NEW POSCA WEBSITE CELEBRATES “ART FOR ALL”

A colourful and imaginative new website dedicated to the POSCA marker pen has been launched by leading stationery brand Mitsubishi Pencil Company.

Visitors can enjoy creative workshops, informative product information and specially commissioned videos on www.posca.com, a site which focuses on the favourite tool of many artists and craft enthusiasts.

Showcasing a variety of work from different creative artists from across the globe the site celebrates and encourages expression through art.

Stuart Barker, marketing manager at uni Mitsubishi Pencil Co., said: “A number of revered artists, illustrators and animators have publicly praised the POSCA marker pen for its performance as an artistic tool. The new website aims to create an artist’s community to introduce the public to the latest art, while inspiring tomorrow’s creativity.”

Included in the collection compiled on the site is artwork from Japanese illustrator Postic, Italian painter Riccardo Licata, French graffiti artist Nasty and English artist Jon Burgerman.

Stuart continued: “Artists enjoy working with POSCA marker pens due to the countless applications which the product offers and the versatility of being able to use it on practically any surface.”

Available in fourteen a wide range of ink colours and seven different tip widths POSCA marker pens can be easily used to produce unique designs.

For further information on POSCA water-based marker pens please visit www.posca.com

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Issued on behalf of uni-ball by Connect PR

For further information, please contact: Lee Southen on 01902 714957 or email lee@connect-group.com

TALENTED SCHOOLGIRL CELEBRATES WINNING DESIGN

A creative Sydenham school girl is celebrating after her artistic talents have earned her first prize in a summer drawing competition.

Sixteen year old Katherine Mitchell outshone the competition from across London to win the top prize of £250 worth of POSCA marker pens from leading stationery brand uni-ball.

The competition was run to coincide with the opening of a new HobbyCraft store in Croydon. Young customers were asked to submit drawings showing what they would love to do during their summer holidays.

Katherine was presented with her prizes by HobbyCraft store manager David Westman at a special school assembly at Sydenham High School. Her colourful design featured an array of fun activities including gardening, camping, festivals and visiting the seaside.

Katherine said “I was thrilled to win the competition. I love to draw and can’t wait to start using my news pens.”

Stuart Barker, marketing manager at uni-ball said: “The entries we received in the competition were outstanding and it was really hard to judge the winner.

“However, Katherine’s design stood out because it shows an imaginative range of ideas and we were particularly impressed by her use of colour.”

Three runners-up also received £50 worth of stationery goodies.

The competition was run in conjunction with the HobbyCraft superstore at Drury Crescent, off the Purley Way, Croydon.


For further information on uni-ball visit www.uniball.co.uk, www.unisuperpens.co.uk or view their latest tweets on Twitter by following @uniball_uk.

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Image caption:

Notes to Editors:

POSCA marker pens from leading stationery brand uni-ball come in a wide range of vibrant colours.

POSCA are great for blending and produce paint-like finishes without the hassle or mess. With a variety of line widths available from extra fine to chisel tip, POSCA can be easily used to produce a wide range of unique designs.

Issued on behalf of uni-ball by Connect PR

For further information, please contact: Lee Southen on 01902 714957 or email lee@connect-group.com

Connect PR hits the headlines!

As Ben is out on important client duties today, it’s down to the boss to string a few words together about our week that was.

Many in the office are sighing with relief that it’s me writing this week’s round up and not Ben, as I won’t be tempted in any way to write about the beloved Wolves or go on about football. Come on Derby County!

So what’s happened to us in the last seven days? Apart from Ben’s uncomfortable undercarriage (sorry, had to have a pop but it’s better than Richard’s suggestion of writing about piling on the coverage), we have been extremely busy.

Lizzie has secured sponsorship of the NME signing tents for Uniball’s Posca for the second year running at Reading, Leeds and the V festivals. There will be loads of brand exposure throughout and Posca will be seen on hundreds of photos on the NME gallery online. Bands playing at the events meet and greet fans at the tents and the pens will be used for signing on CDs, guitars and shirts.

