Sunday Reading for December 22, 2024

1. Year in Review: What happened with my 2024 Stationery Intentions? (via A Gathering of Curiosities). I love R.B.’s detailed recaps. A “Stationery of Interest” list is something that very much interests me for 2025.

2. Desiderata Vulcan (via Figboot on Pens). Pierre’s pens have a distinctive design, along with compatibility with the Zebra G calligraphy nib. I’m looking forward to seeing this one at a show in the coming year.

3. Dominant Industry Archiving Book: A Log of Atlantis (via Olive Octopus Ink). I’m intrigued by the concept of these ink archiving books, which are completely different from many of the various “currently inked” logbooks out there. These offer a unique way of interacting with your ink collection.

4. 2024 Journal Recap (via Line Variation). It’s that time of year to revisit journaling habits, including what worked in the past year and what you might want to try going forward.

5. Keeps the Blues Away: Nakabayashi Yu-Sari Lined A5 Notebook (via A Fleeting Ripple). Nakabayashi makes excellent workhorse paper, and the Yu-Sari paper in particular was designed to handle fountain pen ink.

6. Visit to Olympia+ in Nagoya Japan (via Inkredible Colours). What an uncommon design for a stationery store (at least here), but it reflects the extent to which a culture actually uses stationery and makes it a part of everyday life.

7. Top 5 Pens of 2024 (via Blake’s Broadcast). There are some really interesting choices in this Top 5 list, including some underappreciated brands.

8. Year in Review - 2024 Pens (via Rachel’s Reflections). Ok, Stanford Pen Studio now has me officially intrigued.

9. Rickshaw Fillmore Pen Case Review (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). I need to get a Fillmore. While I love my Sinclairs, I would like a Rickshaw case that zips all the way open and lies flat.

10. Inkmas 6: Top Inks for 2024 (via Well-Appointed Desk). Be sure to check out all of Ana’s “Inkmas” content, including this post on her top inks of 2024.

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In Case You Missed It….

This week on the blog, I published another round of 2024 recap content, including my top 5 pens of 2024. I also looked at the most popular inks (as judged by Instagram post) from the second 10 days of Inkvent and Colorvent. Spoiler alert: So far Colorvent is winning, and it’s not even close, in my opinion.

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

The big news in the shop this past week was that it was the last opportunity for holiday shopping with a reasonable possibility of Christmas delivery on shipped orders. You can still shop in person, as we will be having extended pre-holiday hours today (Sunday) from 12-5pm, and tomorrow (Monday) from 1-6pm. We will be closing Tuesday (Christmas Eve) and reopening for regular hours Friday, December 27. We will be shipping any orders placed between now and 12/24 on a next-business day basis, to get these to you as quickly as possible after the holidays.

TWSBI Amazonite fountain pens are now in-stock, as are the new Pilot Iroshizuku Inks. We also received a huge shipment of Lamy pens, so we are fully restocked on most models, including the Lamy 2000. Finally, we have more Caran d’Ache 849 Rollerballs as well as M+R brass pencil sharpeners. Check out this week’s Thursday Drops post for a full list of new arrivals.

TWSBI

Pilot

Iroshizuku Ink

Diamine

Check Out T.G.S. Patreon for Breaking news and first access/Special pricing on exclusives and Sample Sales

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 gently used stationery opportunities, consider supporting us via Patreon. We do our best to remain 100% self-supported without having to rely on third-party advertisers or affiliates. Of course, the number one way to help is to visit our curated retail shop either online (or in person, if you’re in the Nashville area)! If you enjoy in-person and virtual meetups and having access to more personal content, the T.G.S. Patreon includes these as well as access to early shop releases, the quarterly gently used sales, a monthly updates newsletter, and of course our monthly Zoom meetups. Patreon support starts as low as $3 per month, and if you pay annually there is a further discount. For example, Patreon supporters had their own special Fountain Pen Day promo “mystery box” opportunity.

No matter how you support us - even if just with a comment, recommendation, or encouraging word - we greatly appreciate your readership!

