A visit to the Musgrave Pencil Company

There are not many pencil factories left in America. Even fewer that still make them the traditional way. In Shelbyville, Tennessee, Musgrave Pencil Company continues to produce something deceptively simple: a pencil.

Musgrave has been making pencils since 1916

Family run and American made, it remains one of the last of its kind. Not preserved as a museum, but still working. Still humming. Still sharpening ideas.

Walking through the factory feels familiar and slightly disorienting, like stepping back in time. Assembly lines. Vintage machines worn smooth by decades of craftsmanship. The smell of cedar and paint. Hands that know exactly what to do without explanation. There is pride here, but no performance. The work speaks for itself. That is what drew us in.

We came because we wanted to make something small. Something thoughtful. Something that did not feel like merchandise.

Working with Studio Somewhere, we set out to create a set of pencils for Sibarth guests that would do more than carry a logo. We wanted an object that would change with use. One that would grow dull, be sharpened again, leave a mark, then slowly disappear.

What connects a pencil factory in Tennessee to a real estate company on an island is not geography. It is mindset.

Both our companies have lasted by focusing on craft and attention to detail. By doing something well, and continuing to do it that way even when it would be easier not to. The pencils are made from responsibly sourced wood, manufactured by hand in Tennessee. Made to be used, not collected.

Not everything needs to be loud. These pencils are simple, intentional, and easy to overlook. Like many of our favorite things.

These pencils are meant to be found. You might come across one if you stay with us, or if you visit us at the airport or The Swedish House in Gustavia. They are not for sale and are not shipped around the world.

Not everything needs to last forever; some things are better when they wear with time.

That’s why we went to a pencil factory.