With over 230 years of experience, Conté à Paris have established themselves as one of the most trusted brands in the world of illustration.

We can thank the company's founder, Nicolas-Jacques Conté, for the modern pencil we know and love today. In the 1790s, while the French Republic was under embargo from British trade, Conté was asked to create a pencil that did not rely on foreign imports. He envisioned a pencil made from mixed powdered graphite and clay pressed between two semi-cylinders of wood, creating the convenient form factor know and love today.

Since then, the Conté à Paris company has continued to innovate, and their pencils have become a permanent fixture in many an artist's pencil case.