Introducing "On the Paper Trail," a New Podcast/Video Collaboration with Lisa Vanness of Vanness Pens!

I’ve been mentioning this in passing for a few months now, but since we’ve been trickling out some excerpts from this ongoing collaboration, it’s time to make a formal announcement! My friend Lisa Vanness of Vanness Pens and I are collaborating on a video series/podcast with the working title of “On the Paper Trail.” We both have a decade+ of experience in the stationery community and industry so we’re hopeful you’ll find what we have to say interesting and helpful. As we’ve been working through the technical side of things and getting used to recording, we’ve been releasing our “practice” episodes to the T.G.S. Patreon community, which has been a invaluable source of feedback and encouragement. Members can still access the full episodes via the Patreon feed. (There are four.) When the project officially launches it will have its own channel. Follow the T.G.S. and Vanness YouTube Channels for updates.

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Not a customer order, but representative of what we’ve been seeing.

Holiday Shipping PSA - If You Need Something by Mid-Month Get Your Orders In As Soon as Possible.

The content we’ve chosen to share so far relates to holiday shipping timelines, since that’s a topic of concern given questions we’ve both been receiving through our respective businesses. Now is the time of year that we start to see shipping delays, missed package scans, and lost items. While both T.G.S. and Vanness ship quickly (within 2 business days if not sooner), increased order volume not only impacts our fulfillment but results in a general slowdown across carriers. The TLDR version is: get your orders in soon, especially if you need something by Christmas or New Year’s. Once we hit December 15, it’s probably going to be better to shop in person for last-minute gifts, as we cannot guarantee any delivery times given general unreliability of carrier estimates.

If you enjoy our content, please consider supporting us through the T.G.S. Curated Shop or by visiting our Patreon, which features extra content and more hangout opportunities. And, of course, you can also come visit us in person at our Nashville Shop!

New Arrivals: Lochby Field Sling, "Duo" Two-Pen Cases, and New Colors!

The long-awaited Lochby “Field Sling” is in stock in limited quantities! If you’ve been looking for a streamlined A5 EDC bag that can hold a notebook, a phone, a few pens, and maybe a small tablet and other items, the Field Sling features the same waxed canvas construction as the rest of the Lochby line. We’ve also added the Lochby “Duo” two-pen cases, the new Quattro 2.0 with a longer design, and new colors of the Field Journal and Mini Venture Pouch. Lochby is always popular over the holidays as these sorts of cases and travel accessories make great gifts!

If you’re looking for a compact notebook to carry in your Field Sling, we also received a shipment of Passport TRAVELER’S Notebooks in Brown, Olive, and Blue, as well as a restock of most TRAVELER’S Company refills. The notebooks have been out of stock for a while but we are starting to see restocks trickle in, at least in the Passport size.

This week our Nashville shop will be open mostly normal hours, from 1-6pm Thursday and Friday and from 10am-5pm on Saturday (closing slightly early due to a personal commitment). If you’re looking for gift ideas, be sure to check out the 2025 edition of our Annual Holiday Gift Guide!

Cyber Monday Promotion: Continue to Take 10% off Paper & Pencils, Plus Tiered Giveaways!

“Inksgiving” may have ended last night, but there’s one more sales day on the post-Thanksgiving calendar! Through 11:59pm today US Central Time, take 10% off paper and pencils with the coupon code “DECEMBER”, plus enjoy a tiered gift/giveaway promotion on orders placed today (12/1) as follows:

• Index Card Sampler. Orders $50 and above will receive an index card sampler pack that includes a handful of fountain pen friendly cards from different brands, both from our own store and a few others from my personal collection. If you’ve been curious about index cards and card systems, or just how fountain pen friendly some cards are, this is a great opportunity to test them out.

• Journal and Notebook Giveaway. I have a HUGE back-stock of notebooks that I’ve accumulated as excess inventory and product samples over the years. All orders over $100 placed today will receive a complementary notebook (spiral, journal, or composition - dealer’s choice), and all orders over $150 will continue to receive a notebook with retail value in excess of $20.

• Clearance Items Remain 20% Off. Discount will automatically be applied at checkout and you should see it in your cart when you go to pay.

Some brand exclusions (i.e., TWSBI and Blackwing) will apply.

Many thanks for all your support! If you need advice on a holiday gift idea, please check out our 2025 Holiday Gift Guide, but it may be easier for you to come in and speak to us in person. Our Nashville Shop will be open Thursday and Friday from 1pm-6pm, and from 10am-6pm on Saturday. We hope to see you soon!

Sunday Reading for November 30, 2025 (Thanksgiving Edition)

1. Wild Things at the Tokyo Pen Show 2025 (via Inky.Rocks). I’ve been jealously following all the Tokyo Pen Show recap posts, and that Ink Alchemy machine really takes first prize for me in terms of things I wish I had seen in person.

