Pencil thereby pushing a new tip to the top. Invented by Harold Grossman for Empire Pencil Company in 1967 and subsequently improved upon by Arthur D. Little for Empire from 1969 through the early 1970s; the plastic pencil was commercialised by Empire as the "EPCON" Pencil. These pencils were co-extruded, extruding a plasticised graphite mix within a wood-composite core. Residual graphite from a pencil stick is not poisonous, and graphite is harmless if consumed. Although lead has not been used for writing since antiquity, lead poisoning from pencils was not uncommon. Until the middle of the 20th century the paint used
Lead Pencil Studio posited by the man-made world." Han and Mihalyo met at the University of Oregon in 1991 while in the architecture program, and their relationship has evolved into a work partnership centered around Lead Pencil Studio. They have also worked in Bellingham, Chicago, Portland, and Seattle, among others. They currently reside in Seattle, Washington. Annie Han was born in Pusan, South Korea in 1967, and attained an accredited Master's equivalent in Architecture (5-year B. Arch) from the University of Oregon in 1993 before studying sculpture for one year at Portland State University in 1994. She is a naturalized US citizen. Daniel