California Cedar Products Company

ManufacturingUnited States11-50 Employees

Founded in 1917, as the world’s leading supplier of pencils slats, pencil manufacturers around the globe relied upon California Cedar Products Company to meet their wood supply needs in producing many of the world’s most important pencil brands.  

Long an innovator the company developed and spun out its Duraflame firelog business into a separate standalone company in the 1980s and pioneered FSC certified wood supply to the pencil industry in the 1990s, launching its ForestChoice pencil line.

CalCedar has since transitioned its industry expertise to offer top quality pencils and a growing range of lifestyle products, led by its premium Blackwing pencil range and its Pencils.com e-commerce shop.  

In 2019 the company took the bold leap to cease its century-old slat business to concentrate on Blackwing.

The Story of the $40 Pencil

Legendary Grammy, Emmy, Pulitzer and Academy Award winners have created with the Eberhard Faber Blackwing 602 pencil. The list of known users includes John Steinbeck, Stephen Sondheim, Leonard Bernstein and Chuck Jones, creator of Bugs Bunny and many other Looney Tunes characters. In 1998, after several corporate acquisitions, Blackwing pencils were discontinued but not forgotten. In fact, fans began paying as much as $40 on eBay for a single Blackwing pencil.

Artists soon noticed our Palomino range of premium pencils compared favorably to the Blackwing 602.  The first Palomino Blackwing pencil launched in 2010 featuring California genuine incense-cedar and premium Japanese graphite. Since their reintroduction Blackwing pencils have drawn rave reviews from users and national media attention.

Today, Blackwing has grown from a single iconic pencil into a culture. It’s a culture that encourages and empowers users of all ages to slow down and explore creativity in all forms. A percentage of every Blackwing product sold benefits music and arts education at the K-12 level through the Blackwing Foundation.

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