Faber-Castell 250th Anniversary Celebrations
“Doing ordinary things extraordinarily well” – Faber-Castell company motto.
As we arrived at our hotel even the receptionist was excited – practically falling over herself in her eagerness to hand us the welcome pack from Faber-Castell. We’d just arrived in Nuremberg, Germany, as guests of Faber-Castell on the evening before the celebrations on 8th July 2011 to mark 250 years since the founding of the company in 1761.
The next day we would be joining 5,000 other guests from all over the world to congratulate Count Anton W. von Faber-Castell and his company on their achievement. Our anticipation was tempered slightly by the inclusion in the welcome pack of Faber-Castell umbrellas. The evening was humid and threatening, and the main party tomorrow was to be outdoors. Sure enough, shortly after a refreshing al fresco landbier in the Hauptmarkt we retired to a nearby restaurant, the atmospheric Heilig-Geist-Spital, just as the heavens opened. A sustained and torrential downpour with an enthusiastic accompaniment of thunder and lightning. It was still raining Katzen and Hunde as we left and we thought of the poor Faber-Castell staff who would have been setting up the garden party that day.
The next day was fresher though still damp and grey, though the guests assembling after breakfast were in high spirits. Our hotel alone had guests from Bolivia, Peru, Korea, Japan, Czech Republic, France and the UK. As the first of the coaches arrived we found ourselves in the hands of Nicole, our designated escort for the event. Briskly marshalling the various nationalities, our German shepherd loaded us on board for the first event of the day at the Frankenhalle – the vast hall in the impressive CongressCenter Nuremberg.
Outside the Frankenhalle the excitement all around was palpable and we started to realise the scale of the event. Sixty countries were represented and the lead representatives of those were dressed in national costume. Everybody else was dressed somewhere between smartly and spectacularly. We accepted security passes, translation headsets and a glass of champagne and as we filed into the huge hall it felt like a cross between the Eurovision Song Contest and the Oscars.
Welcome messages were projected on an impressive 120m x 6m wrap-around screen and eventually the proceedings got underway. Tributes came in from German Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel via a video screen, plus Dr. Günther Beckstein, the former Prime Minister of Bavaria, and Dr. Ulrich Maly, Mayor of Nuremberg. Count Anton-Wolfgang Graf von Faber-Castell, 8th generation of his family to lead the company, then gave a speech which was humble and inspirational.
There followed a interesting programme covering the history of Faber-Castell, making good use of the whole of the giant screen. Fascinating stuff and far too much information to convey here but a key figure was Lothar von Faber, who in the mid-nineteenth century not only expanded and modernised the business, improved quality and secured valuable sole rights to high-quality Siberian graphite; he was also a pioneer and reformer in the areas of workers’ welfare, social responsibility and education. He was elevated to the hereditary peerage for his efforts. The current CEO, Count Anton Wolfgang has continued in this vein – not only leading the brand strongly into the 21st century but doing so with a major commitment to international labour rights and environmental responsibility.
The history segued seamlessly into a spectacular laser show and the Count and his wife the Countess Mary took to the stage to a huge ovation. They were joined by their children and then by senior employees and finally by flag-bearers from the 60 countries. A rousing rendition of Queen’s ‘We Are The Champions’ sung by an enthusiastic Malaysian manager concluded proceedings and we congregated outside in the (enormous) foyer for drinks and Nuremberg sausages. Fantastically, while were in the hall the skies had cleared and the day was now officially gorgeous.
Nicole eventually (“I’ve lost Bolivia!”) rounded us up and we were shipped back to our hotels to change into our party gear before being driven to the Faber Schloss for the evening’s festivities. A stunning setting for a party: a beautiful and elegant castle, leafy grounds, huge gazebos to keep any weather off; pavilions representing each Faber-Castell manufacturing country; a big stage and a vast array of food and drinks tents. Sunshine + music + 5,000 happy people = a great time.
