Musgrave Pencil Company
Musgrave Pencil Company is a family-owned, 104-year-old pencil factory located in Shelbyville, Tennessee. What started as a rebrand and new website grew into a strong partnership and exciting future with a legendary American heritage brand.
BRANDING
WEBSITE DESIGN + E-COMMERCE
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
PACKAGING
PHOTOGRAPHY
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION
PAY-PER-CLICK ADVERTISING
SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGEMENT
BLOG CONTENT
MARKETING COLLATERAL
Thanks to our partnership with an exceptionally brave, enthusiastic client, pencil collectors and American-made enthusiasts have found a new reason to fall in love with this charming factory located in “The Pencil City,” the hometown of American pencils.
The Tennessee Red
In late 2019, Musgrave launched a new pencil — the Tennessee Red — that was a tribute to the original Tennessee Red Cedar used by their founder, James Raford Musgrave.
The imprinted design is impeccable, a simple script emblazoned with the Tennessee flag’s tri-star.
Our role included naming, design, packaging, and promotion.
Now Musgrave’s best-selling pencil, the Tennessee Red was named a runner-up in Garden and Gun’s “Made in the South” awards.
The Single Barrel
A relic is reborn with this limited-edition pencil.
At the end of the 1930s, Mr. Musgrave sent his final export of Tennessee Red Cedar slats off to Europe’s pencil factories. Somehow, a small number of burlap sacks filled with slats missed the boat. Years later, the sacks would be discovered in the wreckage of an ill-fated storage building that had collapsed.
Using these almost century-old slats, we worked closely with the company chairman, Henry, and their manufacturing team to give these slats life as the pencils they were milled to be. This vintage wood now has a top-of-the-line graphite core and distinctly modern imprint and end cap. They are a piece of American pencil manufacturing history and a joy to write with. And once this limited run sells out, they are gone.
It was recently mentioned by legendary pencil collector Bob Truby in Country Living Magazine as one of his top six “must-have favorite” pencils in his 8,000+ collection — the world’s largest collection of rare and vintage brand-name pencils.
Our role included product design, packaging, and promotion.
Hat Tip
Fabricated by the acclaimed apparel company Ebbets Field Flannels, this vintage-style ball cap comes with a pencil holder above the ear.
