Sunday Reading for October 5, 2025

1. QWERTYbound Safari (via Writing Ball). Did you know there’s a typewriter show, in addition to the pen show circuit? Typewriters are also apparently easier to source in antique stores than reasonably priced vintage fountain pens.

2. 2025 Dallas Pen Show Recap (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). Be sure you read all the way to the end for the pics of the Texas State Fair.

3. Recap of MIPS2025 (via Inkredible Colours). A great recap of the inaugural Malaysian International Pen Show!

4. Checking Out a Blind Box from The Gentleman Stationer (via Inkdependence). I do these blind boxes for my Patreon members, and occasionally if I have extras they will go live. I may look to expand them in the future but it’s a big endeavor for a small operation like ours.

5. #12PenPersonQuestions (via Line Variation). Congrats to Lisa at Olive Octopus for coming up with this wildly successful trend. I enjoy reading all of these entries and learning more about our community.

6. Rupert Answers the #12PenPersonQuestions List (via Fountain Pen Blog). Another set of thoughtful answers!

7. Weirdoforest Travels 2025 (via Weirdoforest Pens). Great travel photos and a great collection of travel sketches with ink!

8. The New Paper Republic Le Trifold Leather Journal (via Inky.Rocks). Paper Republic seems to be all over the place these days! I’ve heard mixed reviews on their paper but the trifold design is interesting.

9. My Travel Writing System (via SBRE Brown). I love hearing about what people take with them on their travels, and coming up with some new techniques because I find myself forgetting to write much when traveling.

10. Uniball Jetstream Prime 3 Color Lite Touch Ballpoint Multi Pen Review (via Pen Addict). I’m in agreement with Brad that this is one of the best multi pens for the money currently on the market. The Lite Touch refill is outstanding.

11. Underappreciated Ink Brands: Vinta Inks (via Well-Appointed Desk). Yes, be sure not to forget the solid standbys that sometimes get outshined by the constant stream of new arrivals!

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In Case You Missed It…

I had a bit of an inky theme this week! I reviewed the Pilot Iro-Utsushi Dip Pen, which is one of the best low-cost dip pen options on the market and it’s not even close, IMHO. It’s somewhat rare to find dip pens that use fountain pen nibs, though more brands are releasing them given the popularity of ink sampling and doodling. I also answered a new “Ask TGS” question related to ink safety, since this is something I was asked three or four times this weekend alone.

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This Week in the T.G.S. Curated Shop, and Save the Date for October 17-18th in Nashville!

We’ve had several new arrivals in the shop, including the Brass Wren from Tom’s Studio, which is a great accompaniment to the new Lumos finishes, as well as the latest Lamy Studio “Orion” release in a gorgeous matte burgundy. We also have the TWSBI ECO Carrara + Onyx, additional stock of the Lamy AL-Star in Dark Dusk, Lochby Voyager A5 Slim Notebook Cover, and more! Be sure to check out each weeks Thursday Drops post for all of the new releases and arrivals.

TWSBI

Lamy

Laconic

Correspondence

The big news is that we will be having an in-store event on Friday and Saturday, October 17th and 18th, with pen maker Shawn Newton and Lisa Vanness of Vanness Pens, who will be bringing many different items we don’t regularly stock! Be sure to stop by if you are in the area as this will be sure to be a fun weekend. We’ll also have some in-store specials such as stamps and stickers so bring your notebooks. If everything goes to plan we will also open up the new TGS retail space, which will be on the front of the building!

Thank You For Supporting TGS - Consider our patreon!

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. Patreon supporters also have access to the first two episodes of a new podcast experiment I’ve been working on with Lisa Vanness of Vanness Pens. More on this later, but for the time being the initial episodes are Patreon-exclusive.

Sunday Reading for September 28, 2025

1. Ink Swatching Tools Update (via Olive Octopus). Lisa walks through her latest ink swatching tools setup, which tends to be more involved than the process I recently discussed since she does much more with inks to explore their various properties.

2. Totally Should’ve Tag - Stationery Edition (via Rachel’s Reflections). Ok, this isn’t a trend I was aware of but I think I can get on board with it. I have my own thoughts on a few of these.

3. Challenge Results: How Did My Starter Pens Week Go? (via Well-Appointed Desk). Ana took Derek’s challenge to only use inexpensive “starter” pens for a week! Follow along to see how she fared.

4. What’s the Difference? Gravitas Monster vs Other Vac Fillers (via Doodlebud). A nice video review of a pen that’s received a lot of publicity lately. I enjoy bead-blasted texture on aluminum.