Sunday Reading for December 15, 2024

1. Year in Review: Stationery Highlights 2024 (via A Gathering of Curiosities). I love reading everyone’s year-end recap posts as they come out, especially for those who thoughtfully add to their collections.

2. If I Could Only Have One Fountain Pen (via Stationery Pizza). Definitely one of the better choices for a “one pen” carry.

3. If There Would Only be One Pen I Could Keep (via SBRE Brown). The answer to this question is so different from person to person! I didn’t see this one coming.

4. Visit to Maruzen Nagoya in Nagoya, Japan (via Inkredible Colours). The fact that multistory stationery and bookstores like this exist continues to amaze me.

5. It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like INKMAS! (via Well-Appointed Desk). Don’t miss Ana’s annual ink series in the leadup to Christmas!

6. Ensso Roiro Urushi (via Figboot on Pens). So apparently Ensso is now dabbling in limited edition urushi releases! These pens are sold out but I found the review interesting.

7. On Keeping This Blog Going (via Urban Adventure League). People often reach out to me about blogging: how to get started, how to keep writing, why write a blog when Instagram, etc. I really enjoyed this post as it attempts to answer some of these same questions.

8. What Does Your Local Architecture Student Carry? Too Much (via A Fleeting Ripple). Too much? Never. I love that it all gets used.

9. Sterling Ink Notebook Review (via Notebook Stories). I’ve never used a Sterling Ink notebook but probably should. High page volume and Tomoe River Paper have plenty of people interested.

10. Last Minute Gift Ideas for Notebook Lovers (via Notebook Stories). I added this link because the referenced book, so far, is very, very good. I’m only a chapter in but enjoying it.

11. Pilot Silvern Fountain Pen Review (via Pen Addict). Maybe the only Pilot model I haven’t tried?

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In Case You Missed It…

This week on the blog, I recapped the first 10 days of Inkvent/Colorvent! I’ve been posting each days ink reveals to Instagram Stories, along with a poll asking people to vote yay, nay, or blah for each ink. This post reveals the top three inks from each inky advent calendar for the first three days, and also adds one that I think was grossly underrated. I’ll plan to do another recap around Day 20, and then a final recap once “Inkvent” ends.

I also posted the first of my annual year-end recaps, discussing my favorite product “discoveries” from the first part of 2024. I’ll be doing more of these as the month continues, before we start fresh after the New Year!

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This Week in the T.G.S. Curated Shop - Get Your Holiday Orders In! Plus Holiday Hours to Close Out December.

It’s Holiday Season crunch time, and it’s been great to see so many of you in person visiting the shop. We will continue extended Holiday Hours (Thursday and Friday 1pm-6pm, Saturday 10am-7pm, and Sunday 12-5pm) until 6pm on December 23, when we will close until after Christmas for some much needed days off. We have all sorts of new arrivals available both in-store and online, including recently arrived inks from Taccia, a Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter restock, new TWSBI ECO Amazonite’s set to arrive Monday and Tuesday (but available for pre-order), and more. Be sure to check out this week’s Thursday Drops post for all the details.

TWSBI ECO Amazonite

Kuretake

Roterfaden

Midori

Check Out T.G.S. Patreon for Breaking news and first access/Special pricing on exclusives and Sample Sales

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 gently used stationery opportunities, consider supporting us via Patreon. We do our best to remain 100% self-supported without having to rely on third-party advertisers or affiliates. Of course, the number one way to help is to visit our curated retail shop either online (or in person, if you’re in the Nashville area)! If you enjoy in-person and virtual meetups and having access to more personal content, the T.G.S. Patreon includes these as well as access to early shop releases, the quarterly gently used sales, a monthly updates newsletter, and of course our monthly Zoom meetups. Patreon support starts as low as $3 per month, and if you pay annually there is a further discount. For example, Patreon supporters had their own special Fountain Pen Day promo “mystery box” opportunity, while supplies last and which is still available, in addition to an ongoing sample sale.

No matter how you support us - even if just with a comment, recommendation, or encouraging word - we greatly appreciate your readership!

Sunday Reading for December 8, 2024

1. A Mini Techo Kaigi, and Plotter A5 Setup Thoughts (via A Gathering of Curiosities). I find simple, straightforward planner setups like this to be the most effective, mainly because they’re the ones you’re more likely to stick with for the long term.

