Travel to Cumbria in the United Kingdom where workers at the Derwent Pencil Factory, established in 1832, work together to create graphic pencils, color pencils, watercolor pencils, and other artists’ products. This wonderfully detailed Derwent promotional video takes us through every step of how pencils are made today, from mixing pigments to testing quality to woodwork, painting, and packaging. There’s a bit of history included, too. Derwent is the only pencil manufacturer left in the UK.
Related wonder at The New York Times Magazine: Inside One of America’s Last Pencil Factories. Photographer Christopher Payne documents work at the General Pencil Company.
Watch these videos next: A Sketchy History Of Pencil Lead, Sesame Street’s How Crayons Are Made, Inside the Pantone color factory, and how does a retractable ballpoint click pen work?