Tehran: Deep inside Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, past a maze of alleys and passages in one of the world’s most storied markets, a tiny three-square-metre shop holds thousands of coloured pencils stacked from floor to ceiling. It belongs to Mohammad Rafi, and for 35 years, he has sold nothing else.
Rafi’s shop, named Medad Rafi, sits in the bazaar’s arts and crafts section. The space is so small that Rafi himself takes up a good portion of it. Yet customers, from schoolchildren to professional artists, have been finding their way to him for generations.
“Every time a customer shows up, I enjoy it, even if they don’t buy anything,” Rafi said with a smile.
The 50-year-old owner stocks around 200 colours, offering pencils sold individually rather than by the box. He caters to all budgets, with domestically produced options alongside pencils imported from Europe and America. The most expensive pencil in his collection costs 100,000 tomans, roughly two euros, though Rafi is quick to point out that it is also one of the best.
Rafi’s relationship with pencils goes back to his childhood. After completing technical studies in the 1980s, he began his career at a pencil manufacturing company before opening his own shop in the bazaar. His expertise is hands-on. He advises customers on colour, texture, and brand depending on their specific needs, spending as much as ten minutes helping a schoolgirl choose between two pencils.
In an age of touchscreens and digital tools, Rafi acknowledges that the coloured pencil has passed its peak. He looks back with nostalgia at the last century, when every child carried pencils in their school bag. Still, his shop draws a steady stream of loyal customers.
His collection includes rare items, among them pencils that are no longer in production. “Fortunately, I have a large stock,” he said, holding up the oldest pencil in his possession, one made 72 years ago.
Unlike many of his fellow traders in the bazaar, Rafi will not pass the business on to his son, a trained physician with no interest in the trade. Rafi plans to keep the shop running until he retires, continuing to serve anyone who makes the rewarding journey through the bazaar to find him.
