Core77

The Sharpener Image: Craighton Berman's 'Campaign for the Accurate Measurement of Creativity'

By Ray Hu - January 25, 2013

in Kickstarter

I don't know how accurately it measures creative output, but the Sharpener Jar is definitely a practical alternative to the underground artisanal pencil sharpening movement. So it should come as no surprise that designer, entrepreneur, teacher and sometime Core-toonist / Sketch-notetaker Craighton Berman (a.k.a. Fueled by Coffee) has nearly quadrupled his $2,500 Kickstarter goal in just four days.Every day professional "creatives" spend their waking hours sketching, writing, doodling, brainstorming, drawing, and scribbling on paper—hoping that their next amazing idea will eventually appear. This process fuels a unique angst in the modern-day artist; they spend most of their time merely thinking about what to make with nothing physical to show other than a pile of sketches. Can you get credit for creative effort without showing an end product? How is your boss going to know that you spent most of the day working and not just surfing Tumblr? How can you prove to your clients that your rates are justified despite the absence of actual finished work? Can creative output really be measured?

As in the Dux Inkwell sharpener, an extant glass vessel takes on a new purpose as a reservoir for pencil shavings, underscoring the ritualistic appeal of paring down a stick of wood and graphite.

On the other hand, unlike the Cuppow, Berman has opted to include the jar (and lid and threaded ring) with the sharpener, which surely adds a bit of unnecessary shipping/packaging expense to the product. Hence, the $39 pricetag for a single Sharpener Jar—assuming that the 32 remaining "first editions" at $34 will sell out shortly. (Still, it could be worse: $210 worse.)

We'd love to see these letterform pencils IRL...

In any case, Quantified Selves with a sense of humor can order the Sharpener Jar on Kickstarter.

And lest we forget how pencils are made, this is as good an excuse as any to revisit a video that documents just that. Gotta love that assembly line sharpening bit at the very end...

o

Favorite This
Q
3

Comment

Comments

bob

11 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

I like this concept, I know there are many repurposed jar concepts out there, but this one I really just like the story of it. I read the lunchbreath comics, get a good laugh, and can invest in one of these just because it has some fun meaning to me,.
!Report as spam
Eric

11 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

Is this really design or just being crafty?
!Report as spam
MjSilva

11 years ago

Z

Z

Reply

Im going to be honest and say that i am getting extremely sick and tired of mason jar retrofits, and mason jars in general. I know its a tongue in cheek project but come on people, lets see something different.
!Report as spam