As
Lapiseiras was created more than 20 years ago when Claudia
Gordon, an artist still living in São Paulo, started to make
small sculptures in regular pencils. She soon changed to carpenter's
pencil, which to this day is still sculpted, painted and finished entirely
by hand. Sally Gordon, her mother and partner is responsible for the
quality control. She also handles the administrative side of the business
and shares with Claudia the sales.
As
Lapiseiras manufacture an average of 15.000 pencils per year.It
all starts with the engraving of special templates transferred to the
pencils that will later be sculpted. After being sculpted they are sanded
to eliminate small imperfections and rough edges, marked again and then
painted by hand. They are then finished with black india ink and blow-dried.
Throughout the process the artists are helped by several craftsman from
the region who were intensely trained and have a broad experience in
the field, in order to complete each unit.