Weekly Drops and New Arrivals: Come Say Hi at the Dallas Pen Show!

Surprise to all of you who will be in Dallas this weekend! Come say hello at the Vanness Pens table, where I will be helping out on Friday and probably some on Saturday as well! This week’s new releases include a bunch of arrivals from HMM, as well as an incoming restock from TWSBI on the ECO Indigo + Bronze and the Sunset Yellow Diamond ALR. Because I’m only traveling Friday and Saturday, there shouldn’t be any delay to orders outside of our typical 2-3 business day shipping window. Happy Shopping!

The Gentleman Stationer is an authorized retailer of all brands sold.

1. TWSBI ECO Indigo + Bronze Fountain Pens. Easily my favorite ECO released this year - though perhaps it’s a tie with the Saffron Yellow ECO-T? More are arriving Tuesday, with stock now available for order.

2. TWSBI Diamond 580 ALR “Sunset Yellow” Fountain Pen. This gold/orange Diamond 580 might be my favorite version of this particular pen. More will be arriving Tuesday, so I’ve added the stock to the shop for a short pre-order. You can go ahead and purchase and they will ship upon arrival next week.

3. HMM Ballpoints and Mechanical Pencils. These unique dodecagonal ballpoints/mechanical pencils feature a matte finish and either all black or brass/black combination trim. A gift set is also available for the matte black ballpoint.

4. Life “Air Mail” Onionskin Paper and Airmail Envelopes. We have fully restocked on Life Air Mail Paper and the red-and-blue “Airmail” envelopes! Onionskin paper is lightweight and translucent, yet still handles ink well.

5. Life Typewriter Paper. Whether you’re a typewriter fan like me, or simply enjoy ink friendly paper, this typing paper from Life is extraordinarily popular.

6. High-Quality Scissors. Our Desk and Reading Accessories Shop is stocked with all the tools you need to outfit your desk, including an expanding selection of precision scissors from Japan and Taiwan. The latest arrivals include these brass and matte black Standing Scissors from HMM, capable of standing vertically for easy storage.

7. HMM “Muggr” Coffee Mug and “Patio” Coffee Dripper. I’ve been quite impressed with the amount of coffee you all apparently drink, because our side foray into coffee accessories has far exceeded my expectations! Nearly everyone who as purchased a “Charc” finished mug has commented on the unique finish!

8. Tomoe River 68gsm Paper Notebooks (A5 and Pocket). One of my favorite fountain pen friendly papers, the heavier-weight Tomoe River 68gsm paper is still being used in the refills for the Lochby Field Journal and Pocket Journal, though they are also perfectly capable of serving as stand-alone notebooks.

9. Platinum Preppy Wa “Modern Maki-e” Edition. We’re down to the last handful of “Modern Maki-e” fountain pens, and judging from the number of them that have gone out the door this week, people are looking for available stock. Only a few colors/patterns remain.

10. Remaining Platinum Limited Releases. We also have some remaining stock of other Platinum special and limited edition releases, including the Plaisir Aura, the Preppy Wa Second Edition, and this year’s Curidas Matte.

Curated Shop Update: More HMM Desk Accessories!

This morning we have more fun arrivals from Taiwan-based HMM, and it’s a whole bunch of unique items that (I hope) you won’t find elsewhere! Included in this week’s shipment are some sleek standing scissors that can be stored vertically using the included magnetic base, wacky “Eraser Balls” that pull triple duty as pencil holders and fidget toys, and a new gift-set option for the dodecagonal matte black ballpoint, which includes a leather pen sleeve. Happy shopping!

The Gentleman Stationer is an authorized retailer of all brands sold, including the full range of HMM goods.

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Thursday Drops: Life Airmail and Typewriting Paper, HMM Restock

Life’s “Airmail” paper - so named due to its resemblance to the thin onionskin originally used to send vintage airmail correspondence - is one of the harder products to keep in stock. It tends to take time to get from Japan, and letter writing enthusiasts snap it up. Hopefully this time we got the order right! There’s also a fresh shipment of Typewriter Paper, Stenographer’s Notebooks, and HMM mugs and ballpoints. Happy shopping!

