Spotlight On: Write Notepads Paper

Headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, Write Notepads was one of our original brands - actually, one of the only brands - that we carried when we launched our shop at the 2020 Baltimore Pen Show in March of 2020. (Great timing, right!?!) Three years later, it remains a personal favorite and a top seller. Why do I think it’s so great? In addition to the “modern traditional” design, the paper is both fountain pen friendly and slightly absorbent, so that it dries quicker than many other options. You can read more on what this paper is capable of here.

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Even with a very wet pen like a Conid Bulkfiller (with a medium titanium nib), the paper holds up to the ink flow. I’ve been using one of the roughly A5 Paper Notebook Journals in my Lochby Field Journal, where it fits comfortably.

Last week we received a full restock of most Write Notepads notebooks in the colors that are currently in production, including the Landscape-style ruled notebooks, the Reporter Notepads, and the Paper Notebook/Journals. We also have what might be my personal favorite of the Write Notepads products: writing pads that are sold in packs of two, in either lined, dot, or “meeting”-style rulings. Finally, we picked up what might (?) be a final order of the limited edition “Chesapeake” pocket notebooks from a few years back. Many thanks to Write Notepads for supporting us all these years!

The T.G.S. Curated Shop is an authorized retailer of all brands sold. We are constantly updating our shop so check back often to see new arrivals in pens, paper and notebooks, desk/reading accessories, and smaller items such as washi tape and enamel pins!

Thursday Drops: 2023 Shop Expansion, National Stationery Show, and More!

You may have noticed a flurry of activity around the T.G.S. Curated Shop. That’s because after a brief pause in mid-2022 to evaluate our chosen product lines and tweak our focus, we decided to move forward with expanding several of the brands we carry and bringing additional lines on board. This coming weekend, we’ll be attending the National Stationery Show in New York City, one of the largest stationery trade shows in the world! I’ll keep you updated on anything fun we fine, so keep an eye on Instagram!

This Week’s New Arrivals

Many of you have been asking when favorite core brands such as Write Notepads, Clairefontaine, and Rhodia would restock, and I’m happy to announce that nearly everything is currently in-stock and ready to go! As usual, I’ll hit the highlights below as I do every Thursday morning, but be sure to check out the New Arrivals for both Pens/Pencils and Paper, as well as our constantly updated InCoWriMo-themed page, with letter writing supplies selected for International Correspondence Writing Month!

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The Nahvalur Pen of the Year is a collaboration with Starry Night Resins, who created the material for my Hinze Pens “Five O’Clock Somewhere” fountain pen.

New Pens, Pencils, and Inks!

1. Nahvalur “Year of the Rabbit” Limited Edition Nautilus Fountain Pen. Nahvalur (formerly Narwhal) recently released a 14k gold nib, and it’s featured in their latest limited edition “Year of the Rabbit” release which pairs the Nautilus shape with a white pearlescent acrylic from Starry Night Resins. These are extremely limited and we only have a couple in stock as the initial batch is going fast.

2. Nahvalur Nautilus Corydoras Bronze and Cephalopod Black. The original Nahvalur Nautilus designs are still some of the sharpest, pairing black ebonite with antiqued bronze or black trim.

3. Nahvalur Explorer Fountain Pen Inks. Nahvalur has chosen four initial ink colors to match their “Original Plus” Vacuum-Filler fountain pen (also back in stock in all colors).

4. Anderillium Inks (including 8-Bottle Sample Sets). The most popular colors of Anderillium Inks are now available, including “Colossal Squid Dark,” “Green Kingfisher Green,” and “American Goldfinch Yellow”. We’ve also brought back the 8 bottle sample sets, where you can get eight .5ml bottles containing each color from both the Avian and Cephalopod series.

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Newly Arrived Paper and Notebooks, Including Lalo, Midori, and Clairefontaine Letter Writing Paper!

