Interview & Exciting Giveaway with Longhand Pencils!

Today, we have such an exciting post that we are so thrilled to share with you all, so without further ado, let's jump right into it! When Kasee from Longhand Pencils reached out to us about wanting to collaborate on a special Book Bratz pencil set together, we were over the moon. Seriously. This was us fangirling among ourselves:

Needless to say, it was a dream come true. And today, we're excited to interview Kasee on our blog, before unveiling the amazing Book Bratz pencil pack that she designed for us! (Plus, we'll tell you how you can win your very own set!) But first thing's first: talking to Kasee!

I’ve had my share of looking at screens and pounding on keys. Haven’t you? Let’s take it back to the good ‘ol days — of lending cute boys your pencil, collecting animal-shaped erasers and scratch-n-sniff stickers, crafting love letters and diary entries, and most importantly — writing by hand.

Keep up with Kasee & Longhand Pencils: Website / Twitter / Instagram / Facebook / YouTube

The Book Bratz: Welcome to the blog! We're so excited to have you chatting here with us today. First thing's first: What's Longhand Pencils?

Kasee: Thank you so much for having me! This is an honor. It's my dream to be an *honorary* Book Brat. So excited to chat with y'all! Longhand Pencils is my dream business. As a writer and avid reader, it's my perfect marriage of two passions: writing and pop culture. I hand-stamp and sell pop-culture-inspired pencil sets, including a large portion of book-themed sets. I love reading and sharing about new releases through a unique medium that is functional and fun.

The Book Bratz: What made you decide to start Longhand Pencils?

Kasee: Like I said, I'm a writer by profession and am always writing things by hand. When I was moving two years ago and discovered some stamped pencils I had gotten from a gift shop, I thought: I love these! But I want to have these stamped with things I love: my favorite books, movies, TV shows, etc. I wanted to be able to talk about pop culture of the day through pencils, a tool that represented what I love: words and writing. So I started researching how to stamp pencils, bought a machine, and got to work. It took me a while to get over the learning curve of hot foil stamping, but here I am, two years later, loving every minute of this fun business journey!

The Book Bratz: How exactly are these pencils designed and made? It looks like such an awesome process!

Kasee: It really is a cool process! I use a hot foil stamping machine, which heats up and transfers the impression of the type onto foil, which embosses onto the blank pencil. (I have a few YouTube videos of the process here.) For me, it requires a lot of precision and attention to detail, and with so many screens in our lives, it's a really cool activity I can do with my hands. (Lord knows I can't make bread or paint!) I hand-stamp every pencil, so the machine and I are a good team. :-)

The Book Bratz: What's your favorite set that you have designed so far?

Kasee: Wow, this question is HARD. One of the first sets I dreamed up while starting the business was a set for all my favorite quotes and symbols from Sarah Dessen books. Her stories had a huge impact on me growing up (and still do as a writer!), and I wanted to pay homage to that with a special pencil set. It's still one of my favorites. Some other favorites of mine are the Tropes pencil set (which was inspired by my work with the team at Sourcebooks Casablanca), the Red, White, and Royal Blue set, and the Jane Eyre set (my favorite book of all time!) Those last two are also some of the most difficult to stamp!

The Book Bratz: What made you decide to partner with us for a special Book Bratz kit?

Kasee: Okay, well first of all, I'm totally fangirling about even collaborating with y'all! I love talking about books with people on social media, and I kept seeing TBB around the Twitter watercooler. I love The Book Bratz reviews and your passion for reading and sharing about books! I wanted to create a special TBB pencil set, designed with your brand and audience in mind. The Book Bratz are dearly beloved! Plus, I feel like us four are kindred spirits??? Let's take a reading retreat together sometime, okay? <3 [TBB: We are *totally* down for this!!!]

The Book Bratz: What's your dream collaboration?

Kasee: I have done so many amazing collaborations, especially with authors and publishers. As a writer and reader, this is honestly the dream. I'm living it everyday! Also, recently, I got to work with Myriam from @peaches.obviously (on IG) who designed the most GORGEOUS clinch cover coloring book. I'm seriously obsessed with it. I've also got something cooking with my friend Abbi from @bybayjewelry which I'm super excited about. So truly, I've gotten to collaborate already with so many amazing people! As for a dream collaboration, I'd love to work with a major publisher on a book preorder campaign, or as a way to create buzz for a TV show (like Starstruck. Have you seen that? Hilarious!).

 

The Book Bratz: What's next for Longhand Pencils?

Kasee: Stamping, stamping, and more stamping! I'm always at work on restocking fan favorites, dreaming up new sets, and working on creating new fun, pop-culture themed products. I've also got lots of book sets in the works that I'm really excited to share! I've recently started an author discussion series with Jacob from @a.veryqueerbookclub, and we do fun IG Live Q&As with authors and give away pencil sets related to their books! We recently did one with THE CHARM OFFENSIVE'S Alison Cochurn and it was a blast. We have tons more scheduled and I can't wait. 

 

The Book Bratz: Where can people find you if they want to check out your products and social media accounts?

Kasee: On the internets. Ha. But really, I'm always around somewhere, haunting your local bookstore or online on IG, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, (and maybe one day, TikTok???) @longhandpencils. Send me a book rec or a meme and we'll be besties. You can always shop Longhand Pencils products in my shop at longhandpencils.com.

And now, it's time for the moment you've all been waiting for...the reveal of our special Book Bratz set with Longhand Pencils!

Buy your own Book Bratz set here!

Oh gosh, just looking at it again makes us tear up. Kasee was amazing and helped us come up with some great colors and phrases to include in the set.

Here are the six pencils that are in the set:

The Book Bratz

Rom-Com Supremacy 

Spicy Books & Chill

Just One More Chapter

Book Buying Ban Who?

I've Got a Book Hangover

But that's not all...to celebrate the collaboration, we're giving away TWO (2) sets of the Book Bratz pencil kit! All you have to do to enter is check out the details pinned at the top of our Twitter page. The giveaway will only be running until 11/4, so don't miss out!

Thank you *so* much to Kasee for not only crafting such a gorgeous set of pencils for us, but also for stopping by the blog today for an interview. And, if you haven't already, go head over to longhandpencils.com right this very minute to get yourself some gorgeous pencils, stationery, and more...including our set!