AUTUMN//WINTER 2018 21 MANY people believe that the pencil is mightier than the mouse and that the distinctive hexagonal black and yellow striped Noris pencil topped by a red crown, is one of the finest. Used by generations of school children and favoured by artists, it can be seen everywhere – over sixty million are bought every year in the UK alone. Choirmaster Gareth Malone even uses one as a baton! The Noris name was first registered on 10 September 1901 by JS Staedtler, which formed in 1835 in Nuremberg, and which had built a reputation for pencil making. More than one hundred years on, the Staedtler Noris is known and used in many countries around the world and is very much an icon of pencil design. CHRIS LEONARD-MORGAN, founder of the London Stationery Show and National Stationery Week, puts the spotlight on one of the world’s oldest writing products. The original Noris pencil was black and orange, but the orange changed to yellow in 1955. The striped finish dates back to 1934. The name Noris is closely linked with Nuremberg and dates back to the ancient settlement of Norimberga, which the Norica clan founded around the hilltop castle of the royal court in the city at the beginning of the 11th century. In the 17th century, the poets of what had by then become Nuremberg gave birth to the creation of ‘Noris’ by portraying the city as the Noris nymph in their verse. Today, the classic Noris 120 yellow and black striped pencil is available in five degrees  – 2B, B, HB, H and 2H – as well as in a number of other variations. The Noris Eco and Noris Colour are also easily identifiable by the stripes but are made by a different production process. The iconic writing instrument is made using wood from PEFC-certified, sustainably managed forests. Noris has also had a foot in the digital camp since the beginning of 2017 when it launched the Staedtler Noris Digital for Samsung – ‘pencil on the outside…digital on the inside.’ This pencil for the digital generation is made from Staedtler’s eco Wopex material (Wood Pencil Extrusion), sports the familiar Noris stripes in black and yellow, or black and green, and has a specialised lead suited to both writing and drawing. Very much a Noris for the 21st century! ICONS OF STATIONERY The Staedtler Noris pencil Ensure that you have Ultratape in stock for Christmas!