The Gentleman Stationer is an authorized retailer of all brands sold.

1. Life Airmail Paper and Envelopes. Want to send someone a handwritten letter on nostalgia-inducing onionskin paper? This ultralight paper is fountain pen friendly and unlike anything else you’ll find on the market. Corresponding red and blue “airmail” envelopes are also available.

2. Life Typewriting Paper. The other popular entry in what I call Life’s “vintage” series is the Typewriting Paper, similar to paper originally designed specifically for typewriters. It handles ink well, and despite being thin is very strong.

3. Life Stenographer’s Notebooks. Available in both Gregg (classic steno) and grid/graph rulings, these vintage-style stenographer’s notebooks remind me of what I used to swipe out of my Dad’s office supply closet when I was a kid and would visit his office on the weekend.

4. HMM Dodecagonal Ballpoints and Mechanical Pencils. These matte pens and pencils have a unique, comfortable shape. Available in matte black, raw aluminum, and matte black-and-brass finishes.

5. HMM “Muggr” Coffee Mugs. It’s surprising to think that coffee accessories would be a big hit among the stationery crowd. (Not really surprising at all, actually.) If coffee and tea aren’t your thing, these beautiful ceramic mugs are great pen cups!

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Thursday Drops and New Arrivals: What, Pens AND Coffee?

Back when I decided to open a small retail shop alongside the T.G.S. informational content, a primary goal was to pull together seemingly disparate product categories that, at second glance, have more in common than one might think. Reading Accessories were a logical starting point, but plenty more opportunities have presented themselves, especially when Taiwan-based HMM popped up at NY Now this year. A company that focuses entirely on stationery and coffee? Now you have my attention.

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HMM’s compact (and sharp!) Exacto scissors

We carry several HMM products, including their dodecagonal ballpoint pens and mechanical pencils, extremely sharp "Exacto" compact scissors, and, yes, a small selection of their coffee accessories. Enjoy your stationery while staying caffeinated! (If coffee and tea aren’t your thing, these also make gorgeous ceramic pen cups.)

The Gentleman Stationer is an authorized retailer of all brands sold.

1. HMM “Mugr” Ceramic Mugs. Combining Japanese ceramic with wood, Mugr comes in two finishes: Cloud (light grey with a lot of tone variation), and Charc. The latter imitates the look and feel of cast iron. There is also an option to add a matching dripper in the Charc finish.

2. Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter. Say that again? You’ve probably seen our announcement that we’re now retailers of this versatile German notebook system, which isn’t so much a system as a portfolio capable of holding standard-size notebooks that you may or may not already be using. Check out yesterday’s YouTube video showing how I’ve set up my own Roterfadens!

3. TWSBI ECO Indigo Blue + Bronze Fountain Pen. TWSBI absolutely killed it with their latest ECO release. The dark indigo is a perfect complement to the bronze-toned trim.

4. TWSBI ECO-T Jade + Rose Gold Fountain Pen. We received additional stock of last year’s late holiday release, which was a jade ECO-T paired with rose gold trim. I love seeing TWSBI expand their rose gold models!

5. Nakabayashi Notebooks and Paper. As we’ve brought Roterfaden on board, we’ve also received inquiries about compatible notebooks/refills. The A5 Nakabayashi thread-bound notebooks in any of the paper sizes are one great option.

6. Laconic Tokyo Notebooks. For those in search of a more compact carry, Laconic’s slim A5 notebooks come in a range of different layouts, from Calendar options to To Do lists to even more specialized frameworks such as life tracking and Gantt charts. (The popular Laconic notebook covers are also back in stock.)

7. Midori MD Light Notebooks. These slim notebooks feature Midori MD Paper in a more compact layout - perfect for Roterfaden, Lochby, and other clip and cord-based systems. Of course you can also use the standard MD Paper Notebooks, but for those who like separate notebooks for different subject matters, these are excellent.