5. Why Am I Doing This? Why Not? (via From the Pen Cup). Mary always manages to uncover these fun stationery experiments. Here, the junk mail collage.

6. Buc-ee’s Stationery Hunt: What Surprises Await? (via dwrdnet). I never would have thought to hunt stationery at Buc-ee’s. I want that logo pen.

7. Meet Your Maker: Dennis Humm, Denn’s Pens (via Pen Addict - Caroline). I still keep finding new reasons to attend the London Pen Show. Some of these designs are super unique.

8. Stilo & Stile + Leonardo Poliedrica Desiderio (via Figboot on Pens). An interesting new design from Leonardo in a limited edition finish. Facets on a Leonardo pen?

9. Kaweco AL Sport Piston Filler Fountain Pen Review (via Pen Addict). I love discovering fellow fans of the Kaweco piston fillers. I think these are a great evolution of the Sport line to give people more choice over format.

10. M805 Metal Sleeve Special Edition Fountain Pen (via Pelikan’s Perch). A somewhat unique new design for Pelikan - not necessarily my style but props for trying something different.

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In Case You Missed It…

This week on the blog I did a “State of T.G.S.” post, talking about a handful of things I’ve learned in my first year as a brick-and-mortar shop owner. There are also a few announcements about upcoming events at T.G.S., discussed further below. I also spent a fair bit of time with ink yesterday, building out some of our swatch books in-store, and thought it might be fun to talk about the different tools and techniques I use to create ink swatches not only for T.G.S. use but to organize my personal collection.

I’ve also posted a few new videos to the T.G.S. YouTube Channel this week! The first was a quick video tutorial I filmed on setting up the Tom’s Studio Wren Fineliner, when I was filling the Wren tester pens for the shop. The second was a quick video flip through of my ink swatch notebooks.

Ok, I’m definitely keeping one of these. No questions asked.

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

The biggest new arrival from this week was the TWSBI ECO Carrara + Onyx, which is now available. We also have a fresh shipment of Tom’s Studio Lumos and Wren fineliners, as well as the excellent Tom’s Studio pigmented black ink which is back in stock and available. We also have the latest Blackwing Volumes (Keith Haring!) and more of the excellent one-step long-point sharpeners. We finally received a fresh shipment of Midori MD Cotton A5 and A4 pads, which I’m happy to report are now fully stocked since we were running dangerously low for a while there. And for those of you “Strategist” readers still scouring the internet for Anterique pens, we have plenty of them, despite your best efforts to clean us out!

We will be open this coming week for normal hours: 1-6pm Thursday and Friday, and from 10am-6pm Saturday. Please do keep checking back on the main store page for updated hours and special announcements.

Laconic Tokyo

Yamamoto / Ro-Biki

Belle & Union

Blackwing

Upcoming Events and New Brick-and-Mortar Store Announcements

So what have I been doing in my spare time? Building out a new section of the T.G.S. store on the front of our current location, where we will have a dedicated showroom/shop section! The space we currently occupy will continue to serve as our office and warehouse, as well as additional space for special events, classes, and workshops as we finish the transition. Our initial event, which will utilize the new space assuming everything stays on schedule, will be a trunk show/shop takeover the weekend of October 17-October 19, featuring Shawn Newton of Newton Pens and Lisa Vanness of Vanness Pens. Additional details and an exact schedule to follow.

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. Patreon supporters also have access to the first two episodes of a new podcast experiment I’ve been working on with Lisa Vanness of Vanness Pens. More on this later, but for the time being the initial episodes are Patreon-exclusive.

Sunday Reading for September 21, 2025

1. Ask Me Anything About Fountain Pens or Stationery - Live Q&A (via dwrdnet). Derek held an AMA that ran for well over an hour!

2. 12 Pen Person Questions (via Rachel’s Reflections). Rachel answers the #12penpersonquestions challenge. I get the feeling that I’ll be posting more of these over the coming weeks.

3. #12PenPersonQuestions (via Pen Addict). Brad also goes through all 12 questions!

4. Laura Answers the #12PenPersonQuestions List (via Well-Appointed Desk). These are super-interesting to me. Working on my own responses!

5. GOLD is Gone! What’s Happening to the Pilot Vanishing Point (via Doodlebud). While we haven’t heard anything directly from Pilot USA - or at least I haven’t - some of the Japanese versions of the VP are being discontinued. Stay tuned, but the VP is not going away entirely despite internet speculation.

