Brillante Pencils

The shimmery brilliance of these metallic colored pencils by designer Louise Fili are called, Brillante, companion to two other pencil sets, the Perfetto and Tutti Frutti.

There set of twelve double-sided pencils comes in six metallic shades in a strong and sturdy keepsake box. The six colors are silver/purple; copper/blue; gold/green.

These pencils are ideal for drawing, coloring or writing and perfect for desktop display in a sturdy, elegant box.

The pencils write exceptionally smooth on any color paper, including black. Theses pencils are ideal for drawing, coloring or writing and perfect for desktop display in a sturdy, elegant box.

Here are the same colors on white paper. Unfortunately, the scanned photos don't do the shimmery colors justice.

You can order here or here.

The Valentine Postmark

I have a lovely pen pal in Loveland, CO who sent me this special Valentine card with their own Loveland, CO postmark. The postmark and accompanying red sweetheart stamp (bottom left) are part of the Sweetheart City Valentine Program.
 

According to the website of the Loveland Chamber of Commerce, here's the history of Sweetheart City Valentine Program:

Since 1947, the chamber, the Loveland post office and 60 volunteer stampers have been bringing love, hope and sentiments to people in all 50 states and more than 110 countries with a special cachet stamp and message through the program. More than 130,000 valentines get mailed each year from mothers to sons, grandfathers to granddaughters and everyone in between. Famous athletes, celebrities and even the president often get valentines stamped with Loveland’s special message. Some of the most heartfelt valentines that have come through Loveland are the ones sending messages of hope and love to our troops overseas, to children battling life-threatening illnesses and to those who are overcoming tragedy and need an extra note of encouragement.

This annual event begins on February 1, so start planning to get your Valentine's stamped for 2018.

February is International Correspondence Writing Month (InCoWriMo)

A letter a day for 28 days. Welcome to February and the month of InCoWriMo (International Correspondence Writing Month).

 I began preparing for the challenge back in January by creating a list of people to write to. I have my  usual suspects (friends, relatives, pen pals) and I occasionally participate with SendSomething.net and Swapbot.com. Then I spent some time on creating a list of people to write to- authors, actors, politicians, singers - you get the idea. 

Here's the calendar I'm using to track my outgoing mail. Someone shared it online and now I can't find who that was. If I do, I will add a link later.

There is also a contest going on this month at the InCoWriMo website where one lucky winner will win a glass fountain pen! I sent in my entry last week (looks like I forgot to update my calendar above with that mailing).

Here's to a full and happy mailbox! Good Luck!

Faber-Castell Store (Part 2)

It was a cool and overcast day when I spent part of the morning shopping at the Faber-Castell shop located near their corporate office on their castle grounds in Stein, Germany.

 

There were many display cases of pens and pencils and part of the charm of this particular morning, was taking my time, trying out an assortment of writing instruments and finding just what I was looking for that day.

The employees were very friendly and helpful. While I was there I heard them speaking German, French and English. Impressive.

As you can in these pictures the store offers many opportunities for visitors to try out the different pens throughout the store.

Colored pencils galore! They can be purchased individually or in sets. Love all the colors in this photo.

 Goodbye, Fabe-Castell store, until next time!

You can read about my visit to the castle grounds in this blog post. In part 3, I will post pictures of what I bought that day. Stay tuned.

The Faber-Castell Castle in Germany (Part I)

On our trip to Germany in October, we stayed in Nuremberg and were not too far from the home, castle, store and factory of Faber-Castell. I wasn't able to book ahead for the official castle and factory tour, but I was able to spend the morning shopping in their store and walking around the castle grounds.

Here is a great view of the back side of the castle. The family hasn't lived here since 1939 when they left at the outbreak of  WWII.

At the front of the castle is this beautiful clock tower.

This metal sculpture caught my attention as I enjoyed my walk around the grounds.

Imagine all the history that took place at this location. According to the website, they housed the lawyers here during the Nuremberg trials in 1945. They said that Ernest Hemingway and John Steinbeck were among those who stayed  there while reporting for US newspapers during the trials.

What's a castle ground without a requisite fountain? Lovely.

Here's one of the two grand staircases at the back of the castle with wrought iron railings, sculptures and another water fountain built into the wall (bottom right).

I spotted this adorable cottage while walking around the walking path on the caste grounds.

 Some more views of the castle.

This hidden alcove was actually a hallway that housed a public restroom. On this slightly chilly day they had on the water-filled cast iron radiators which were making their distinct radiator sounds as they emitted welcoming heat. Heaven. I stayed a little longer just to enjoy the warmth and the atmosphere.

Below is the factory that sits across the street from the museum, shop, castle and offices of Faber-Castell. The Rednitz River runs under the road and alongside the factory. 

As I walked over the bridge to go further into Stein, Germany, I stopped to take this scenic photo. The factory (above) is to my right and the castle, shop and museum are to my left.

It was a beautiful day in Germany- about 60 degrees with occasional sunshine, but mostly light gray skies. I walked to a nearby coffee shop and enjoyed a strong cup of coffee while I wrote some postcards to friends and family back in the states and wrote some highlights of the morning's events to be copied into my travel journal. 

Stay tuned for Part II where I highlight some photos of the coffee shop, postcards, etc. and then in Part III I will feature pictures of the inside of the Faber-Castell shop where I spent over an hour and about $100.