2. Visit to Ishimaru Bunkoudou in Nagasaki, Japan (via Inkredible Colours). The stationery selection at this department store looks absolutely incredible, particularly the ink selection!

3. Diamine Inkvent 2024: Spoiler Free Introduction (via Writing at Large). A great annual Inkvent series revealing each of the colors as we go through December. I’m only linking to the introductory page to avoid spoilers for anyone who hasn’t started yet, but at this point I think most people have seen at least one of the inks.

4. Year End Pens: December Blues (via Line Variation). Both the Parker Sonnet and the Pilot Custom Heritage 92 are vastly underappreciated pens.

5. Guest Post - Archiving Solutions (via Philofaxy). What do you do with those planner inserts and pages you are not actively using? Some sort of archive is usually necessary to manage any sort of notebook system.

6. Distracting: KWZ Stardust Blue Fountain Pen Ink (via A Fleeting Ripple). As someone who is not typically a shimmer ink enthusiast, I’m intrigued by these inks with a formulation that allows the shimmer particles to remain suspended without shading….

7. Montblanc 145 Classique S Nib Fountain Pen Review (via Blake’s Broadcast). These round nibs with lots of tipping are gaining in popularity. I’ve honestly never been tempted, as I prefer nibs with a bit more angular line variation than these seem to offer.

8. Discovering the Aurora Marco Polo Fountain Pen (via Fountain Pen Blog). Now that’s a market find! a cool retro-themed design, too.

9. Pilot Iro-Utsushi Dip Pen Review (via Pen Addict-Jeff). These Pilot dip pens have garnered rave reviews. I need to get my hands on some and test them out.

10. ‘Tis the Season to be STICKII (via Well-Appointed Desk). A sticker advent calendar? If you’re a sticker fiend you may want to check this one out, if not this year then next.

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In Case You Missed It…

This week on the blog, we’re well into the throes of the holiday season, so I published a short counterpart to the T.G.S. Annual Gift Guide, which is a post titled “5 Bad Stationery Gift Ideas” that I hope you all find entertaining. I also posted an update on how I’ve been using my Bible Size Plotter binder to help manage my growing brick-and-mortar shop.

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

We’ve recently restocked on Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter binders, as well as Pilot E95s fountain pens, Book Darts page markers, and more! We also have a large volume of new inks coming into the shop from brands including Diamine, Teranishi, and Kuretake, most of which have already been added online but all of which are available to peruse in-person. Be sure to check out our weekly Thursday Drops post for stock updates, as well as the Tuesday “New Arrivals” post which also contains any updates to weekly shop hours.

We are currently caught up on orders, nearly all of which are shipping within two business days. While we do our best to get holiday season orders shipped quickly, we have no control over carrier timing and delivery - if you need something by December 25 or earlier, please get your orders in as soon as possible!

Diamine Inks

Pilot

TWSBI

TRAVELER'S Company

Check Out T.G.S. Patreon for Breaking news and first access/Special pricing on exclusives (Including the Sunderland Mk1)

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 gently used stationery opportunities, consider supporting us via Patreon. We do our best to remain 100% self-supported without having to rely on third-party advertisers or affiliates. Of course, the number one way to help is to visit our curated retail shop either online (or in person, if you’re in the Nashville area)! If you enjoy in-person and virtual meetups and having access to more personal content, the T.G.S. Patreon includes these as well as access to early shop releases, the quarterly gently used sales, a monthly updates newsletter, and of course our monthly Zoom meetups. Patreon support starts as low as $3 per month, and if you pay annually there is a further discount. For example, Patrons receive an extra bit off the TGS x Sunderland Collaboration Pen, and Patreon supporters had their own special Fountain Pen Day promo “mystery box” opportunity, while supplies last and which is still available!

No matter how you support us - even if just with a comment, recommendation, or encouraging word - we greatly appreciate your readership!