6. Video-Review: Lamy Safari (Ballpoint) (via Scrively). I personally love the Lamy Safari ballpoint, from the click mechanism to the refill, though if you’re not a fan of the M16 you can always sub in the Jetstream M17.

7. Yamamoto Bullet Jotter Notebook Review (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). We do still have some stock of the Yamamoto Bullet Jotters, but we’re running low on the refills which we do plan to restock. Each Jotter comes with one pad of Slight White and one pad of Soliste.

8. I Had to Learn to Not Finish Notebooks (via Stationery Pizza). Do you always finish notebooks, throw them out if they’re not working, or save them?

9. Visit to Evergreen Stationery (Great World Outlet) in Singapore (via Inkredible Colours). I love “standard” stationery stores like this one, especially when they have the old school office products like bells.

10. 2025 Colorado Pen Show and Other Upcoming Education Opportunities (via Fountain Pen Love). The Colorado Pen Show is next month, and while we’re at it, the Dallas Pen Show is next week! Both are great regional shows.

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In Case You Missed It….

I’ve continued paper week, building on the update to the “Hierarchies of Fountain Pen Friendly Paper” with a post about my personal favorite papers that I like to use in my own writing life, as well as a post discussing 5 boutique brands that I’ve been experimenting with, and which I’m keeping an eye on to monitor paper consistency over time, though so far so good.

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Did I mention we are expanding into some additional space in our same location? Stay tuned.

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

Be sure to check out the latest arrivals from Tom’s Studio: The Lumos Pro Duo “Splash” series that comes in three 1980’s-inspired “Splatter” finishes, as well as a line of Titanium Lumos pens that are not only lightweight and durable but have a grippy brushed finish. On the paper side, we continue to have new arrivals from Midori, including a restock of the Codex A5, as well as a large shipment of Cloth & Paper Travel-style planners, sticky notes, and document flags/index tabs.

Other new items include the Dux Adjustable Brass Pencil Sharpener, with three settings for different graphite hardnesses and point styles, as well as a restock of many favorite iLootPaperie washi tapes, pins, and more.

Come see us in-store! We will be open this week normal hours, from 1-6pm on Thursday and Friday and 10am-6pm on Saturday. The online store is operational 24-7.

Tom's Studio

Blackwing

Midori

Dux

Consider Further Supporting T.G.S.! [New UPdates]

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. 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)! The T.G.S. Patreon includes early access and discounts on exclusive shop releases (including the Taschenstift “Violet Tendencies” and the Roterfaden TGS_25), the quarterly gently used sales, a monthly updates newsletter, and of course our monthly meetups. This past week, paid Patreon supporters gained access to a new podcast experiment I’ve been working on with Lisa Vanness of Vanness Pens. More on this later, but for the time being the initial episodes are Patreon-exclusive.

Patreon support starts as low as $3 per month, and if you pay annually there is a further discount. As noted above, we’ve recently started a Discord community for all paid Patreon supporters.

Sunday Reading for September 14, 2025

1. 2025 San Francisco Pen Show - Still the Funnest Pen Show (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). She might be a little biased, but she’s not wrong. TONS of vendor pictures here.

2. White Bear Pens Echo (via Figboot on Pens). I enjoyed visiting with Mikayla in San Francisco, as White Bear was set up across from us in the Oak Room!

3. 2025 San Francisco Pen Show Experience (via Rachel’s Reflections). The different vendors and overall chill attendees make the San Francisco Pen Show a more relaxed, friendly after-hours experience. If the show floor experience doesn’t exhaust you, that is.

4. Zero-Effort Journaling (via Notebook Stories). Isn’t it supposed to be this easy?

5. Franklin-Christoph Model 03M in Antique Glass (via dwrdnet). I still feel like Franklin-Christoph’s Antique Glass models are among the best they’ve ever done. I love that finish, like vintage Coke bottles.

6. Come Along on a Visit to Truphae: A Great Pen Store in South Carolina (via Inkdependence). I’ve never been to Greenville!

7. Planner-izing and Realizing (via Line Variation). Do you have a paper you like that you wish was made in planner format? You can always make your own.

8. Ana Answers the #12PenPersonsQuestions List (via Well-Appointed Desk). Well, now I know what I’m working on this week. Stay tuned.

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In Case You Missed It…

This week I published Part III of my San Francisco Pen Show Recap: The Haul in video format. I also updated one of our main site resources, the “Hierarchies of Fountain Pen Friendly Paper” post, to reflect changes in the market and my increasing familiarity with certain brands.

