Each quarter, we come out with a new limited edition pencil celebrating the people, places and events that have defined our creative culture. We’ve paid tribute to everything from John Steinbeck’s writing ritual to Ada Lovelace’s contribution to computer science.
WHAT IS VOLUMES?
SUBSCRIBE TO VOLUMES
Subscribe and you’ll get a 12-pack of each new design for a full year. Each shipment also includes a sealed pencil archive tube for your collection and some subscriber-exclusive goodies. Your subscription will begin with Volume 574, our tribute to .
HOW THE SUBSCRIPTION WORKS
We release four limited edition pencils per year. The model number and design of each pencil will honor and celebrate cultural icons and events.
You are guaranteed to be among the first to receive each edition when you subscribe. “Sold Out” is not in your vocabulary. Subscriptions cost $99 plus shipping.
You receive 12 limited edition pencils in a gift box (plus a subscription-exclusive, sealed pencil for archiving) on your doorstep each quarter.
$5 from your subscription goes towards funding a child’s music and arts education, including curriculum and instruments.
WHAT YOU GET WITH YOUR SUBSCRIPTION
| Perks | Volumes Subscription Member | Non-Members (Pay Full Price) |
|
| $128 / year (Full price) | |
| Guaranteed to receive each release. | | |
| Tubed archive pencil for each release. | | |
| Exclusive bonus gift with each shipment. | | |
| Save 10% off purchases on our website | | |
| Flat-rate shipping. | | |
| Ability to purchase additional packs. | | |
Your subscription will begin with our upcoming Q4 2024 release and auto-renew one year after your initial subscription date. You may cancel your subscription at any time, and the cancellation will go into effect after the then-current subscription period. No refunds will be provided for subscriptions cancelled mid-cycle.
PAST VOLUMES RELEASES
VOLUME 574
WINTER 2024
The Blackwing 574 is our tribute to Native American art and the 574 nations that use it to assert agency and identity. We worked with Kaw, Osage, Lakota artist Chris Pappan to design a pencil that evokes geometric patterns found throughout many Native American expressions of culture. Each pencil includes our firm graphite. A portion of proceeds will go to the Cheyenne River Youth Project.
VOLUME 71
FALL 2024
The Blackwing 71 is a tribute to Frank Lloyd Wright and his architectural ambition. Each pencil features a silhouette of one of Wright’s iconic perforated boards printed in a muted, midcentury palette. The area around the board is unfilled, letting the natural wood of the pencil shine through. Each pencil also includes a copper ferrule and our extra-firm graphite.
VOLUME 746
SUMMER 2024
The Blackwing 746 is a tribute to the Golden Gate Bridge and other engineering wonders of the modern world. Each pencil features our firm graphite core and is finished with a special mulit-layered technique to bring out the iconic International Orange color of San Francisco’s world-famous Marvel.
VOLUME 710
SPRING 2024
The Blackwing 710 is our tribute to Jerry Garcia and his fusion of visual and musical expression. A slice of his painting “Curves & Lines” is printed on each pencil, which features our soft graphite that is ideal for both drawing and songwriting.
VOLUME 2
WINTER 2023
Volume 2 acknowledges that art brings about change. It features a special cracked Glow-in-the-Dark design and an all-new 2X Firm Graphite specially formulated for this release.
VOLUME 17
FALL 2023
Blackwing 17 examines the mindful practice of gardening. Earth-toned color palette: olive green finish, dark brown ferrule and imprint, burgundy eraser. Features our Balanced graphite and a 10cm ruler stamped into the barrel to chart your plant growth.
VOLUME 57
SUMMER 2023
The Blackwing 57 is a tribute to Jean-Michel Basquiat and his boundary-pushing art. The number 57 is a reference to 57 Great Jones Street in New York City, where Basquiat created some of his best-known works.
VOLUME 20
SPRING 2023
Blackwing 20 celebrates tabletop games and the cherished moments they can create. Each pencil features a raised polyhedron design inspired by gaming dice and our firm graphite that is perfect for keeping track of hit points, or tallying a final score.