Highlights: The count’s brother’s eccentric performance on stage; scores of hyper-enthusiastic Malaysian employees; endless good German beer; a brilliant band; the British contingent’s commitment to dancing to that band; a mesmerizing dance and light show after dark against the castle façade; fireworks; managing to keep going until 2am.
And at 10:30am the next day they bussed us back again to give us brunch!
A wonderful time was had by all and huge thanks go to Count Anton and his staff for looking after everyone so well, and to Stone Marketing, the UK distributor for Faber-Castell, for taking us along for the ride.
We genuinely believe that Faber-Castell is a great company with committed people making superb products, all with a concern for social and environmental issues. Cult Pens is proud to be a leading online retailer for Faber-Castell in the UK, with the widest range of Faber-Castell writing and drawing products available anywhere.
PRIZE! To commemorate both Faber-Castell’s 250th anniversary and our inaugural blog post, we’ll give away a Faber-Castell goodie-bag including a couple of anniversary items to the author of a randomly-selected comment to this post. Thanks for reading.
UPDATE! We’ve scoured the office for the prize contents and have put together a box of great bits and pieces from Faber-Castell, including some smart Design range pens, lots of pens and pencils altogether worth well over £120. Then we added some cute 250th anniversary items begged and borrowed from Faber-Castell. The draw will close at midnight Thursday 28 July 2011 BST (that’s British Summer Time folks). We’ll announce a winner on Friday. Thanks for all the comments so far!
AND THE WINNER IS… Count the comments… go to random.org… the adjudicators confer… drum roll… hush descends… Comment #3 – Andrew! Plus special judges prize to Louise at Comment #1 for being the first comment and the most surreal. Trumpet fanfares and it’s all over bar the shouting.
Thanks to everyone who commented – we’ll do it all again in 250 years. Andrew, Louise – we’ll be in touch.
Suppliers of quality writing instruments to penguins for a quarter of a century.
No red herrings!!!
Ssshhhh… On the internet, nobody knows you’re a flightless waterfowl.
Happy 250th!
Sounds like a good party was enjoyed by all , including the staff which is good to hear.by the way thank you for the great service on recent orders, I must resist for a while now.
Well yes, of course I would like a free goodie-bag. I am the ultimate stationery addict. A metal bodied 0.5mm ballpoint with a sprung clip is my ultimate aim. Maybe there is one in the goodie bag 8-).
Happy anniversary to Faber-Castell and congratulations to Cultpens for launching its blog. I look forward to reading more about your selection of stationery, and would love to see more limited edition products.
Wonderful news! Looking forward to reading your blog – all the best to everyone at CULTPENS!
Happy Anniversary, Faber-Castell – what a fanstastic event, wow! Thank you to Cultpens for sharing your experience with us, and congratulations on the new blog.
Great Idea for a Blog – Great First Post – Great web-site!
A blog devoted to pens? Count me in!
Excellent products, deserving of another 250yrs and more
Their pencils got me through my art course.
Happy 250th Birthday to Faber-Castell, and Happy First Blog Post to Cult Pens!
very interesting reading,lucky you
brian
From Cars to Pencils you can’t beat German engineering. Having lived on and off in Germany for 6 years their organization is second to none, just like your couple of days in Nuremberg – perfect, just like my Perfect Pencil. Keep on blogging.
Happy Anniversary!! Great pens. I use them everyday at work.
Marvellous! A truly memorable foxtrot!
Count Anton Wolfgang ! thats Proper CEO name .
Looks like a great party.
Good pens from Faber-Castell. But I think we are all more interested in the goodie bags!
That’s what we like – honesty!
You guys get all of the luck. Then again perhaps some will come my way in the shape of a lucky bag, and if it doesn’t I hope that the winner really enjoys it!
Thanks a lot for providing excellent kit at wonderful prices, both you and Faber Castell.
Best of luck everyone!!
Andy
Shetland
Thanks Andy. The harder we work the luckier we get, as me old Dad would say…
Faber-Castell goodie bag? sounds lush.
