Today we receive a link to this interesting post promoting the concept of sketching as a workplace creativity tool at the Ninthlink blog. The team at Ninthlink is one of the two external partners we are currently working with here at Pencils.com to develop and build our next generation Pencils.com site. We plan to launch in the next couple months and are very excited about this project, but more on that in a future post. I guess their work with us has inspired a new look at the pencil as a creativity tool. THat's one of the main themes we are always trying to support here on our site. Ninthlink even gave us a nice plug for our Palomino pencils too.

This post features another blog post by Leah Buley at The Adaptive Path providing a set of steps on how to get started using sketching as a workplace tool. One of my favorite steps emphasizes simply becoming more aware of and embracing the degree to which sketching is a part of our every day lives and environment.

Step 5: Spot the trend
Look around and notice that everywhere you go, you see sketching. Everywhere! In the title credits of movies. In ads on busses. In presentations at conferences (maybe even your own). Realize that you might be caught in the upsweep of a sketching fad. Welcome it, and feel appreciative for whatever brought this friend to your door.

So don't miss out and keep on sketching.

Note: The sketch shown here titled "Gossip" is one shared with us by a loyal Palomino pencil fan, Alia, who I first featured in an early post on my Timberlines blog, here.

Just noticed this call for help on our Forum and felt it was worth supporting.

Choose from some great Cartooning items including a dozen original Blackwing 602 pencils and help out an artist's family in their time of need.

Pencils.com has recently made several changes to our online store in an effort to make it easier for our customers to quickly find and purchase products. Our redesigned product grid layout allows you to see a wider range of products at once saving time by having fewer pages to scroll through. We have also made improvements to the store navigation and search functions to help you find exactly what you are looking for.

For those who are unsure about what you are looking for, check out our "People Who Bought This Product Also Bought" section which shows popular related products purchased by other customers. You can also post and read reviews of our products which may help you and others with final product selection.

To give our customers more flexibility in shipping we have added FedEx as a shipping option.

We encourage you to take a few minutes to browse through our store and check out the changes. We hope the enhancements will make your shopping experience at Pencils.com easier and more enjoyable.

Save time and money this holiday season when you shop our Pencils.com store. Palomino Gift Sets and General’s Drawing Kits make great gifts and are now 25% off through December 15, 2009. Choose from several kit selections for beginners through advanced artists. Use Coupon Code XMAS25 at checkout.

The Palomino Deluxe Artist Pencil Kit includes 24 Palomino artist color pencils in a beautiful wood box, a Palomino deluxe mixed grade set which includes (2)2B, (2)B, (4)HB, (2)H, (2)2H and eraser, a Palomino-KUM® long point pencil sharpener and a KUM® brass 1-hole pencil sharpener.

The Palomino Starter Artist Pencil Kit includes 18 Palomino artist color pencils in a beautiful wood box, a Palomino graphiteⁱ mixed grade 6 pack which includes 2B, B, HB(2), H, & 2H, and a KUM® Correc-Tri Sharpener & Eraser.

The Palomino Wood Crafter Hobby Kit contains 340 pieces of pre-cut shapes produced from solid cedar wood plus 50 dowels (non-cedar).

General Pencil Company and Matthew Luhn, story artist/animator at Pixar animation studios, have partnered to create this series of How To Draw Cartoons Kits which includes How To Draw Cartoons! and How To Draw Cartoon Flip Books! Both sets include all the drawing tools needed to create your own cartoons!

General Pencil Drawing Kits contain a variety of General’s® artist quality tools including the Original Charcoal, Kimberly® Graphite, Factis™ erasers and All-Art™ stainless steel sharpeners. All kits are made in the USA featuring recyclable packaging and recycled content where available. All books are printed on recycled paper.

Spend $50 or more November 26 - 30, 2009 and your SHIPPING IS FREE.

(Free Shipping Offer applies to Standard Shipping costs only. Priority Mail and International Mail shipments not included).

If you're looking for useful and distinctive gifts Pencils.com offers a variety of drawing and writing pencils. Find the perfect gift for the artist or student on your holiday shopping list.

Pencils are the perfect size for stocking stuffers. Our Spangle Christmas Pencils, Palomino Pencils and Smencils Scented Pencils are just a few items in our store that can help you fill a Christmas stocking.

Check out our Palomino and General Pencil items for great gift ideas.