VOLUME 192
WINTER 2022
Blackwing 192 is a tribute to John Lennon and Paul McCartney and the estimated 192 songs they wrote together. The color prism design depicts the convergence of two powerful creative forces. A different Lennon-McCartney lyric is foil stamped on each pencil, for a total of twelve different lyrics in the set. Includes extra-firm graphite
VOLUME 7
FALL 2022
The Blackwing 7 is a tribute to animation and the incredible stories it lets us tell. Each set of 12 pencils comes with six different designs. When stacked side by side and viewed through the included viewfinder, the pencils combine to become a seven frame “picket fence animation” of Chuck Jones’ iconic Wile E. Coyote
VOLUME 55
SUMMER 2022
The Blackwing 55 celebrates the Golden Ratio. It’s a reminder to slow down and savor the beauty around us. ach pencil contains our balanced graphite and features a design inspired by the Fibonacci sequence, a series of numbers that approximate the Golden Ratio.
VOLUME 200
SPRING 2022
The Blackwing 200 is a tribute to coffeehouses like Caffè Lena and the creative culture they help cultivate. Each pencil features a metallic copper design inspired by classic copper coffee roasting machines found in many coffeehouses during the ’50s and ’60s.
VOLUME 93
WINTER 2021
The Blackwing 93 is a tribute to Corita and her message to slow down and find gratitude in the everyday. Each pencil features one of the six colorful brushstrokes that make up Corita’s iconic rainbow swash.
VOLUME 651
FALL 2021
The Blackwing 651 is a tribute to the legendary Bruce Lee. Both simple and direct, each pencil features a black and yellow striped design inspired by Bruce Lee's iconic style.
VOLUME 64
SUMMER 2021
The Blackwing 64 is a tribute to comic books and the minds that bring them to life. Each pencil features a halftone design, comic-inspired imprint, and firm graphite.
VOLUME 223
SPRING 2021
The Blackwing 223 is a tribute to Woody Guthrie and his immutable optimism. Each pencil features a design inspired by This Land’s “ribbon of highway,” “endless skyway” and “golden valley.”
VOLUME 6
WINTER 2020
The Blackwing 6 celebrates independent businesses and their entrepreneurial spirit. Each set includes six neon red and six neon blue pencils inspired by the iconic neon “Open” sign.
VOLUME XIX
FALL 2020
The Blackwing XIX is our tribute to the 19th Amendment and the ongoing fight for voting rights in the United States and around the world. It features a purple barrel and three-sided white and golden yellow imprint inspired by the suffrage flag, striped silver ferrule, and purple eraser.
VOLUME 3
SUMMER 2020
The Blackwing 3 is a tribute to Ravi Shankar on his 100th birthday. It features our extra-firm graphite and a matte turmeric finish accented with a pattern inspired by one of Ravi’s iconic sitars.
VOLUME 840
SPRING 2020
The Blackwing 840 is a tribute to Duke Kahanamoku and the enlightened lifestyle he helped cultivate through surfing. It features a sea green barrel with a gold foil accent in the shape of the California coastline.
VOLUME 155
WINTER 2019
The Blackwing 155 is a tribute to the Bauhaus School and its legacy of craftsmanship. Each pencil features our soft graphite core, our first-ever black eraser clip, and a design inspired by the simple shapes and colors that have become a hallmark of the Bauhaus style.
VOLUME 42
FALL 2019
The Blackwing Volume 42 is a tribute to Jackie Robinson and those who pursue their passions, creative or otherwise, regardless of the obstacles in their way. It features our balanced graphite, a blue imprint and eraser, road gray ferrule, and the iconic red 42.
VOLUME 10
SUMMER 2019
The Blackwing 10 is a tribute to Nellie Bly - and investigative journalists like her - who keep citizens informed, and give them a voice. It features a matte grey newsprint finish, dark grey imprint, silver ferrule, dark grey eraser, and extra-firm graphite.
