Thursday Drops: California Pen Show Edition! And A Weekend Special!

I’m attending the California Pen Show this weekend (Friday-Sunday), so if you’re in the Los Angeles area and want to visit our table, please come by! We’ve brought an array of goods from brands such as Lochby, Rickshaw Bagworks, some limited Roterfadens, Craft Design Technology, Notsu, Musgrave, and more. We typically do a pen show special promotion whenever we’re away, and this weekend is no exception. If you’ll miss out on seeing what we have in person at this weekend’s show, take 10% off Lochby, Notsu, and all Pencils through 11:59CT Sunday using the code “CAPENSHOW26” at checkout.

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For those who can’t attend in person, pretty much everything we’ve brought to the California Pen Show is available in our online shop, and our Nashville store will remain open with modified hours from 1-5pm on Friday and 11-4pm on Saturday. Online orders will continue to be processed but may take and extra 1-2 days to ship beyond our usual timeframe.

1. Lamy AL-Stars in Pine and Flamingo. We continue to have stock of Lamy’s latest AL-Star release in Pine and Flamingo, in all of the various formats. These are great-looking AL-Stars, with monochromatic clips and sections.

2. TWSBI ECO Black and Marble Bronze Fountain Pens. TWSBI’s latest release continues a hot streak of bronze-trimmed fountain pens with the swirled acrylic. We have stock of most nib-sizes both in-store and online.

3. Life Noble Note 6-Ring Refills. Life’s Noble Note looseleaf paper now comes in 6-ring binder format, in A5, Bible, and Mini (6 hole) sizes and graph, lined, and blank variations.

4. Yamamoto Select A4 Looseleaf Sheets. We have a wide variety of Yamamoto looseleaf papers in stock, including the much-in-demand Canopus paper.

5. Graphilo A5 Slim Notebooks. Customers have been asking for a thicker A5-slim notebook that will fit the TGS_25 Taschenbegleiter. One of the best I have found has been this Graphilo notebook that has incredibly ink-friendly paper plus a high page count.

6. Rickshaw Bags “Cloud” Series. We recently expanded our exclusive collaboration with Rickshaw Bagworks and local artist Nick Dominguez, introducing pen rolls in addition to the zippered cases. If you’re at the California Show, come by this weekend and check out yet another piece that we’re introducing to the lineup (especially if you’ll be needing more storage to carry around your purchases).

7. Craft Design Technology Desk Note Notebooks. Speaking of unique ink-friendly notebooks from Japan, these CDT notebooks feature bagasse paper (made from a sugarcane processing byproduct), and are bound in a landscape-style layout designed to sit underneath a keyboard while you work.

8. Notsu Dot Grid Sticky Notes. Though known for their notecards, Notsu also makes an array of excellent functional paper products. These thicker sticky notes hold up well with most inks.

9. Notsu Dot Grid Notecards and Accessories. We have a restock of Notsu dot grid notecards with the rounded corners in the most-popular 3x5 size, as well as most Notsu card boxes and accessories.

10. Notsu Vertical “To Do” Notecards. Notsu recently introduced a larger-format vertical “To Do” notecard with 4x6 dimensions, for those who need a larger canvas to plan their day.

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New Arrivals: Pilot Custom 74 Lavender Fog Second Shipment!

Our second shipment of Pilot’s latest North American exclusive release, the Pilot Custom 74 in “Lavender Fog,” has arrived! As of the date of this post, we currently still have stock of all four specialty nibs: soft fine, soft medium, soft fine-medium, and double broad. Typically these nibs are not available on the Custom 74 fountain pen in the U.S., and we’re lucky to get them in this gorgeous light purple color! To read more about Pilot “soft” nibs and what that designation means, check out this blog post that I wrote just after these pens first arrived in October. (“Soft” doesn’t mean “flex”!)

Please note that this weekend we are attending the California Pen Show! As such, we have modified store hours: Our Nashville Shop will be closed on Thursday 2/19, and will be open Friday 2/20 from 1-5pm, and on Saturday 2/21 from 11am-4pm. Online orders will continue to be processed but may take an extra day or two. Many thanks for all your support!

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I chose the Custom 74 in a Soft Fine Medium, which has been inked ever since October.