2. Stationery Haul from Japan (via Vanness Pens). Lisa walks through her take-home stationery haul following three weeks in Japan! Settle in for a lot of stationery envy.

3. A Deep Dive into the Deep Sea by Tactile Turn! (via Inkdependence). Support your small makers! The switch mechanism isn’t for me (I’ve tried it and prefer the Side Click) but the Cerakote finish on these pens always gets me.

4. Esterbrook Niblet (via Figboot on Pens). The “Niblet” is Esterbrook’s latest release - a compact fountain pen - and there is some mild controversy over the design inspiration. David breaks it all down.

5. Order Restored (Yet Again) (via From The Pen Cup). I’m also a sucker for old desks. Good thing I now have a shop and warehouse that I can use to collect them. :)

6. Planner Set-Up for December (via Well-Appointed Desk). Ana walks through her monthly planner setup and talks a bit about how she reevaluates her setup every month.

7. My Number One Fountain Pen Filling System (via SBRE Brown). What filling system holds the most ink? I like all of these from a technical perspective but I may change inks too much to make this style my “favorite”.

You will see some more about this soon, but I’ve been exploring binder refills, including different papers that come in the Mini-5 format like Iroful and Yamamoto (shown here).

In Case You Missed It….

It was Thanksgiving and “Black Friday”/Small Business Saturday week, so I had no time to publish any content other than a quick video looking at the new TWSBI Cosmo Blue ECO on the YouTube Channel. For the past few years I pretty much have had to take the week of Thanksgiving off to manage the shop since it ends up being such an important part of our annual revenue stream. Things will get back to normal over the next week or so, and in the meantime you can check out our latest major release, which was the 2025 update to the annual T.G.S. Holiday Gift Guide.

Also, T.G.S. Patreon subscribers will know this but elsewhere I’ve also been dropping hints about a new podcast/video series project that I’ve been working on with Lisa Vanness of Vanness Pens, which will launch in the coming weeks, probably after the first of the year. We will be sharing bits here and there in the lead up to the official release, so be sure to follow our respective profiles to make sure you get the up-to-date announcements regarding videos, lives, and more. T.G.S. YouTube can be found here, and Vanness Pens YouTube can be found here or in the link to Lisa’s Japan recap above.

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Don’t miss new Lochby cases and Colorways!

T.G.S. INKSGIVING Sale Ends Today! 10% Off Most Orders Plus 20% Off Clearance

The T.G.S. “INKSGIVING” promotion ends tonight at 11:59pm U.S. Central Time. We’ve been busy packing and shipping orders with the goal of getting caught up by the end of the day tomorrow. Use the code “INKSGIVING” at checkout for 10% off most orders, plus take an additional 20% off Clearance items automatically applied at checkout. (Certain exclusions apply due to brand restrictions.) Also, just a reminder that tomorrow is December 1, the first day of “Inkvent”! We still have one or two Inkvent Calendars available, so if you’d like to follow along be sure to pick one up as they won’t be restocked until next year. And, yesterday we received a huge shipment of Lochby, including new Olive color ways, the new Field Sling, Duo two-pen cases, and new Mini Venture Pouch colors.

Notsu Card Systems

Erasers!

Pilot

Traveler's Company

How You Can Further Support T.G.S.

If you enjoy our content (whether here on the main website, Instagram, YouTube Channel or elsewhere), and would like early/extra access to shop releases and special promotions, consider supporting us via Patreon. The T.G.S. Patreon includes early access and discounts on exclusive shop releases, a monthly updates newsletter, and of course our monthly meetups. As of this morning, ALL Patreon supporters (including non-paying free members) have access to one or more initial “practice” episodes of our podcast experiment discussed above.

It's Small Business Saturday! Stop By to See New Arrivals from Lochby, Tom's Studio, and More!

Just a friendly reminder that we’re open today from 10am until 6pm, for what’s become known as “Small Business Saturday,” a day between Black Friday and “Cyber Monday” to support your local community-based shops! Our in-store specials are the same as our online “INKSGIVING” promotion, and we have plenty for you to peruse in person, including new two-pen “Duo” cases from Lochby, new colors of the Mini Venture Pouch, and more. We also have newly arrived ink from Tom’s Studio (a classic “Sepia” color), and a full restock of the Lumos and Wren lines.

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Though it started out as a commercial holiday, Small Business Saturday means a lot to many small boutique shops and businesses that depend on the holidays for a significant portion of their revenue. In my opinion, small shops are what add character to a community, whether that’s your town, city, or online hobbyist Discord server. While I try to encourage people to shop small throughout the year, don’t underestimate the importance of today in the midst of all the “Black Friday” craziness! Where you spend your dollars makes a real difference.

If you need advice on a holiday gift idea, please check out our 2025 Holiday Gift Guide, but it may be easier for you to come in and speak to us in person. I spent much of yesterday advising customers on gift ideas, and I’ll be there all day today. We hope to see you soon!