New York, NY - Brass Witch accessories has officially launched its first product, an innovative pencil holder for all types of brass instruments. Founded by Met Opera Hornist and Juilliard alum Barbara Jöstlein Currie in 2020, the inspiration behind the idea came from a trip to the Musée des Artes et Métiers, an industrial design and science museum founded in 1794 in the 3rd arrondissement in Paris.
In the museum’s gift shop, she discovered a pencil with a small magnet embedded within the pencil. Barbara realized that there was an opportunity to create a product that would allow brass musicians to easily attach and remove a pencil from their instrument without damaging it. With extra time on her hands during the pandemic, Barbara experimented using different materials, colors, magnet types and strengths to create the first prototypes.
Partnering with Marcus Bonna Cases, a highly regarded company with years of experience producing high quality instrument cases based in Brazil, Brass Witch was able to create a professional quality strap that would securely hold a pencil to a brass instrument without causing any damage. The use of strong NeoDymium “rare Earth” magnets ensures that the pencil will not fall off, and can be repositioned using only one hand.
Brass Witch users have talked about being ‘converts’ when using the accessory because of the magnet’s pull. Try it once, and you’ll be under its spell! Brass Witch is proud to announce that they have applied for a patent in 2021 and will receive it in early 2023.
Brass Witch is now available in the Juilliard Store! They are available for purchase at:
https://juilliardstore.com/products/brass-witch,
or physically in the store itself. For more information on Brass Witch and to purchase the Brass Witch pencil holder, please visit www.brasswitch.com.