Sunday Reading for February 15, 2026

1. The DWRDNET Stationery Feed with Lisa Vanness (via dwrdnet). Lisa sits for an interview with Derek and talks about the origins of our podcast project, On the Paper Trail, among other things.

2. Not About Pens, Inks, or Paper (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). As someone who’s definitely been branching out beyond pens, inks, and paper and different sorts of projects in the stationery-adjacent realm, I can definitely relate to this.

3. Pilot Fountain Pen Basics Live at Vanness: We Know Our Ink and Paper (via Vanness Pens). A walk through Pilot converters and how they work.

4. Paper Republic’s Big Leather Journal #A4 (via Inky.Rocks). I’ve not seen an A4 leather notebook in this style, and am somewhat curious how it would work with a cover this large.

5. Tactile Turn Abstract (via Figboot on Pens). The latest Tactile Turn release features an abstract swirl pattern in white and black with a pop of color.

6. Finding an Old Treasure in My “Stash” (via Well-Appointed Desk). The Caran d’Ache 849 fountain pen is an overlooked player in the Caran d’Ache 849 line of pens that includes the ballpoint, rollerball, and mechanical pencil. This one never caught on as much as it probably should have, but some people enjoy it.

In Case You Missed It….

This week we released a bunch of new content, including Episode 3 of the On the Paper Trail Podcast, in which we discussed our recent visit to Pilot Pens USA in Jacksonville. I also published two somewhat related/complementary pieces of content: (1) a post on cleaning fountain pens (specifically how frequently you should clean them); and (2) a YouTube video on shimmer inks and considerations when using them in fountain pens. We’ve had so many new users both in-store and online recently, and this post and video addresses the more popular questions.

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

The new Lamy AL-Stars arrived this week, and they sold briskly in the shop on Friday and Saturday! Personally, I’m partial to the dark green “Pine” pens but if you’re a fan of dusty pink colors, “Flamingo” also looks great. We also have a fresh shipment of the Pilot Custom 74 Lavender Fog North American Special Editions with the specialty nibs, including Soft Fine, Soft Medium, and the coveted Soft Fine-Medium. Last but not least, we still have stock of the TWSBI ECO Black Marble + Bronze, as well as a restock of Serpentine ECOs. Be sure to check out each week’s Thursday Drops e-mail for new arrivals and restocks, and especially this week because there have been a lot.

Note that this coming weekend we will be attending the California Pen Show (February 19-22). We would love to see you there! Our Nashville store will remain open with reduced hours (1-5 on Friday, and 11-5 on Saturday) while we are away.

Tom's Studio

Rickshaw Bags

Pilot Pens

Colorverse

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.

Ask T.G.S.: How Often Should I Clean My Fountain Pens?

I often get questions from new users about cleaning fountain pens, namely how to do it and how often. I’ve previously published some resources on techniques for cleaning and maintaining fountain pens, but the most basic question involves frequency. There’s no clear answer: my general guidance is every two months or so as a rule of thumb, with more frequent cleaning recommended if you are using specialty inks that contain shimmer particles, are highly saturated, or feature pigment or other additives to make the inks permanent. Usually all you need to do is flush the pen with water using the integrated filling mechanism, a converter, or bulb syringe.

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While you may need to add a drop of dish detergent to tougher jobs (purples, reds, and oranges can sometimes be harder to clean), you don’t usually need more than a glass of water to thoroughly clean a fountain pen. The bulb syringe can help flush water through a cartridge/converter pen.

What Happens If You Don’t Clean Your Pens Regularly?

99% of the time, the worst thing that will happen is the pen will hard-start (not write immediately when you touch nib to paper), skip when writing, or not write at all because it’s clogged. Fountain pen ink is water-based, so over time the water in the ink will evaporate, causing the ink to thicken or dry up entirely and clog the pen. Most dyes used by ink manufacturers are water-soluble, so flushing the pen with water should resolve these issues, and if you clean the pen every couple of months as part of your routine you can usually avoid them altogether.

I will have to say that the need to clean pens religiously on some sort of set schedule is often overstated. I know many long-time fountain pen enthusiasts who never clean their pens at all, or at least not until the pen actually clogs, which they take as a sign that the pen “needs cleaning”. However, the best course of action is to use your pens regularly and rotate ink colors because it forces you to clean.