Posca is also supporting cult jewellery label Tatty Devine. The label is putting on a ‘Colour by Numbers’ event at the Big Chill festival and festival goers will be personalising their own jewellery using Posca.

Our third project for Posca involves the sponsorship of a Lazy Oaf drawing event in the summer at the Tate Modern. This huge event will be featured in the Tate’s newsletter, which has 180,000 subscribers. We are also expecting 20,000 visitors to the Tate during the exhibition.

Richard, Sue, Becki and Zoe are seeing their hard work pay off for Volkswagen and are celebrating several competitions including one for the Unbelievable Value campaign in the Crewe Chronicle which is one of the newpaper’s most successful of the year. Alongside competitions for Volkswagen, Zoe has also been fishing for coverage for WD-40 with competitions placed in Max Power, Big Carp Magazine, Total Sea Fishing and Golf News.

Finally, a special mention for Richard who is expecting his first baby in the coming days. Tip of the day, stay away from cream carpets and get plenty of sleep because in my experience, you’ll not get much for a long time to come.

Ben is back next week. Much wittier and a far better writer than me, but don’t tell him I said that.

MITSUBISHI PENCIL CO. CHARTS IN BEST STATIONERY LIST

A leading national newspaper has listed two must-have products from Mitsubishi Pencil Co. in a guide selecting the 50 best stationery items for 2010.

The Kuru Toga mechanical sharpening pencil and the Posca marker pen both made their mark on the pages of The Independent by claiming top spots in the rundown.

Stuart Barker, marketing manager at Mitsubishi Pencil Co., said: “We are thrilled to feature in this prestigious list amongst other well-regarded stationery brands. It’s great to be acknowledged for our innovative approach to developing writing instruments that appeal to a wide range of users.

“This news signals a promising start to the new year, which we hope to build upon with further product launches and marketing support.”

Launched in 2009, the Kuru Toga was designed to eliminate the chiselled pencil edge often associated with conventional pencils. Thanks to its core rotation engine that continually rotates as you write, the Kuru Toga’s lead always stays sharp to deliver a constant thickness.

POSCA marker pens are available in a wide range of vibrant colours. Great for blending and producing paint-like finishes, they can be easily used to produce a wide range of unique designs.

Both the Kuru Toga and Posca marker pens are available to buy from all good stationery retailers and online via Cult Pens at www.cultpens.com.

For further information on Mitsubishi Pencil Co. visit www.uniball.co.uk, www.unisuperpens.co.uk or view their latest tweets on Twitter by following @uniball_uk.

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Issued on behalf of Mitsubishi Pencil Co. by Connect PR. For further information, please contact: Lee Southen on 01902 714957 or email lee@connect-group.com

UNI-BALL HAS CHRISTMAS WRAPPED UP

uni-ball, the leading brand in the UK rollerball market, has gifts and stocking fillers covered this Christmas with an impressive range of writing instruments.

Offering retailers nationwide a one stop shop, customers will be turning to uni-ball for pens, pencils and markers to give or to decorate those all important gifts.

“As Christmas draws closer, it’s important for retailers to capitalise on the opportunity that the festive season presents,” said Stuart Barker, marketing manager at uni-ball. “Our fantastic range of gift packs and attractive point of sale displays appeal to a wide range of customers from the busy office professional to the crafts enthusiast.”

Essential items that are putting the sparkle back into Christmas include:

Professional gift packs – featuring the ever popular Jetstream, Vision Elite and Signo 207 pens, these smooth writing instruments are boxed in a variety of colour collections including standard (black, blue and red), pink, green and violet.

uni-ball study pack and pen gift collections – individually presented with essential items for school, the freestyle and extreme pen collections are easy to write with and great for daily use. Ideal for college students, the uni-ball study pack contains all your favourites from uni-ball including the retractable correction pen, ClickCorrect.

The ultimate Signo Christmas collections including the uni-ball Signo & Signo Broad – presenting the most popular seasonal colours with pens available in gold, silver, bronze and white. Ideal for writing glittering Christmas greetings and available in single, twin and triple packs.

