Weekly Drops: New Pilot Explorers, Life 6-Ring Paper, NOLTY, and More!

ALL the restocks seemed to arrive this week, from the new Pilot Explorer to NOLTY notebooks and Life 6-ring binder paper. In advance of three upcoming pen shows in which we’ll be participating, we’ve also restocked on our Rickshaw exclusive collaboration, adding six-pen Coozy Rolls in both the standard and deluxe formats. Finally, Lochby cases are back in stock, including multiple sizes of the zippered Field Folio and the Field Sling. We have boxes stacked up the wall right now, so if you’re in the neighborhood, be sure to stop by and shop with us in-person and see all of this up-close!

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Nick Dominguez’s “Clouds” patterns were hand-drawn with multi-shading fountain pen inks,

We are open this week normal hours this week! Please note that the week of February 16 we will have modified hours. Because we will be traveling to the California Pen Show, we may open Monday-Tuesday with reduced Saturday hours, so stay tuned if you are looking to visit us in Nashville.

1. New Matte Pilot Explorer Fountain Pens and Rollerballs. Pilot has revamped the Explorer lineup, swapping out some of its glossy colors for these new matte ivory, turquoise, navy, and coral. And, yes, these new colors feature a new logo, foregoing the larger Pilot imprint for more subtle branding on the cap.

2. NOLTY PAGEM Freelog Notebooks. NOLTY is a popular line of Japanese notebooks and planners that feature both dated and undated layouts. The PAGEM “Freelog” has minimal structure and can be used as a planner or a standard notebook.

3. Life Noble Note 6-Ring Binder Refills. We’ve been working to fill out our selection of 6-ring binder paper that is compatible with binders from Plotter, Brelio, MeePlus, and any other brand that uses standard 6-ring spacing. Life offers A5, Bible, and Mini (6 hole) refills in their standard Noble Note paper, which is quite Fountain Pen Friendly.

4. Rickshaw Bagworks “Cloud Series” Pen Cases and Pen Rolls. Our collaboration with local-to-us artist Nick Dominguez has been restocked, with Fillmore, Sinclaire, and Coozy Rolls available for order in three different colorways.

5. TRAVELER’S Notebook Starter Kits. These have sold briskly in the shop, but we still have a handful of Standards and several Passports in stock. The shortage from late last year appears to be easing somewhat.

6. Lochby Field Sling. Lochby’s popular A5 Field Bag is back in stock in all colors. These sling bags combine the size of the Field Journal and Field Folio with a shoulder strap, allowing you to carry one or two notebooks with a phone, pen, and other small items.

7. Mnemosyne Hardcover A5 Journals. My personal journal from this year is the dot-grid version in Mint. I walked through how I plan to use this and my other notebooks for 2026 in this recent YouTube video.

8. Stálogy Planners/Notebooks. The Stálogy 365 and 1/2-year notebooks are designed to be used as day-to-a-page notebooks, journals, or even an undated planner. It’s a flexible system that fits most standard-sized covers (A5, A6, B6, etc.)

9. Lamy Swift Retractable Rollerballs. We’ve had increasing demand for rollerball pens lately both in-store and online, and one of my favorites is the Lamy Swift retractable rollerball. These have a nice matte texture with a retractable clip. See our full writeup here.

10. Ohto CR01 and CR02 Rollerball Pens. These capped rollers from Japanese brand Ohto feature a .5mm tip (something of a rarity in the rollerball world) and come in both a thicker and thinner format.

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The NOLTY Freelog, in two different pastel colors and featuring a .3mm dot grid ruling.

I Didn't Know There Was a Pen Show Last Weekend! Pen Shows and Stationery Fests vs. Trade Shows

I had a couple of people write in to ask which pen show I was attending over the past few days in New York City, and the answer is that there wasn’t one! Sunday through Tuesday I attended both NY Now and Shoppe Object, which are two “to-the-trade” shows, meaning that they are open only to retailers, distributors, and sometimes to the press. I initially attended NYNow years ago as “press”, when I was running T.G.S. primarily as a stationery enthusiast website, reviewing products, and keeping track of all the new product releases. Now that I have both brick-and-mortar and online retail operations, I can attend as a buyer.

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Yes, those are Leuchtturm1917 “Master” Size Notebooks in multiple colors!