The Major “Don’t-Ever-Do-This” of Fountain Pens

Unfortunately, I’ve run into many new users who have been told by unknowledgeable sellers and “people online” that they can use artists inks such as India ink, Higgins ink, Calligraphy ink, and other paint-like inks in fountain pens. You cannot. Certain of these products contain shellac, which is a glue-like substance that will bind up the inside of your fountain pen and render it unusable if it is allowed to dry. You should only use ink labeled as safe for fountain pens, and preferably inks made by pen manufacturers or boutique ink manufacturers who specifically make ink for fountain pens.

The “Ask TGS” series of blog posts features questions from readers and customers that frequently appear in my inbox, social media DMs, and customer questions. Some of the most frequent posts are summarized on our FAQ page. We also answer reader questions on a podcast that we co-host with Vanness Pens, “On the Paper Trail”. If you have a question you want answered, please do write in using the contact form and we will try to answer the question in one of these forums.

Thursday Drops: 2026 Lamy AL-Stars in Pine and Flamingo, Tom's Studio Inks, and More!

It’s Lamy Day here in the T.G.S. Nashville Shop! We’ve received a shipment of the 2026 AL-Stars in Pine and Flamingo, as well as most colors of the Lamy Safari fountain pens. We also have a fresh shipment of the Lamy Studio LX All-Black in fountain pen, rollerball, and ballpoint, which has been popular and hard to keep in stock, as well as this year’s Pilot North American exclusive, the Custom 74 in Lavender Frost.

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On the ink side, we’ve been listening to your requests and have started to bring in some shimmer inks and other inks with special properties like pigment, including selections from Colorverse, Tom’s Studio, and Kakimori. Be sure to check out this week’s YouTube video on tips and tricks for using shimmer inks successfully, if you’re curious about these inks.

Come see these and more in-person! We will be open this week from 1-6pm Thursday-Friday and 10am-6pm on Saturday, but be sure to check back for hours the week of February 16 because they will likely change due to travel.

1. 2026 Lamy AL-Star Special Editions in Pine and Flamingo. The latest LAMY AL-Star fountain pens, rollerballs, and ballpoints have arrived, in a new monochromatic look with matching clips. This year’s releases feature two colors: “Pine” (a dark green) and “Flamingo” (a dusty pink).

2. Pilot Custom 74 Lavender Fog Pre-Order. Our second shipment of Pilot Custom 74 Lavender Fog fountain pens have arrived! These pens are this year’s North American exclusive and feature four Pilot specialty nibs: Soft fine, Soft Medium, Soft Fine-Medium and Double Broad.

3. TWSBI ECO Black Marble + Bronze Fountain Pen. The latest TWSBI ECO release is in stock and available to purchase! The bronze and onyx trims are really taking over the lineup of recent releases, and have been extremely popular.

4. TWSBI ECO Serpentine Fountain Pens. Serpentine is finally back in stock, with its lovely combination of green, gold, and white swirls. No two pens will look the same!

5. TWSBI Obsidian Fountain Pen. Every couple of years, TWSBI releases a marbled acrylic piston filler in their “Special Edition” body style. The “Obsidian” release pairs a black material with rose gold trim.

6. Colorverse “Joy in the Ordinary” Fountain Pen Inks. These muted inks from Colorverse are inspired by ordinary everyday activities like a coffee break or walking the dog. If you’re a fan of earth tones and muted pastels, don’t miss these.

7. Tom’s Studio Shimmer Inks. Ok, so one major goal of mine this year is to get outside my comfort zone in terms of the products I use, and that includes exploring some of the newer shimmer inks that flow much better than those on the market when I first started using fountain pens.

8. Rickshaw Bagworks “Clouds” Series - a T.G.S. Exclusive! Our latest T.G.S. collaboration is a project we worked on with artist Nick Dominguez, who hand-drew these cloud patterns with multishading fountain pen inks! We have Sinclair and Fillmore cases, as well as pen rolls. I will be bringing these with me to the California Pen Show next week.

9. Lochby Field Journal Mini. We have new colors of the Lochby Field Journal Mini, including Honey and Olive. These yellow/green colorways are an excellent complement to the classic brown/black/navy Lochby lineup.

10. Lochby Venture Pouch and Venture Pouch Mini. These new colors are also available in the reversible Lochby Venture Pouch, which is a pen case and edc/stationery pouch all in one. If you’d like to see these in action, I did a YouTube demonstration of how they work.

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