You CAN Take It With You: XS Stationery Kits from Midori

Let’s face it, all of us sometimes wish we could carry our entire desk with us wherever we go, keeping handy a pair of scissors, some glue, a stapler, and maybe even some white-out tape. If you’re someone who is actually carrying one or more of these things with you daily, the Midori XS Stationery Kit may be of interest! Available in both black and white, the small zippered clamshell case includes six different desk accessories (shown above clockwise from top left): (1) tape measure; (2) correction tape; (3) glue tape, or double-sided sticky adhesive; (4) pocket scissors; (5) a craft knife; and (6) a stapler. Each fits into its own slot in the included case, pictured below.

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Honestly, between shipping packages and home renovation, the thing I find myself reaching for the most is a tape measure, and if you like to work in centimeters, this tiny pocket-sized role of measuring tape can be a lifesaver. The Midori XS Stationery kit sells for $44 and is currently available in the T.G.S. Curated Shop. In addition to these and other desk accessories, we carry the full range of Midori pens and pencils, as well as Midori MD Paper. Refills for the correction and glue tape will be available in the near future, along with individual items from the kit.

The T.G.S. Curated Shop is an authorized retailer of Midori and all other brands sold.

A Year-End Promotion to Close Out 2022: Take 10% Off Most Shop Items

It’s time to start clearing out the shelves to make way for new releases and restocks in 2023. As a thank-you to all of our loyal readers and customers, through 11:59pm CT on January 1, take 10% off most items in the T.G.S. Curated Shop using the coupon code “LOYAL10” at checkout. (Some exclusions apply - see below for details.)

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Use New Year’s Week to Get Your Journals and Planners Ready for 2023!

The week between Christmas and New Year’s Day is an opportune time to organize your planners and notebooks headed into the New Year, and if you haven’t picked yours up yet, it’s a great way to use your New Year’s discount. We offer a range of planners and journals, both dated and open, including the Traveler’s Company diaries in Standard and Passport sizes, Write Notepads Weekly Planners, Lochby Planner Refills, and even a few remaining Soumkine Universal Planners. Finally, just before Christmas, we received a restock of the WMS & Co. Weekly Planner pads, which are an excellent way to plan without committing to a full notebook or stand-alone planner. It’s also a great time to pick up a Midori MD Notebook and cover, which you can turn into a planner using the undated diary stickers.

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New Arrivals from TWSBI: Jade and Rose Gold ECO-Ts and TWSBI Precision Restock

Our shipment of the new TWSBI ECO-T in Jade and Rose Gold arrives today, and these pens will be packaged as a set with an 18ml bottle of TWSBI Midnight Blue Ink. We also are receiving a restock of the TWSBI Precision ballpoint pens and mechanical pencils, which have sold very well and are excellent “technical” pens and pencils. Happy Shopping!

Promotional code excludes TWSBI, Lochby, and Good Made Better. The T.G.S. Curated Shop is an authorized retailer of all brands sold.

2022 Year-End Review, Part III: Top Sellers from the T.G.S. Curated Shop

We launched the T.G.S. Curated Shop in 2020 to replace sponsorships, paid advertisements, and other forms of outside support. Over the past two years, we’ve been able to bring together a curated collection of stationery products that we not only sell but enjoy using ourselves. For today’s year-end recap, I’ve pulled together a list of the ten best-selling products, in order of number of units sold. Honestly, there weren’t too many surprises on here! Many thanks to everyone who has supported T.G.S. over the past year, and if you haven’t had a chance to try out one of these customer favorites, please give them a shot. (For those of you interested in following stationery trends, here is last year’s post.)

Since faith in the USPS apparently springs eternal, orders continue to come in and we are shipping as fast as we can to give these the best chance of arriving by Christmas, though there can be no guarantees this late in the season. The $8.50 level of shipping (starting at packages weighing 1lb and above) will go USPS Priority (typically 1-3 days) or UPS.

The T.G.S. Curated Shop is an authorized retailer of all brands sold.

1. Lochby Field Journal and Lochby A5 Refills. The entire Lochby lineup was definitely the star of 2022, but the A5 Field Journal, which holds up to six of the Lochby-branded Tomoe River paper refills, was our top seller. Since the refills are standard-size, they can be used in many other A5 covers, and they also come in pocket size.

2. Lochby Quattro Four Pen Case. After the Field Journal, the Lochby Quattro won out over the rest of the lineup. This slim, compact four-pen case is a stalwart of my own daily carry, and I love how the slots are offset so your pens don’t touch when the case is closed.

3. Hightide Hourglasses. I’m a little surprised that the Hightide Hourglasses and Book Stands made the list this year - due to shipping delays and inventory shortages it took us the better part of a year to get a restock. You all made up the difference over the past two months!

4. Hightide Metal Folding Book Stands. Easily one of the more practical gift ideas we offer, these folding book stands slide easily into a bag so you can take them with you on the go. Available in nearly a dozen colors!

5. Book Darts Archivally Safe Page Markers. One of our original items offered, Book Darts remain a customer favorite. Use them as bookmarks, line markers for favorite passages, or (my own favorite use) to divide a single notebook into multiple sections or subjects.

6. Midori MD Cotton Paper. Midori MD Cotton Paper has become my favorite fountain pen friendly paper on the market, and it looks as though many of you agree!