Never used Faber-Castel (committed Pilot Capless & Pentel Graphgear 1000 .9mm user) but the article has tempted me to have a look later …
Ill be getting in trouble again – having done 2 orders in the last month already !!
Many years ago I fell in love with the splendid Castell 9000 pencil and that love has never gone. Happy anniversary to Faber-Castell! As for your new blog, it’s a great idea, but it needs a RSS feed.
Thanks, Antonio. The RSS feed exists, it just isn’t linked or set up for auto discovery yet. We’ll sort that out soon, but you can find it here:
http://www.cultpens.com/blog/feed/
Just added to Google Reader. Thank you!
Congratulations on starting a blog – and thank you for sharing your impressions of the Faber-Castell party!
Made my first Faber-Castell purchase a moment ago through Cultpens, really looking forward to the package! Congratulations from Singapore!
You have set a high standard with this first blog entry. I look forward to the second one!
Happy 250th! Love Faber-Castell Gear. Goodie bag sounds awesome.
Looks like an amazing time was had. Great to see you’re starting a blog, I’d love to see more writing about, and pictures of, the pens and pencils you sell. Getting to see them in action and the kinds of lines and marks they make. I don’t know if that’s in your plans for the blog but it’s definitely the kind of thing I’d be interested in.
I have a wonderful fountain pen and a clutch pencil – always to hand – 250 years of history behind them, wonderful to see a glimse of that in your post.
Ordinary things they may be; definitely extraordinary in their quality and ease of use – company motto is definitely lived up to!
Congratulations to all at Faber-Castell and thank you to all at Cult Pens for sharing these celebrations (and for providing such great service and such a great range of Faber-Castell pens and pencils).
Great report, and nice to find you have an rss feed!
I think the only Faber Castell products I use are their (wooden) pencils – must rectify that!
That sounded like an amazing event. Great insight into the Malaysian approach to life as well. I am going to remap my career so I can be at the 3rd centennial celebrations!
Hm, they are from the same town where head office of my company (GfK) is located
Randomly selected, eh?
Well, I wouldn’t mind some goodies, to see if they can sway me from my Cretacolor pencils!
I’ve come to this website via a local NZ website, that of a fellow knitter and yarn lover who also loves good writing implements. As a mature arts student, living in the South Island of New Zealand, I’m also interested in aesthetically pleasing materials. I already use your pencils for drawing, would like to know more about your other products.
I’m random, select me.
I really thought that I was the only lonely pen fanatic around – so good to see that there are so many of us around! Thanks to Cult Pens for feeding my addiction!
I love faber-castell. The 9000 pencil is the best in the market.
Happy anniversary and good luck to everyone
250 years? wow contratulations!
Looks like a great time! Hoping for random selection!
Congrats!
Great website for pen addicts. Nowhere else comes close.
Congrats on two and a half centuries of excellence!
Great blog, by the way
It’s 250 Well Done years, congratulations on all of your accomplishments.
congratulations!
Was there a Graf vo Faber Castell continent there as well?
250 years! Impressive. Most impressive!
“Graf von who?….Faber Castell will do! ;0)”
Great blog,wish I was there. Congratulations Faber Castell and congratulations Cults pens for the fantasitc service you always provide.
Sounds fab (although I now have “we are the champions” stuck in my head, an “ear worm” I think the Germans call that)!
Damn you guys, having read this I’m now off to browse the Cult Pens site (repeats to self, must NOT spend any more at the moment…)
Love Faber Castell products… they’re the only ones I use for illustration work..
Your link to the Faber Castell page:
http://www.cultpens.com/acatalog/Faber-Castell.html
is wrong, it should be:
http://www.cultpens.com/acatalog/Faber_Castell.html
Does that win me a prize?
Just our appreciation, I’m afraid, Steven. Thanks for letting us know, though. Fixed.
250 years are quite a few… Think about how many pencils they must have made in that time!