What’s the Main Difference Between a Pen Show and a Trade Show? No Buying on Site.

Think of these shows as exhibitions - manufacturers and distributors bring samples of their goods, including their latest releases, for retailers to see and handle in person before ordering. Why is this important? Because many brands have large minimum order requirements and there’s a lot of risk involved if you have to order 50 units of something without ever having seen it in person. Traditional trade shows minimize that risk. It can also be quite helpful to have direct access to sales representatives and be able to ask questions in person, especially as some tend to be nonresponsive to e-mail and telephone inquiries by smaller shops as they nearly always focus most of their service and attention on larger internet retailers. While you can place orders at trade shows, there is no purchasing on site. Products are delivered

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Notem - a brand from Denmark that makes clothbound undated planners.

I Can’t Talk About Much of What I Saw

Most of what I saw - or at least those things readers would be most interested in - are forthcoming products that will be announced in the coming months. While there were a lot of interesting items on display, both NY Now and Shoppe Object seemed sparse this year, which has been a trend as these sorts of shows get pushed online to wholesale marketplaces like Faire. It’s a double-edged sword: while I appreciate getting to see things in person at trade shows, the shows themselves are expensive to attend, and online marketplaces typically allow you to order smaller quantities and even tester/sample products before committing to larger orders. It remains to be seen whether the traditional trade show will continue to exist in its current format with twice-a-year frequency.

I will likely continue to attend these shows in addition to the normal pen show circuit because over the years I’ve discovered some unique products that I wouldn’t have found anywhere else. For example, brands like Anecdote Goods, the distributors of Toyo Steel and Braun, and even Leuchtturm exhibit at these shows, and the relationships cultivated in person make it easier to expand my offerings. I hope you enjoyed this quick look “behind the curtain”!

Our shop is open normal hours this week! Come see us 1-6pm on Thursday and Friday, and 10am-6pm on Saturday!

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NYNow had some company in the Javitz Center this year!

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Lot of dogs on site!

New Arrivals: Introducing the Benu Haute Collection

Benu fountain pens have traditionally been a little too, well, nontraditional for me. While I’ve long admired the artistry, I’ve never found a specific shape that matches my aesthetic. The recently released “Haute” collection might change that, since it pairs Benu’s unique materials with a more traditional, yet still unique, squared barrel design. Each pen features a No. 6 Schmidt nib and uses a standard international cartridge/converter filling system.

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We currently have a handful of the Benu Haute fountain pens in stock and available for purchase both in-store and online. Look for additional colors and nib sizes in the future, with possible new additions from Benu in the future!

Please note that while orders are shipping within our normal 2-3 business day time frame, UPS and USPS may still have a bit of a backlog due to the severity of the winter storm in our area and resulting damage. We appreciate your patience as the Nashville area continues to recover this week. We currently plan to be open normal hours this week, Thursday and Friday from 1pm-6pm, and Saturday from 10am-6pm. Since we are trying to get caught up after having to close for much of last week, no appointments are possible outside public hours.

Sunday Reading for February 1, 2026

1. Journaling During These Unprecedented Times (via Inky.Rocks). Even if you’re overwhelmed by everything going on and the associated noise - which is often intentionally designed to keep you from thinking straight and reflecting - journaling can be a great way to process.

2. 2026 Philly Pen Show (via Olive Octopus). I couldn’t break away to hit the Philly Show like I normally do, but I’ve enjoyed reading and watching all the recaps.

3. ALL of My TWSBI Pens (via Inkdependence). On the cusp of yet another TWSBI release, Mike shows off his TWSBI collection.

4. 2025 Ohio Pen Show (30th Year!) (via Feed Your Creativity). The Ohio Pen Show is a vintage-heavy show that tends to get overlooked. If you’re at all interested in vintage this show should be on your radar, as it can also be a relatively inexpensive show to attend. Fun fact: Ohio was my first pen show all the way back in 2012!

5. How I Shopped “Around the World” at the DC Pen Show (via Pen Addict). A fun idea, and you don’t have to attend one of the larger pen shows to do something like this, given how international even the smaller shows tend to be.

6. Was It Six Years Ago? (via Line Variation). One thing I’ve recently realized is that I have no real system for organizing my pens, inks, and stationery, especially when I’m trying to remember when/where I bought certain pens and/or had nibs ground.

