National Poetry Month, renowned poet and teacher Kiki Petrosino was kind enough to join us to talk poetry, writing, pencils, and how literature heals the soul.Kiki’s new book, White Blood: A Lyric of Virginia comes out May 5! Order it from her publisher, Sarabande Books.Show Notes & LinksKiki Petrosino (official site)Kiki Petrosino at the Academy of American PoetsKiki Petrosino at the Poetry FoundationPre-order White BloodPencil of the Month: The Viking SkoleblyantenStar Trek: PicardYacht Rock “channel” on PandoraThe Happiness TrapLight the DarkMidsomer MurdersMrs. AmericaJohn Prine: John Prine, The Missing Years, and The Tree of ForgivenessAnimal Crossing: New HorizonsAmerican SongwriterThe Show and Tell ShowHuge box of Arrowhead erasersBaron Fig Do WorkBaron Fig AdriftBaron Fig face masksMusgrave Harvest Pro“Thigh Gap” by Kiki PetrosinoOur GuestKiki PetrosinoWebsiteNew bookYour HostsJohnny GamberPencil Revolution@pencilutionAndy WelfleWoodclinched@awelfleTim Wasem@TimWasem

The COVID-19 pandemic is still gripping the globe, and most of us are quarantined to some degree in our homes. To be human is to be connected with other humans, no matter how introverted we are. And letters are the natural way to reach out to other people for the Stationery Inclined. Join the Erasable hosts for a chat with Courtney Cochran, founder of the Snail Mail Social Club — all about letter-writing!This episode is sponsored by Notegeist, an independent, one-stop stationery shop online. Use code ERASABLEFUN on your order of $30 or more to get a special goodie bag and 15% off Blackwing products. Limited to the first 50 orders or April 30, whichever is reached first.Show Notes and LinksNotegeistSnail Mail Social ClubSnail Mail Social Club PatreonCourtney’s past Erasable EpisodeBuy stamps onlinePencil of the MonthAnimal Crossing: New HorizonsHow to Change Your MindOne Hundred Years of SolitudeCounterpartParker 98r safety razorLa Berlue pencil caseReview of the sameBulsa BagsJohnny’s favorite Airmail envelopesOur GuestCourtney CochranSnail Mail Social ClubInstagramFacebookPatreonYour HostsJohnny GamberPencil Revolution@pencilutionAndy WelfleWoodclinched@awelfleTim Wasem@TimWasem

While March is Women’s History Month, we’re kicking off April with a question based on Virginia Woolf’s 1929 A Room of One’s Own — if you have a room of your own (man, woman, or nonbinary), what does it look like? What kind of stationery is in it to assure maximum productivity? How is this room serving you during remote work? And if you don’t have a room of your own at the moment, what does it look like in your dreams?Show Notes and LinksPDF of A Room of One’s OwnLadies of Erasable playlist on SpotifyIron Curtain Press Task PadThe Underground Railroad by Colson WhiteheadWhose Story Is This? by Rebecca SolnitHometown on HGTVMadame SecretaryThe VoiceFrozen IIPBS NewshourThe Queen by Josh LevinShinola stationeryBlueberry Oatmeal Muffins recipePier 1 Papasan chairBaronfig Gather Review Journal

Social distancing doesn’t mean we need to be socially isolated. On March 23, 2020, while the world is staying indoors and away from others to stem the surging tide of COVID-19, we recorded a special episode live, as Zoom webinar. We talk about how we’re occupying ourselves, our partners and our children with stationery, in order to stay happy and healthy during a supremely stressful time.Because of the unusual nature of this episode, we do not have show notes for this episode.