Three of the four shapes were cut out from solid pieces of American tulipwood. The pyramid was the exception. This was larger than the thickest available stock (four-inch thickness - the U.S. does not use metric measures) of a piece of tulipwood, so instead Matsumoto cut triangular pieces from the wood, and morticed them together. ‘The angles and jointing have been challenging,’ she said. A former RCA colleague Michael Warren prepared the CAD drawings for the sharpeners, which would have to fit pencils that are 8mm, 11mm and 12.5mm in diameter. The sharpeners were prepared by a bespoke brass turning company and they were given a matte finish.