Sunday Reading for December 1, 2024 (The Short Season Edition)

1. Ugly Duckling: TWSBI Swipe Fountain Pen (via A Fleeting Ripple). While the design isn’t for everyone, I appreciate the Swipe as a very good entry level fountain pen attempt, especially since the US release includes two different converters plus a cartridge.

2. Midori MD Cotton Notebook (via Pen Addict). Midori MD Cotton paper is one of my favorite everyday formats for both pads and notebooks. The paper, to me, has a great balance of fountain pen friendliness and dry time. I also love how ink looks, and I try to have at least one picture of all my inks on MD Cotton.

3. Leonardo + Stilo & Stile MZ Kintsugi (via Figboot on Pens). Of all the Black Friday “Special Releases,” this Leonardo Momento Zero might be my favorite. Stilo & Stile have released some absolutely gorgeous Leonardo collaborations lately.

4. SPS Series: Wrap-Up for Now (via Rachel’s Reflections). Standford Pen Studio has launched a crowdfunding campaign to expand, which you can read more about in Rachel’s latest post.

5. Gravitas Carbon Fibre Piston Test Bed (via Dapprman). Too bad about this material, because it looks really cool.

6. Digging Back In To the Archive: How Many Do You Own? (via Philofaxy). Quite an impressive collection!

7. Moonman V60 Fountain Pen Review (via SBRE Brown). The Omas 360 was one that got away from me. I found the angles on this one too sharp to be comfortable, but many people love it.

8. Today I Get To/Got To (via From the Pen Cup). A great idea for a new journaling prompt!

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In Case You Missed It…

I tried to take some time off this week, and had a moderate degree of success. I did a short post on the latest iteration of the Kaweco Mini Converter, which I’ve very much enjoyed in Kaweco and non-Kaweco pens. (Sorry, it promptly sold out within an hour after this review went live and I’m trying to get more.)

In terms of other content, don’t forget to check out the 2024 Holiday Gift Guide if you haven’t already! We update the gift guide annually, and it’s become a bit of a tradition around here with new items added every year.

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We have all sorts of new Book Darts available in the shop, including smaller-quantity offerings, new bookmarks, and a 75-Dart mixed set option.

T.G.S. Curated Shop Thanksgiving Weekend/Cyber Monday Specials!

We’re thankful for all of our readers and customers, and we wanted to offer a special promotion/discount this weekend! Through tomorrow night at 11:59pm US Central Time, take 10% off all inks and refills using the promo code “INKSGIVING” at checkout. This discount applies to all except TWSBI and Pilot, and includes newly arrived inks such as Kuretake, Teranishi Guitar, Diamine 150th Anniversary and 160th Anniversary, and everything else in our ink shop, including Inkvent Calendars since Inkvent starts today! Check out this week’s Thursday Drops page for a complete list of new arrivals and some clearance items.

Don’t forget that we are open today (Sunday) from 12-5pm for extended Holiday shopping hours! Check out our store location and hours here and on our Google Business listing for updated shopping hours throughout the holiday season.

Kuretake Inks

Pilot

Diamine

Kaweco

Check Out T.G.S. Patreon for Breaking news and first access/Special pricing on exclusives (Including the Sunderland Mk1)

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 gently used stationery opportunities, consider supporting us via Patreon. We do our best to remain 100% self-supported without having to rely on third-party advertisers or affiliates. Of course, the number one way to help is to visit our curated retail shop either online (or in person, if you’re in the Nashville area)! If you enjoy in-person and virtual meetups and having access to more personal content, the T.G.S. Patreon includes these as well as access to early shop releases, the quarterly gently used sales, a monthly updates newsletter, and of course our monthly Zoom meetups. Patreon support starts as low as $3 per month, and if you pay annually there is a further discount. For example, Patrons receive an extra bit off the TGS x Sunderland Collaboration Pen, and Patreon supporters had their own special Fountain Pen Day promo “mystery box” opportunity, while supplies last and which is still available!

No matter how you support us - even if just with a comment, recommendation, or encouraging word - we greatly appreciate your readership!

Sunday Reading for November 24, 2024

1. 10 Useful Things (via Olive Octopus). Non-pen items can be repurposed to make your cleaning/collecting/and testing easier and more enjoyable! This is a great list, and I’ll double down on the glass stirs for ink swatching.