7. Pennonia x Stationery Universe Morpho Ink Collection Review (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). Congratulations to Tori on this new collaboration! I like this recent trend of offering inks with and without shimmer.

8. For Medicinal Purposes (via From The Pen Cup). Stationery has healing properties, which is why you should always have a healthy supply - with more on the way.

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Sometimes the best souvenirs from trips are the most “boring”. (This thing is HUGE.)

In Case You Missed It….

Unfortunately this past week, we have mostly been closed due to Winter Storm Fern. Because our building was without power until Wednesday night, and without water until late Friday, we were only able to open one day. On the personal side, I’ve had sporadic internet access at my house and terrible cell service. Things should get back to normal this coming week, including some content from the NYNow and Shoppe Object trade shows that I will be visiting Monday and Tuesday. These “to the trade” shows are different from standard pen shows and stationery fests, in that they’re intended for distributors to show off new arrivals and upcoming product releases to retailers. I typically attend one or two true trade shows per year, and I always have fun things to share.

Because I ended up spending a few nights in a hotel - including a brief trip to Pilot USA HQ in Jacksonville - I did manage to get a bit of content out, including Episode 2 of the On The Paper Trail Podcast, in which Lisa Vanness and I sat down to talk with nib grinder Matthew Chen! Outside the episode itself, we did a livestream with Matthew in which we took reader and listener questions about nib grinds and more.

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The Benu Haute line of fountain pens is one of the first designs by Benu that appealed to me enough to offer it.

This Week in the T.G.S. Curated Shop

January is typically a month for post-holiday restocking, and we’re no exception. In addition to restocks of most Pilot pens, the Lamy 2000 line, TWSBI ECOs and Diamond 580s, Diplomat Vipers, and Diamine Ink, we’ve added the Benu “Haute” line of fountain pens, new inks from Colorverse, and of course additional TRAVELERS Notebooks in the standard and passport sizes. What am most excited about? We finally received more of the Mnemosyne Hardcover A5 Journals, which is the notebook that’s serving as my current journal and was featured in my YouTube walkthrough of my 2026 notebooks setup.

Diamine Ink

Rickshaw Bags

Kakimori Letter Paper

Japanese Clips

Assuming the weather holds (and it looks like at least these first two weeks of February will be clear), we will plan to be open Thursday and Friday from 1pm-6pm, and on Saturday from 10am-6pm. Please note that we will be traveling a fair bit over the coming months and in-store hours may change week-to-week. We always post updated hours on our main “About” page, and on our Google profile.

How to Support T.G.S. and Our Various Projects

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 “On the Paper Trail” which have not been publicly released.

We're Officially Open! Plus New Rickshaw Cases Have Arrived!

For those of you following along (or living through this weather yourself), the snow and ice are finally starting to melt in Nashville and we were able to reopen today. While we avoided significant damage, others in our building weren’t so lucky, as a water main froze and burst, flooding two suites and a downstairs storage area. Because management had to cut water to the building (power was out anyway until Wednesday evening), we were unable to open until this morning. Many thanks to all of you who continued to support us online and today in-store, as we very much appreciate your business. It’s not easy for any small business to lose effectively two weekends of revenue but hopefully we are through the worst of this now!

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Things should get back to “normal” this week - we had sporadic power and internet access at home, and at one point even our cell service cut out, so there’s not been much new on the content front. In the meantime, we managed to publish Episode 2 of On the Paper Trail, visit Pilot Pens in Jacksonville on a quick 24-hour turnaround, and as of today, launch the second round of T.G.S. x Rickshaw Bags cases, featuring Nick Dominguez’s unique “cloud” patterns that were hand-drawn using multi-shading fountain pen inks. We’ve added both standard and deluxe 6-pen Coozy Rolls, and also have more Fillmore pen cases which open flat and hold six pens (three on either side) plus a notebook. There has been a lot of interest in these cases so we will likely continue to carry them for the foreseeable future and hopefully I will have them at the California Pen Show at the end of February.

January was a blur! Stay tuned for more announcements on pen shows and more. In-store hours should return next weekend to our normal 1pm-6pm Thursdays and Fridays, and 10am-6pm Saturdays.

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Regardless of how this picture looked, temperatures in Jacksonville ranged from 38 to 45 degrees. Which was still better thabn the 17 at home.