text: So what do you get when you combine Karl Lagerfeld’s modern and innovative spirit with Faber-Castell’s reputation in crafting fine art and graphic products? The limited edition Karlbox, of course. This unique art supply storage box launched earlier this month exclusively at Gump's of San Francisco, Faber-Castell stores, Karl Lagerfeld boutiques worldwide and Harrods, London. Later this month the Karlbox will be available at select department and specialty stores. 
   
   Designed by Lagerfeld, the elegant black box holds 350 Faber-Castell art tools for drawing and painting. Its wood exterior resembles a Chinese wedding cabinet, while inside well-crafted removable drawers store the art supplies. Not so incidentally, the shades of colors included were personally selected by Lagerfeld to represent his aesthetic and the relationship between fashion, art and design. 
   
   “Since I was a child in Germany, Faber-Castell has been the most famous brand, known for its especially good quality,” said Lagerfeld. “That reputation remains just as true today, particularly for artist pencils.” 
   
   During his long career, it seems the designer has used Faber-Castell products to produce countless works of art. 
   
   “To me, drawing is like breathing and writing,” he explains. “These are things that almost relax me.” 
   
   But this is no ordinary relaxation like you and I might enjoy. Rather it is a wellspring of creativity that takes shape on the page before him. From fashion and design to writing and penmanship, Lagerfeld turns to pen and paper to concretize his ideas, with each swoop of pencil or pastel expressing his unique vision. 
   
   Specifically, the lacquered beech wood Karlbox holds a varied selection of premium artists’ tools, including Albrecht Dürer and Polychromos color pencils, highly pigmented Pitt Artist ink pens, Castell 9000 graphite pencils and Pitt crayons and pastels. Watercolor brushes and accessories, like a foldable water cup, an eraser and sharpeners, are also included. Shades are sorted by primary and secondary colors, which range from soft pastels to vibrant and intense hues. According to Lagerfeld, his favorite product line is the Albrecht Dürer artist range of water-soluble color pencils, and all 120 shades are included. 
   
   Lagerfeld is known for a wide range of luxury goods, including ready-to-wear for men, women and children, accessories, bags, watches and eyewear. These collections are complemented by “Lagerfeld,” a line of casual urban menswear and premium fragrances, which were added to the portfolio in 2014. In 2015, the company announced the launch of its online global women’s flagship store on Karl.com. 
   
   Faber-Castell, too, is no stranger to elegance and refined design. As one of the world’s oldest manufacturers of writing instruments—it was founded as a pencil factory in 1761 in Stein, Germany—it is a family-owned company embracing more than eight generations. In addition to high-end pens in its Graf line, its Art & Graphic product range embodies 255 years of experience in the design and manufacture of exclusive artist products. Renowned artists including Vincent van Gogh, Paul Klee, Oskar Kokoschka and Neo Rauch were fans of the brand’s assortment of color products and the quality they exemplified. 
   
   Every one-of-a-kind Karlbox includes a serial number and certificate of authenticity, making each completely unique. Just 2,400 have been produced, individually priced at $2,850, which seems like a bargain considering its size and provenance. ||||| The KARLBOX unites the traditional values of the family-owned company Faber-Castell with the modern, unique and innovative spirit and style of KARL LAGERFELD. It is a symbol for the long term relationship of both brands and represents the symbiosis of the fashion, art and design worlds. 
   
   The KARLBOX is a limited edition of 2.500 pieces worldwide. 
   
   Every box comes with a serial number plate and a certificate of authenticity. ||||| Expand 
   
   No matter how distant the days of Five Star notebooks and three-ring binders, the first week of September always manages to usher in a familiar feeling of going back to school, particularly for those studied in the house of Chanel. Case in point is Karl Lagerfeld, who today announced he has teamed up with Faber-Castell to create a brand-spanking-new set of fine artist tools. The limited-edition collection is fittingly labeled Karlbox with a slogan that reads: “Colours in black.” Only 2,500 have been made and each boasts its own unique serial number as well as a certificate of authenticity and a steep $2,850 price tag. Vogue.com can exclusively reveal that the Kaiser himself has already ordered five—one for each of his international offices. 
   