1. G. Lalo Correspondence Pads and Envelopes. This high-quality French-made laid paper comes in three different colors: light blue, white, and ivory. Both writing pads (A5) and matching envelopes are available.

2. Rhodia Composition Books. A core shop favorite from the early days is back in stock after being distributor-backordered for quite some time. These durable composition books feature a classic cloth binding and Rhodia paper.

3. Clairefontaine 1951 Clothbound Notebook. Similar to a composition book, these A5 notebooks are slightly smaller than the classic size but feature a vintage-style cover and Clairefontaine’s exceptionally fountain pen friendly paper.

4. Quo Vadis Habana Notebook Journal. In my opinion, Quo Vadis makes one of the best “faux leather cover + elastic” notebooks out there. These feature white dot-grid Clairefontaine paper, perfect for fountain pens. These are hard to keep in stock because they’re relatively difficult to find and I have a core set of customers who snap them up as soon as they arrive.

5. Write Notepads Memo Pads. Probably my favorite paper for everyday writing, these letter-sized memo pads are sold in sets of two, and feature either dot grid, lined, or meeting-style layouts.

6. Write Notepads “Chesapeake” Pocket Notebooks. They’re back! These PUR-bound pocket notebooks are another personal obsession, and we’re glad to have them back in the shop for at least one more round!

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

Spotlight on Nahvalur Fountain Pens: Introducing the Year of the Rabbit Limited Edition

Last year we brought Nahvalur (formerly Narwhal Pens) into the shop, driven by two specific models: the “Original Plus” vacuum-filler fountain pen and the “Nautilus” piston filler, featuring Nahvalur’s signature “porthole” ink windows. This week, we’ve not only restocked on the Original Plus but have added two new Nautilus fountain pens and will soon add Nahvalur’s new “Explorer” ink line.

Nahvalur 2023 “Pen of the Year” is Now Available

The big announcement this week is the release of Nahvalur’s 2023 Pen of the Year, the “Year of the Rabbit” limited edition Nautilus. Featuring a pearlescent white resin and a 14k gold nib, this release is limited to 223 pieces worldwide and we were lucky enough to get a handful. Available in either fine or medium.

The white resin used in the Year of the Rabbit pen comes from Starry Night Resins.

As I mentioned above, we’ve also added the classic black Nautilus ebonite piston filler featuring either an antiqued bronze (“Bronze Corydoras”) or black (“Cephalopod Black”) trim, and we once again have all colors of the “Original Plus” fountain pens in stock, including the popular Ocellatus Gold which sold out quickly.

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It’s Restock and New Arrival Season, So Keep Checking Back

We have new products arriving daily, so keep checking back to view the new arrivals in pens, inks, and pencils as well as paper and notebook systems!

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

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Thursday Drops: Quirky Stationery Products That Are Surprisingly Practical

When you’re shopping to stock a store, you definitely don’t want to focus solely on what other people are carrying. You want to look for the fun and unusual items that are difficult to find elsewhere. By far, the most enjoyment I’ve had in running my little shop over the past few years comes from watching these types of finds catch on and the brands take off. Here are ten of my favorites! You can view these and more in the T.G.S. Curated Shop, and don’t forget to take advantage of the items on the Gently Used page, which can be combined with shop purchases to save on shipping.

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

1. Opus 88 Minty Fountain Pen. You need to reward pen companies when they step outside the box a bit, and I feel like Opus did this with the Minty, particularly the color selections and the decorative banding on the cap and barrel finials. The Minty remains one of my favorite Opus releases from the past couple of years.

2. Mazzuoli Nobile Italia Ballpoint Pen/Mechanical Pencil. This historical airship-inspired writing instrument features two different options: a Parker-style ballpoint pen refill (three different colors of Schmidt Easyflow 9000 refills are included) or a Schmidt .7mm mechanical pencil insert. The shape is perfectly ergonomic, and comes in four attractive finishes.

