On Location at Derwent
Our On Location series reveals where some of the best-loved art materials are made, and provides insight into the working methods of the people who make them. This time, we travelled to England’s beautiful Lake District in Cumbria to visit the Derwent pencil factory. Here, highly experienced workers produce a wide range of artists’ pencils, drawing tools, and accessories, from their heritage Artists coloured pencil range and innovative Inktense collections to their premium Lightfast pencils.   On Location at Derwent A Brief History of Derwent The original Derwent factory was based in Keswick, close to the historic Seathwaite graphite mine in the Borrowdale Valley. This site, discovered in the 1500s, after a tree was upturned in a storm, was found to be rich in deposits of the purest graphite. At first, its potential was not realised, and local farmers, calling it ‘wad’, used it to mark their sheep. But gradually, its unique mark-making qualities began to be realised.   The pencil only became a commercial venture from the 1790s, and by the early 1800s, there were thirteen manufacturers in Keswick, building a reputation for the finest pencils in the world. Derwent outlived them all, having its roots in …
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