POSCA – a collection of vivid colours make this marker pen a great gift for friends and relatives who love to illustrate. Producing paint-like finishes, POSCA makes festive decorations and personalised cards stand out in any Christmas room setting.

To find out more about uni-ball visit www.uniball.co.uk

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Issued on behalf of Mitsubishi Pencil Co. by Connect PR

For further information, please contact: Lee Southen on 01902 714957 or email lee@connect-group.com.

ILLUSTRATION STUDENTS THINK HAPPY WITH POSCA

In these times of doom and gloom, with the ever increasing scandal surrounding MP's expenses and financial worries at the forefront of many people’s thoughts, it’s important to try and find the smallest glimmer of joy.

That's exactly what illustration students from the Birmingham Institute of Art and Design faculty at Birmingham City University have been doing through a competition set-up to design a piece of 'happy' artwork.

Mitsubishi Pencil Co., owners of the uni-ball brand, challenged 50 handpicked students from the Gosta Green campus to create an inspirational piece of artwork based on the theme of happiness. Students were supplied with over 500 POSCA marker pens to get creative with and now the finished pieces of art have been shortlisted to six.

The six entries were chosen by a judging panel that consisted of POSCA artist and enthusiast Matt Jones, uni-ball's assistant marketing manager Clare Gibbard and the subject leader for Illustration at the School of Visual Communication George Hart.

All of the artwork selected demonstrated the 'write on any surface' quality of POSCA and interpreted the theme of happiness in a unique way. The entries include a pair of handmade shoes, a customised locker, a range of fine illustrated plates, an urban drawing on wood, illustrations underneath a table that are reflected by glass and a large wall drawing.

Commenting on the students' work George Hart said: “Everyone has put a lot of time and effort into this competition, which is highly commendable as the students enter the exam season. This shows that they have really enjoyed experimenting with POSCA, blending vibrant colours directly onto a selection of different materials to create some visually stunning art."

Clare Gibbard, assistant marketing manager for Mitsubishi Pencil Co., said: “POSCA marker pens are great for design students as they can practically write on any surface. From glass to wood to plastic, students can customize and create designs that are only limited by their imagination.

“We would like to thank the illustration students for taking part in this competition. The students’ entries were of exceptional quality and we look forward to revealing the eventual winner.”

The chosen artworks will be exhibited at the newly launched Doodle Bar in Battersea, London. It is here that members of the public will cast their votes to select the artwork that best interprets the theme. The winning student will receive the opportunity to work alongside Matt Jones as well as a top cash prize.

To find out more about POSCA and other products within the uni-ball portfolio visit www.uniball.co.uk

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Notes to Editors:

POSCA marker pens from leading stationery brand uni-ball come in a wide range of vibrant colours.

POSCA are great for blending and produce paint-like finishes without the hassle or mess. With a variety of line widths available from extra fine to chisel tip, POSCA can be easily used to produce a wide range of unique designs.

About the Doodle Bar

The Doodle Bar overlooks Ransomes Dock, 33 Parkgate Road, Battersea. White-washed from top to bottom and with an illustrated map of London weaving across the walls, participants are encouraged to doodle on the walls map, tables, chairs and even the waiters.The Doodle Bar supports creativity in the community and will be hosting exhibitions and events, classes and workshops throughout summer 2009.

Issued on behalf of Mitsubishi Pencil Co. by Connect PR

For further information, please contact: Lee Southen on 01902 714957 or email lee@connect-group.com.

ILLUSTRATION STUDENTS THINK HAPPY WITH POSCA

In these times of ever increasing doom and gloom with the threat of swine flu sweeping the nation and financial worries at the forefront of many people’s thoughts, it’s important to try and find small glimmers of joy.

This is exactly what illustration students from the Birmingham Institute of Art and Design are doing through a competition set-up to design a piece of “happy” artwork.

Mitsubishi Pencil Co., owners of the uni-ball brand have challenged 50 handpicked students from the University to create an inspirational piece of artwork based on the theme of happiness. The Worcester based company has provided students with over 500 POSCA marker pens for them to get creative with ...

If you are interested in this story, please contact Lee Southen on 01902 714957 or email lee@connect-group.com