7. Midori MD Paper. Standard MD Paper is also one of the best fountain pen friendly options, and it comes in multiple formats (i.e. pads, notebooks) with several refillable cover options.

8. Clairefontaine French-Ruled Looseleaf Sheets. I’m not sure I’ve ever had a special order product sell out as fast as these looseleaf sheets of the Seyès-ruled paper. I still have a few packs of the double booklets!

9. Caran d’Ache Infinite 888 Ballpoint Pens. Yes, the best-selling pen in our shop costs $6.25, and personally I think it’s one of the best ballpoints out there. It’s also refillable.

10. Write Notepads Reporter Notebooks. Finally, there has to be at least one Write Notepads product on this list. Our top seller is the Reporter-style notebook, which we’ll have to reorder after the first of the year since there’s been a bit of a run.

Thursday Drops: Stocking Stuffers and Last-Minute Gift Ideas

While we aren’t technically at the point of true “last minute” shopping - at least not for the Christmas holiday - we are approaching the shipping cutoffs. For the best possible chance of having a package arrive by December 25, we would strongly recommend placing your order by tomorrow, and by Monday at the absolute latest. Today’s post should be especially interesting for those in the market for “Secret Santa” ideas, stocking stuffers, and other smaller gift items that tend to be the focus of last-minute shopping excursions. We have lots of fun stuff to explore, and we made sure to buy plenty of it so we’re fully stocked through the end of the year!

Perhaps my favorite Caran d’Ache jumbo pencil set ever?

Everything featured here is in-stock and available to ship out by Monday. The T.G.S. Curated Shop is an authorized retailer of all brands sold.

1. Book Darts Page Markers. I think I first discovered Book Darts when I received a tin as a holiday gift long ago, maybe at a work gift-share party from someone who knew that I enjoyed reading. Book Darts are archivally safe page markers that come in three finishes: bronze, brass, and stainless steel. While intended to mark passages in books, they can also be used to divide notebooks into multi-subject sections, etc.

2. Hightide Co. Folding Metal Book Stand. Easily the most popular gift item in our store, these folding metal book stands can be used for reading, transcribing passages into your commonplace book, holding a planner or calendar, holding a tablet, and many other uses. Best of all, they fold completely flat for travel and slide easily into your briefcase. Currently available in ten colors.

3. Hightide Co. Sandglasses. We’ve sold more Sandglasses this month than ever! If you’ve never used an analog timer like an hourglass for work, meditation, or simply for the simple pleasure of watching time pass for a brief moment, check out these products from Hightide. Available in 30, 15, 5, and 3-minute intervals. If you’d like to read more on how I personally use mine, check out this post.

4. Caran d’Ache “Colour Treasure” Maxi Pencil Sets. These colorful tins of jumbo pencils are pure fun, and I can’t imagine any stationery enthusiasts NOT loving these. I’m trying to get my hands on as many sets as I can because I want to keep them past the holidays.

5. WMS & Co. Corner Page Marker. Looking for something a bit more hefty, with gravitas? Consider these metal bookmarks that slip over the corner of your page. Available in bronze and copper.

6. Midori Clip Bookmarks. The perfect stocking stuffer, these ultra-thin metal bookmarks come in four different patterns and won’t bulk up your novel or your notebook.

7. T.G.S. x Penwell Exclusive Edition in Aged Red. I’ve always been a proponent of gifting pen accessories - not pens - to pen enthusiasts, since it’s simply too hard to guess preferences. This Penwell pen stand features a dark red finish exclusive to our store, and attaches to your desk with a microsuction pad that ensures a secure place to park your pen!

8. Anderillium Inks. After accessories, ink tops my list of recommended gifts for fountain pen lovers. Anderillium Inks, with two lines organized around themes of birds, squids, and octopuses, are both quirky and quality - the hallmarks of an interesting ink brand!

9. Washi Tape and Snail Mail Accessories Like Stickers. Washi tape (Japanese decorative masking tape) has become insanely popular among journaling and letter enthusiasts over the past several years, and we recently brought in nearly a dozen new patterns. Who doesn’t want “Taco Tuesday” washi tape in their stocking?

10. Enamel Lapel Pins. With themes ranging from stationery to science to reading, there’s always an enamel pin made for you to adorn your jacket, bag, or pen case. These high-quality pins from iLootPaperie are colorful and sturdy.

New Arrivals: Maruman Mnemosyne Portfolios and Notepads

Japanese paper company Maruman makes some of the most versatile and cost-effective fountain-pen friendly paper on the market, and we’re fortunate enough to be able to stock it in nearly all available formats. We’ve recently added new versions of the portfolio-style notepad holders in both A4 and A5 sizes, as well as several different sizes of notepads and spiral notebooks in several different rulings.

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Notable new additions include a wide range of A4 spiral notebooks in lined, dot-grid, and blank formats. The grid and blank spirals are landscape-style, perfect for orienting below your keyboard!

Just a reminder that if you are shopping for gifts and need delivery by December 25, you will likely want to get your orders in by Friday to give it the best possible chance of arriving on time.

The T.G.S. Curated Shop is an authorized retailer of all brands sold. For additional suggestions on fountain pen friendly paper, check our our “Guide to Fountain Pen Friendly Paper,” and be sure to read the comments for many additional suggestions.