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We recently added a range of Shorthand Press notebooks to the shop.

This Week in the T.G.S. Curated Shop - Planners!

New planners stuff is starting to show up, including a restock of the Laconic 6-ring binders and 6-ring planner/productivity/life-logging inserts, as well as more Midori MD Codex notebooks, new Cloth & Paper formats and more. We’ve also received Correspondence Cards and Letterpress Stationery from several different makers including Shorthand Press and Belle & Union, as well as stickers and new washi tape. Finally, we’ve restocked looseleaf Iroful paper and Yamamoto Select A4 sheets.

Be sure to check each week’s Thursday Drops post, which spotlights new releases and restocks. Our brick-and-mortar shop will be open from 1-6pm Thursday and Friday, and from 10am-6pm on Saturday.

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TWSBI

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Blackwing

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Correspondence Cards

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Yamamoto Ro-Biki

Consider Further Supporting 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. 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)! The T.G.S. Patreon includes early access and discounts on exclusive shop releases (including the Taschenstift “Violet Tendencies” and the Roterfaden TGS_25), the quarterly gently used sales, a monthly updates newsletter, and of course our monthly meetups. Patreon support starts as low as $3 per month, and if you pay annually there is a further discount. As noted above, we’ve recently started a Discord community for all paid Patreon supporters.

Sunday Reading for September 7, 2025

1. Pen Shows Are About Friends (via Well-Appointed Desk). Ana highlights some features of the SF Pen Show, including the Thursday classes/hangout day, which if you arrived a day early gave you a great low-key decompression day prior to the craziness that followed.

2. 2025 San Francisco Pen Show Rating (via Rachel’s Reflections). Rachel’s recap did a great job of highlighting issues show promoters are starting to face with hotel space limitations as some of the larger shows outgrow their location. The pictures of the crowds are some of the best I’ve seen.

3. Hobonichi 2026 - A Read Change (via Inky.Rocks). After last year’s paper issues, will Hobonichi bounce back? They also have new covers.

4. 2800 Inks (via Mountain of Ink). Congratulations to Kelli on hitting another milestone! This site is a valuable community resource that anyone interested in ink should be aware of.

5. My First Fully Custom Maker Fountain Pen (via dwrdnet). I remember the feeling when I unboxed the first pen I had commissioned, built to my preferences. I saw this one yesterday and it was awesome. 12 facets that all line up?

6. 2025 Miami Pen Show (via Feed Your Creativity). The Miami Pen Show has a new location from the last time I considered this event. It’s a great location for a show so I hope it expands!

7. In Sight, In Mind (via From the Pen Cup). I love that when you organize or attempt to prune your collections, you always end up discovering those out-of-sight-out-of-mind items you forgot you had.

8. De Minimis Suspended: Why Imported Fountain Pens Just Got a Lot More Expensive (via Pelikan’s Perch). A thoroughly researched article on the challenges that we (consumers, retailers, distributors) are all facing in the current chaotic environment.

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In Case You Missed It…

This week on the blog I recapped the San Francisco Pen Show! I published both a general recap of the show and a more in-depth piece on the seminars I attended in San Francisco. I will have more recap content this week, probably in the form of a YouTube haul video.

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

Laconic Tokyo 6-Ring binders and refills are back in stock! People have been messaging me about these for a while now and the shipment arrived yesterday. I have plenty of the undated planner refills for those who prefer more flexibility, as well as all the fun productivity and life-logging refills.

We also have two new fountain pen arrivals: the long-awaited green Diplomat Viper, as well as the TWSBI Diamond 580 AL in Affogato + Onyx. Finally, we’ve added a selection of new notebook colors from Shorthand, and are in the process of adding new items to our “written correspondence” section of the store. Stay tuned! Be sure and check each week’s “Weekly Drops” e-mail for updates on new arrivals and more.

We will be open normal hours this week in our physical shop. Come see us from 1-6pm Thursday and Friday, as well as 10am-6pm on Saturday. Be sure to keep an eye on this page here for any shop updates.

Laconic Tokyo

Lamy

Roterfaden

TWSBI

Consider Further Supporting 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. 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)! The T.G.S. Patreon includes early access and discounts on exclusive shop releases (including the Taschenstift “Violet Tendencies” and the Roterfaden TGS_25), the quarterly gently used sales, a monthly updates newsletter, and of course our monthly meetups. Patreon support starts as low as $3 per month, and if you pay annually there is a further discount. As noted above, we’ve recently started a Discord community for all paid Patreon supporters.