   Far from your average store-bought Crayola fare, Karlbox comes luxuriously equipped with a staggering 350 different premium-grade supplies for drawing and painting, including Lagerfeld’s own personal favorite product line, the Albrecht Dürer artist’s water-soluble color pencils—all 120 shades of them. Everything is housed in an über-chic black lacquered box designed by Lagerfeld. The beech wooden frame is reminiscent of a Chinese wedding cabinet; inside, drawers store utensils carefully sorted by primary and secondary color palettes that range from soft pastels to bolder pigmentations, all of which have been handpicked by the couturier. 
   
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   The color family found in each section is thoughtfully etched along the side spelled out in three different languages: English, French, and German. All five of the individual drawers are removable so as to set them up for creative work, while essential accessories such as a foldable Clic & Go water cup are also included. “To me, drawing is like breathing and writing. These are the things that almost relax me,” said the designer in a press release. Lagerfeld is fluent in the delicate synergy between fashion and design, and is said to often turn to pen and paper when bringing his new ideas to life. Of course, the first lesson in the art of expressing oneself is all about having the right tools, making the Karlbox collection expertly tailored to seriously stylish adults this back-to-school season. Though we think Lagerfeld’s 7-year-old muse, Hudson Kroenig, would also no doubt approve. 
   
   Karlbox is available for purchase online and sold exclusively at Faber-Castell stores, Karl Lagerfeld boutiques worldwide, Harrods London, and Gump’s in San Francisco. ||||| Displayed like a precious artifact under a clear acrylic case, a set of colored pencils in midtown Manhattan is proving irresistible to coloring aficionados and sketch artists. 
   
   At the Museum of Modern Art’s newly-renovated design store, the KARLBOX, as it’s called, contains 350 pieces of drawing paraphernalia: pencils, markers, charcoals, and watercolor brushes, all perfectly color-sorted. The black lacquered cabinet is stamped with the distinctive pony-tailed profile of its creator: Karl Lagerfeld, creative director of Chanel and Fendi. With a price tag of $3,000+ including sales tax, each pencil is worth roughly $12 (considering the various sharpeners included). 
   
   (Faber-Castell) 
   
   (Faber-Castell) 
   
   MoMA tells Quartz that there’s already a wait list for the limited edition box set. For Lagerfeld-obsessed aesthetes, the price isn’t that hard to justify—the latest Chanel tweed jackets designed by the 83-year-old fashion designer retails for at least twice that. 
   
   Produced by 255-year-old German art supplies company Faber-Castell, the set pays homage to Lagerfeld’s love of drawing and illustration. “I wanted to become an illustrator, so I studied every book of costume from any kind of period and tried to make illustrations,” said Lagerfeld in a 2013 interview at the Lincoln Center. Aside from his fashion sketches, Lagerfeld also dabbled as a book illustrator for the 2014 Coco Chanel biography, The Allure of Chanel.
target: – It isn't a handbag or a pussy bow blouse, but Karl Lagerfeld's latest star turn has design aficionados swooning. There's a waiting list at New York's Museum of Modern Art's shop for Lagerfeld's KARLBOX, a collection of colored pencils, markers, paintbrushes and other artsy doodads, reports Quartz. But the breathtaking part is the $3,000 price tag (sharpeners included). Some 2,500 of the limited-edition sets made by Faber-Castell sold out shortly after going on sale online last month, per the Hollywood Reporter. "What amuses me while drawing is the fact to draw," Lagerfeld, 83, says ponderously on the KARLBOX website. "To me drawing is like breathing and writing. These are things that almost relax me." Although the collection is tagged "Colours in Black," the tools come in every color of the rainbow. Could pencils costing roughly $9 each possibly be worth it? The reviews aren't in, though the design gets raves. Vogue hails the set as "über-chic," while Forbes notes the "elegant" black wood box "resembles a Chinese wedding cabinet." Lagerfield said he's used Faber-Castell pencils since he was a kid and began sketching his own designs. "I wanted to become an illustrator, so I studied every book of costume design from any kind of period," says the Chanel impresario, per Quartz. He tested out his skills for the 2014 Coco Chanel The Allure of Chanel. (What offends Lagerfeld's design sensibilities? Lots of things.)