Wow, what a fantastic article for your first blog…I’ve read every word of it. Sounds like you had a great time. I have become a bit of an addict of your site…checking what’s new on a regular basis, and I look forward to reading further blogs. When I was a kid my dad was a designer and only ever used Faber-Castell pencils…the house was full of them. I have fond memories of experimenting & trying all the different hardness grades. I recently bought a couple of the F-C Ambition fountain pens from you. How pleased I am – they are so excellent to write with, and come with their own storage box. I’d love to be selected for the goodie box – to maybe try something that I’ve not ordered before…! I love your range of products – Keep up the good work!
A party full of pen and pencil enthusiasts – sounds like my dream come true!
Happy 250th Anniversary Faber-Castell!
I am a huge stationery addict. Thank you for the chance to win ^^
Nice article….love the cult pens site and would love to win the prize.
Sounds like a wonderful party! Can I get some of those pens, too, please?
Super article, would love the goodie bag
Happy 250th anniversary Faber-Castell
This is a great blog and Faber Castell fountain pens are one of my writing instrument that ever made. Cheers
HAPPY 250TH BIRTHDAY FABER-CASTELL!!!
I always loved Faber-Castell for their fountain pens wich are absolutely awesome, they are always perfectly made.
I hope they keep making their products for another 250 years! (and off course i’d like to win this goodie bag !!!)
All that fuss over a pencil? Who can blame them…
Wow this sounds cool! Happy birthday…
By the way I love the cool patterns next to each reply on the comments section!
http://gravitar.com is widely used.
Set up an account and you can map your email address[1] to an image of your own choosing – all without revealing your email address (it doesn’t appear in the page content or script from cultpens.com, or sent to Gravitar: all done with cryptographic hashes).
[1] Which reminds me… I’ve not done it for this email.
Faber Castellated got my stationery bug started with their fantastic e-motion pencils. It would be churlish _not_ to wish them a very happy 250th anniversary!
A marriage made in heaven – Faber-Castell pens & pencils and Cult Pens excellent service.
My love affair with Faber-Castell pens & pencils began almost 50 years ago so we are about to celebrate our golden anniversary.
Thank you to Faber-Castell for their wonderful writing instruments and here’s to another 250 years – at least!
I absolutely loved my first Faber-Castell pencils because it made me feel special, that no one else in my class had them!
Happy 250th Anniversary Faber-Castell!
Sounds like a great trip – keeping all my fingers and toes crossed!
Quality German products – really enjoy using the range.
I appreciate the high quality of faber-castell pencils: I draw pictures for the kids at school with them; I give them as surprise well dones/thank yous; I think they are one of the best inventions of all time! So congratulations and long may they inspire/sketch/draw/write/assist/please the generations to come
Thank you.
I did think of writing something witty about feeding the need for an ever better (and new) pencil or pen. But I now forget.
Instead I’ll say I’m looking forward to more on the minutiæ of both existing and new writing instruments.
Congrats on the blog and brilliant first post. Jealous I wasn’t at the party, but you guys deserved the trip for your excellent service.
Welcome to the blogsphere.
Thank you for the e mail confirming the win – a great start to my holiday and the second win since school which was over 30years ago !
Thank you cult pens
Really Love the FC products and love that you are so enthusiastic about writing equipment as well!!!!
sounds like a wonderful occasion, how great!
I sure wish I could go the next one
Just to record my appreciation for selling me a superb Kaweco product; and the efficiency with which you dealt with my order. PND.
I have received the blog prize , thank you.
A wonderful box of goodies , I seemed to be opening packages for ages. Pens , pencils , sharpeners and erasers as well as some other faber castell stuff. The family already have their eye on some of the items.
Thank you once again.
All the best – andrew
[...] recently covered the 250th anniversary celebrations of Faber-Castell, who have been making pencils in Nuremberg, Germany, since 1761. Nuremberg has played a major role [...]
Congratulations on your new blog – I am looking forward to reading it!