3. Highide Attaché Marbled Fountain Pen. Pocketable fountain pens that post to a full-size writing instrument have become the rage lately, and Japanese stationery company Hightide has released their own contribution. This well-priced cartridge/converter pen features a nice fine nib and comes in several attractive colors.

4. Kokuyo Mark+ Dual-tone Highlighter. Ever since these arrived, I’ve been carrying a full set of each color in my bag. I’m a serial highlighter, and the ability to emphasize important material by using a darker tone of ink is incredibly useful.

5. Crayons de la Maison Caran d’Ache, Edition No. 10. The tenth release of Swiss stationer Caran d’Ache’s signature pencil set features four of my favorite finishes: blue, green, and two different natural wood tones.

6. TWSBI Swipe Fountain Pen in Salmon. The TWSBI Swipe is unique in and of itself, but what makes this particular pen fun is the color. A true pinkish-orange (well, “Salmon”), it sort of evokes the tone of the Opus 88 Minty.

7. Midori MD A4 Notebooks and Covers. A5 notebooks are everywhere, but A4? They’re a bit harder to come by, especially in bound formats. Not only does the Midori MD notebook come in a blank A4 format, but there are undyed leather and Japanese paper cover options available as well.

8. Lochby Venture Pouch. Tired of carrying both a stationery pouch AND a traditional zippered, slotted pen case? Lochby’s Venture Pouch combines both into one convenient format.

9. Midori MD Multi-Year Diaries. While the 5-Year Diary has been popular for a long time, did you know that Midori also makes a whopping 10-year version? If 5 or 10 years is too intimidating, what about the 3-Year Diary?

10. Midori MD A5 Natural Undyed Leather Sleeve. Most people are familiar with Midori’s natural undyed leather journal covers, but they also make leather pouches and sleeves designed to hold not just an A5 notebooks, but pens and other stationery items.

Spotlight on Midori MD Notebook Journals: A Wealth of Versatile Formats

So far this year, posts on journaling have received a lot of traffic (and comments!), and journals are flying out the door in the shop. It’s encouraging and gratifying to see so many people enjoying analog journaling, and even if I haven’t been able to respond directly to all of your comments, I’ve enjoyed reading them, especially the comments discussing all of your journaling styles, methods, and prompts.

I can see myself using the Grid-Block Notebook Journal as a Planner: you will have eight “boxes” on two pages facing one another, so you can use a box per day plus a section for notes or a bullet list?

While we carry a lot of notebooks appropriate for journaling (and pretty much any notebook can be made to work as a journal), the Midori MD system is the most popular. In addition to the standard MD “notebooks” in lined, grid, and blank formats, Midori also sells A5 notebooks that they bill as “Notebook Journals,” which come in different layouts that many find helpful for creative journaling. Of course, the dot-grid version is a favorite (and probably our overall top-selling Midori MD Notebook), but the A5 “Frame” version is also popular with those who draw, paint, or paste in photographs and other mementos. The newly arrived A5 “Grid Block” notebook is the most interesting to me, as it divides each page of grid ruled paper into four quadrants. The Midori MD Notebook Journals are the same size as the standard A5 MD Notebook, so they are compatible with Midori MD Covers and other accessories.

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Traveler’s Company Brass Index Clips and other Traveler’s Company/Midori Accessories enable you to organize your journals and notebooks.

Of course, for those who journal regularly and want a true day-to-a-page notebook in a single volume that will stand alone by year, the Midori MD Codex will remain the gold standard. We have Codex journals in both Dot Grid and Blank formats, along with the clear plastic covers. (Note that the Codex journals do NOT fit the standard MD Paper or Leather covers, which are intended for the slimmer MD Notebooks and Notebook Journals.) You can check out our full range of Midori paper offerings here, in addition to matching pens and pencils.

The T.G.S. Curated Shop is an authorized retailer of all brands sold, including Midori and Traveler’s Company.