VOLUME 811
SPRING 2019
The Blackwing 811 is a tribute to libraries and the hope they represent. It features an emerald gradient finish and gold ferrule inspired by the iconic green lamps that light the halls of libraries around the world.
VOLUME 4
WINTER 2018
The Blackwing 4 is a tribute to Mars and the upcoming rover mission. It features a rust-colored lacquer and sand-textured finish inspired by the surface of the fourth planet.
VOLUME 33 1/3
FALL 2018
The Blackwing 33 1/3 is a tribute to vinyl records. It features a matte black finish and matte black ferrule to go with its black imprint and black eraser.
VOLUME 10001
SUMMER 2018
Blackwing 10001 (壱万壱) pays tribute to Miyamoto Sensei’s puzzles and other creative ways of teaching and learning. 10001 is a numeral palindrome in Kanji as well as in Arabic numerals.
VOLUME 54
SPRING 2018
The Blackwing Volume 54 pays tribute to surrealism and creative exercises that force us to look beyond our narrow personal perspective. It features a rose barrel, teal imprint, silver ferrule, blue eraser and our extra-firm graphite.
VOLUME 16.2
WINTER 2017
The Blackwing 16.2 is a tribute to mathematician, writer and visionary Ada Lovelace. The pencil features a matte white finish and matte black ferrule inspired by the simple styling of early personal computers.
VOLUME 1
FALL 2017
The Blackwing 1 is a nod to Guy Clark and his perfectly imperfect style. Blackwing’s first round pencil features a matte grey washcoat finish that lets the wood grain show through, and a “blue collar” eraser that pays tribute to Guy’s favorite blue shirt.
VOLUME 73
SUMMER 2017
Blackwing 73 celebrates Lake Tahoe and other landmarks that have had a comparable impact on arts and society. Each pencil features a Tahoe blue finish and raised texture that mimics the lake’s topography.
VOLUME 205
SPRING 2017
Each Blackwing 205 set contains six green jade pencils and six white jade pencils. Each pencil features a gold ferrule, black eraser, gold imprint and our firm graphite formulation.
VOLUME 530
WINTER 2016
The Blackwing 530 celebrates the eureka moment of the creative process. Its gold barrel and ferrule symbolize the feeling of “striking gold” when creating. The model number 530 is a tribute to Sutter’s Mill, California Historical Site No. 530, where gold was first discovered.
VOLUME 344
FALL 2016
The Blackwing 344 celebrates the artistic legacy of Dorothea Lange. The deep red barrel, red foil imprint, bright red ferrule and black eraser reflect what a Blackwing 602 pencil would look like in a darkroom.
VOLUME 56
SUMMER 2016
The Blackwing 56 pays tribute to Joe DiMaggio during the 75th anniversary of his famous 56 game hitting streak. The blue pinstripe barrel is a nod to the uniform he wore and the gold imprint and ferrule draw inspiration from the Commissioner’s Trophy his Yankee squad hoisted at the end of that magical 1941 season.
VOLUME 24
SPRING 2016
The Blackwing 24 pays tribute to Pulitzer Prize winning author John Steinbeck. Designed under the guidance of his son, accomplished author Thomas Steinbeck, we’ve attempted to create what would have been John Steinbeck’s ideal pencil.
VOLUME 1138
WINTER 2015
The Blackwing 1138 salutes A Trip to the Moon and all things sci-fi. Using a process known as movie barcoding, we condensed the entirety of the film into individual bands of color and applied it to the barrel of the pencil.
VOLUME 211
FALL 2015
The Blackwing 211 honors John Muir and his impact on creativity and the environment. It features a natural barrel, gold ferrule, brown imprint, and brown eraser, with our firm graphite.
VOLUME 725
SUMMER 2015
The Blackwing 725 pencil pays tribute to the Newport Folk Festival as it celebrates the 50th anniversary of the 1965 festival and its impact on music and culture. The pencil’s unique lacquer is inspired by the sunburst finish on the Fender Stratocaster that helped change rock n' roll.
- Choosing a selection results in a full page refresh.