Asif started collecting pencils at the age of 10. Every day he would take a new one to school and eventually became the envy of the class. Now, he is 19 and his passion to collect them has been channeled into fashioning jewellery out of the wood and lead sheaths. He works with all kinds of pencils: glitter pencils, regular pencils, colour pencils, eye and lip liner pencils, sketch pencils, clutch pencils, pencils tipped with erasers.
“It feels good to collect pencils and to work with them,” he says. “I feel relaxed.”
At his house in Shadman Town in Karachi’s North Nazimabad, Asif arranges his intricate designs in all their colourful glory. From floral-patterned necklaces, hoop earrings, bracelets with pearl detail and chunky rings, Asif clearly has a refined sense of fashion. “Don’t they look beautiful?” he asks, admiring his work with a smile. “One can do wonders with such simple things.”
Unlike most other boys his age, Asif, a BSc student, spends his time making these beautiful pieces of art. According to him, the process is quite simple. He first shaves off the pencil skin and then dexterously reduces them to a stub with a sharp blade. He then gives them a shape and glues them together to form different designs. Lastly, to give his jewellery a finishing touch, he polishes the pieces with varnish and leaves them to dry for a day.
With pencils at the heart of every creation, one can safely assume that Asif’s ideal present is also a pencil — especially ones that are increasingly proving difficult to write with. His relatives and acquaintances are under strict instructions to return from trips abroad bearing only pencils. And as far as his travels are concerned, pencils are an essential part of his travel kit. He has even constructed a special six-feet tall pencil-shaped wooden case if he needs to travel with them.
Bilal Asif’s simple steps to make jewellery using pencils
The 9,365 pencils in Asif’s growing collection have no duplicates. “I have pencils from 15 countries,” he boasts. The pencil from China, strategically placed next to its red and white Canadian counterpart, is inscribed in Mandarin. His favourite, however, is the blue and red graphite sketching pencil that has featured in his collection for the past six years.
Taking his pencil penchant to new heights, Asif broke the 2006 world’s tallest free-standing pencil tower record held by students at Eisenhower Junior High School in Taylorsville, Utah, US. This year on July 6, Asif took three hours and 10,000 pencils to construct the tower that was 9 feet and 7 inches high, an inch higher than the previous tower, in the presence of Guinness World Record officials at the Karachi Expo Centre.
“When I saw the pictures of the [pencil tower] record that the Americans had made, I decided to break it,” he says. In his eagerness, Asif practiced constructing the tower tirelessly for five years. “To get more stamina, I would go without food and water for five hours before working on the tower.” But his yearning to reach the pencil pinnacle is nowhere close to fulfillment. Next Asif aims to design a gigantic Pakistani flag, with pencils of course. “I want to make my country proud and showcase the talent Pakistanis have.”
Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, October 27th, 2013.
COMMENTS (11)
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bilal is my one of the best friends we r daily talk togeather by phone and internet we having lot of ideas and making this and i feel proud to a part of his life i pray for himm daily in my prayer bcoz he make feel pakistanis proud i wish he will go long and my Almighty give him a lot of tracks for success im anum hameed friend of billal im really happy for him
take care my friend with lots of love
regards
Anum :)
@Sonia Wahab:
Ms. Wahab, you can send me via TCS
Is there a website where one can purchase your artwork?
claps hands
Congrats for the effort with the pencils. To your acheivements I will honestly admit, that you're making a good effort, and yes it is for a greater good...
Soft Image...
I'm not saying that the stickman here is not talented or that he doesn't have what it takes to reach the top. Honestly speaking, what he possesses is the real deal. And it couldn't get any more better than that.
But where's the support from other foundations? What about NGOs giving this kid here a bigger foundation? What, that's it - Guinness only? What, I mean... just Tribune? Is everyone else in this country literally not bothered that there's a pencil jeweller right here in this very country that we are residing in who made a big deal?!
No offense Pakistan, but you are, quite frankly, a cemetary where dreams are buried... deep down...
Zabardast! Amazing work. Nice story - excellent find by the author too. Would have liked it more had there been some contact information on this young man or perhaps a link to a facebook page or website showcasing his art and offering it to interested people.
why is he a BSc student ?? Why isnt he studying fashion at Indus or some place else?
really impressive wrk ... lv the idea..!!!
Good work. Surprised to see something positive about Pakistan from ET
Tell me how can I gift you some unique pencils? Is there any way to approach you and see your work as well?
Just beautiful. Well done Bilal.
Unique and excellent.
Cheers Idol