2. Personalized Stationery (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). I’ve often wanted to customize some letter-writing stationery and notecards - maybe I need to use the discount code included in this post!

3. Best Esterbrook Ever? King of the Night (via Figboot on Pens). This Dracula-inspired campy Estie has a great red, white and black swirl pattern.

4. Kilk Yggdrasil and Kilk Dusk (via A Gathering of Curiosities). Kilk is a rapidly growing brand from Istanbul, Turkey that specializes in unique designs, many of which include sterling silver inlays and accents.

5. Traveler’s Notebook as a Planner: After the First Use (via Stationery Pizza). The ability to easily experiment with different formats is one of the benefits of modular notebook systems like the Traveler’s Notebook.

6. If You Like: Pelikan Piña Colada Rollerball Pen (via A Fleeting Ripple). The “ink ball” rollerball technology has vastly improved in recent years. I’ll need to keep an eye out for this Pelikan!

7. Visit to Hands (Orchard Outlet) in Singapore (via Inkredible Colours). Now that I have a shop I always love to look at display options, especially for the individual gel pens and ballpoints.

8. Inky Madness - Diamine (via Rachel’s Reflections). I’m re-exploring Diamine as an ink line after a few years away, and a few of these caught my eye.

9. Video Review: TWSBI Diamond 580 RGT-II (via Scrively). Even as TWSBI expands its range of pens that include rose gold trim, the original Rose Gold Diamond 580 remains a stunner.

10. Saying Goodbye to Anderson Pens (via Well-Appointed Desk). I feel super sad about this, as the Andersons were a fixture on the early pen show scene when I first entered this hobby. I wish them nothing but the best for the future.

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The Kaweco Classic Sport vs. the Classic Sport Piston Filler. The gold ring means piston!

In Case You Missed It

This week we launched the 2024 T.G.S. Holiday Gift Guide! An annual tradition for several years, I walk through multiple categories of gift ideas ranging from gifts for pen enthusiasts (pro tip: don’t buy a fountain pen), to those in your life who are stationery curious but not yet full-blown enthusiasts. I also offer some insights into trends I’m seeing in delivery times leading up to the holidays, so be sure to give yourself plenty of time for gift deliveries. Since we also received our initial shipment of Kaweco Classic Sport Piston Filler fountain pens, yesterday I posted my initial thoughts on how this pen compares to not just the standard Classic Sport, but also the previously released AL-Sport Piston Filler.

The week ahead of me is already planned…

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

In addition to the arrival of the Classic Sport Piston Filler, we also received the latest AL Sport “Kaweco Collection” release in Olivine, and the entire Kaweco Perkeo lineup. Most of this week, however, I spent getting ready for the upcoming Inkvent season, as well as processing and swatching multiple new lines of inks such as the Teranishi Inks from Japan, the new Diamine 160th Anniversary Inks, and a curated selection of my favorite inks from the standard Diamine Ink lineup.

Check out this week’s Thursday Drops post for the entire listing of new arrivals.

Diamine Ink

Platinum Ink

TWSBI

Pilot

Check Out T.G.S. Patreon for Breaking news and first access/Special pricing on exclusives (Including the Sunderland Mk1)

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 gently used stationery opportunities, consider supporting us via Patreon. We do our best to remain 100% self-supported without having to rely on third-party advertisers or affiliates. Of course, the number one way to help is to visit our curated retail shop either online (or in person, if you’re in the Nashville area)! If you enjoy in-person and virtual meetups and having access to more personal content, the T.G.S. Patreon includes these as well as access to early shop releases, the quarterly gently used sales, a monthly updates newsletter, and of course our monthly Zoom meetups. Patreon support starts as low as $3 per month, and if you pay annually there is a further discount. For example, Patrons receive an extra bit off the TGS x Sunderland Collaboration Pen, and Patreon supporters have their own special Fountain Pen Day promo “mystery box” opportunity, while supplies last and which is still available!

No matter how you support us - even if just with a comment, recommendation, or encouraging word - we greatly appreciate your readership!