8. Midori MD Light 70th Anniversary Set. We still have remaining stock of these special notebooks that Midori released for their benchmark anniversary this year, which feature matching grid ruling and thread bindings in different colors.

9. Clairefontaine Triomphe Notebooks. Triomphe writing pads have long been a favorite among fountain pen enthusiasts, particularly those who enjoy writing letters. The excellent paper is now available in both white and ivory, in an A5 notebook format.

10. Stalogy Notebooks. Lightweight paper that still allows ink to dry quickly makes these a favorite for many office workers and lefties. Stalogy notebooks are set up so that you can use them as either an undated planner or a standard notebook.

Interested in how I’ve set up my own Roterfadens (including what notebooks I use)? Check out yesterday’s YouTube demonstration!

Curated Shop Spotlight: 5 Questions About Roterfaden

The big announcement from this past week is that T.G.S. is now an authorized retailer of Roterfaden, which represents a big step for our shop! With Roterfaden, TGS now offers directly most of my favorite notebook systems that I’ve used and enjoyed for years, and each brand that we add furthers our mission of bringing you tools that are not only well-made but truly useful items that you can incorporate into your everyday analog life. Given that Roterfaden is less well-known to our (primarily) US readership than other companies, I thought it might be helpful to answer some of the more frequent questions I’ve received over the past few days.

1. What Does “Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter” mean? “Roterfaden” is the company name, which translates to “Red Thread” in German. Roterfaden notebooks use red thread on the binding, which is a signature design touch, and many of their standard organizers incorporate red accents such as elastic bands and pen loops. “Taschenbegleiter” is the product name of Roterfaden’s signature binder, which translates to “Pocket Companion”, though I have also seen “Bag Companion” used.

2. Do I Need to Purchase Proprietary Refills? Absolutely not. I’ve personally owned multiple Roterfaden Taschenbegleiters over the years, and until recently I’ve never used an actual Roterfaden notebook. As it turns out, Roterfaden notebooks are nice, with multiple different rulings and a lie-flat binding, but they are NOT required to use the Taschenbegleiter system.

3. Are the Roterfaden Clips Difficult to Use? The most unique aspect of the Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter is it’s clip-based binding that holds notebooks/refills inside the organizer. Most Taschenbegleiters come with two or three clips, which lift easily with a fingertip and are hinged so that they close smoothly. This system works well, and also allows you to swap out notebooks quickly. It goes without saying that the only limitation is thickness. If you want to use your Taschenbegleiter to carry a particularly thick notebook, you may not be able to fit multiple full-sized refills. In this case, you can use the extra clips as bookmarks, or to hold slimmer refills or folded papers, receipts, or even a file folder (which is how I have set up my A4).

4. What Size Notebooks Fit the Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter? The current lineup of Taschenbegleiters includes A6, A5, and A4. In the past, Roterfaden has made B6 and Personal (Traveler’s) sized organizers as well, with periodic special releases. We carry a wide range of notebooks that will fit Roterfaden products as long as they match one of the general sizes currently available.

5. Can You Pair a Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter with Other Notebook/Organizational Systems? Yes, and in fact I’ve done this for years. The beauty of the Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter is that it’s not necessarily a stand-alone notebook “system,” but rather a portfolio for organizing your individual notebooks. Not only can you use the notebooks/paper of your choice, but this also allows you to pair a Taschenbegleiter organizer with more structured systems such as Plotter. For example, I’ve experimented with carrying multiple Plotter notebooks and refill pads inside the Taschenbegleiter (shown above). During the day, as I’m working, I can take notes directly in the Plotter pads, and if I want to retain the notes for later reference or organize them for further work I simply remove them and save them in the relevant Plotter (or Plotter-compatible) binder.

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I know that a few of the Taschenbegleiters have sold out, and we will be restocking as soon as possible. We do still have stock of all sizes, A6 through A4, but if there is something specific you are looking for, please reach out and I can special order it for you with the next restock.

The Gentleman Stationer is an authorized retailer of all brands sold, including Roterfaden.