© Nanako Kume 💡 Pencil Lampshades

Nanako Kume is an artist that makes giant lampshades that look like pencil shavings. How do they do it? By making a giant pencil and giant pencil sharpener, of course! Don’t miss the video, the process is mesmerizing. They’re beautiful, and I totally want one.

✏️ Pencils Are the Best

Speaking of pencils, they’re still my all-time favorite tool. I love getting ideas out quickly in their roughest form. In the last few years I’ve also made a habit of taking notes from meetings and conversations on paper — I swear it has helped me remember things better. What I love about pencils is the balance they strike: you can geek out on materials, production, or mark-making, and yet some of the best pencils being made will only run you a dollar or two. So you don’t have to sweat lending one out or losing one.

I wrote a little Mastodon thread about some favorites a couple of years ago, and it still holds true. Most days I’m using a Camel HB or some kind of Tombow. I’m also enjoying the pack of Musgrave’s 1101 Yellow Special pencils earlier this summer.

👾 Arcade Marquees

Dan Sinker visited the Galloping Ghost Arcade in Brookfield, Illinois, and came back with loads of beautiful pictures of vintage arcade game marquees. I agree with Dan: the combination of color and light makes this such a pleasing canvas for expression. It scratches a specific corner of my brain, the same way looking at the VHS covers of movies in the horror section of the video store did when I was young. For a deeper trip down retro lane, Bitmap Books has a great book called ARTCADE all about classic game art.

📚 Video Game Research Library

More games! The Video Game History Foundation is a non-profit that has started a video game history research library. You can already dig through old video game magazines and other ephemera. Bonus: you can buy a monthly subscription to receive a random vintage video game magazine issue every month in the mail!

🗒️ Good Notepads

Write Notepads has stopped doing general retail and moved to a custom bulk/branded business. I’m so sad, they’ve been my favorite notebooks for years. Once I run out of the few blank ones I have left, I’ll need to find a new go-to. I’ve been eyeing Maruman Mnemosyne and Rollbahn notebooks. Have any you like?

📐 Iconfactory, Better Than Ever

Iconfactory are craftspeople of the highest order. They’re the brains behind countless apps that made spending a day at the computer enjoyable (CandyBar, xScope) and have made services usable (Twitterrific, Tapestry). Icons. Wallpapers. Custom work that will knock your socks off. Every detail shows their care and artistry. If you have a need for their kind of work, you can’t do better.

🪡 Handmade CMYK

Artist and designer Evelin Kasikov has been making CMYK embroidery since formulating the technique in grad school. The results are beautiful and effective. Her body of design work is vast, but she often returns to these CMYK expressions. Found via Ethan’s great new links stream.

Loose EndsFeeling stuck in a loop? Read Eject Disk, by Greg Storey.Robin Sloan pens a consistently great newsletter about books, media, and life. I also highly recommend his last book Moonbound .The old Pizza Hut restaurants had such an iconic look. Filmmakers Matthew Salleh and Rose Tucker made a documentary about the second life many of these buildings have had after Pizza Hut moved out.Ever wonder how Muppets manage to ride bikes or move in ways that seem impossible? Check out How Muppets Break Free from their Puppeteers .To celebrate David Attenborough’s 99th birthday, 99 smart folks (Michael Palin, Jane Fonda, Hans Zimmer, and more) share how he’s inspired them.“ Good Internet is a volunteer-run, not-for-profit print and digital biannual magazine for personal website owners and those interested in using the internet as a means of self-expression, art, and recreation.” Yes please!

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