New Arrivals: Midori MD Paper Thick A5 Notebooks, Tokyo Traveler's Refills, and More!

MD Paper Products, which has now spun off into its own division of the Midori/DesignPhil stationery empire, recently launched a new product labeled “MD Paper Thick”. Described as “around twice as thick as standard MD Paper,” and “providing further protection against ink bleeding through or being visible from the other side of the page,” this paper is marketed towards those who use heavy pressure, extremely thick fountain pen nibs, folded nibs, and brushes or brush pens. Paint and markers are also apparently ok on this new paper. Currently only available in a blank A5 format, the “Thick” notebooks still feature 96 pages, and incorporate a codex-style binding (similar to the day-to-a-page “Codex” notebooks) that allows the notebooks to lie flat, even with the thicker paper.

We also recently restocked on nearly all Traveler’s Notebook accessories and refills, including the limited edition Tokyo refills and the Traveler’s Company MD Paper Spiral Notebooks. We currently have all undated planner refills in stock, with the 2025 dated planner refills to arrive later this week.

The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. View our Brick-and-Mortar shop hours here. If you enjoy our content please give us a follow and consider supporting us by shopping with us directly or pledging via Patreon. Many thanks!

We're Back, and the Shop Is Open Tomorrow Afternoon!

Just a quick note to let you all know that I landed back in town this evening and will be in the shop tomorrow afternoon for anyone who wants to swing by. I’ll be getting caught up on mail and shipping, but to be honest I’ve missed hanging out even if it was good to get away for a week or so.

Shop hours are newly posted here on the “About Us” page. Going forward I will plan on having open hours 1-6pm on Thursday afternoon in addition to Friday and Saturdays. As always, you can place an online order for pickup if there’s something specific you need and are in a rush. Thanks for all your support while we were away!

Friday Drops: Travel Edition, Including Popular Items I've seen in London!

Friday drops this week, as the time change has thrown my schedule off. Having had the opportunity to visit most of the major stationery stores during my trip to the UK, it’s been most interesting to see what brands are more or less popular here as compared to home (the U.S.), as well as what types of stationery are more prevalent in shops. For example, many of the UK shops tend to focus more on desk and reading accessories, and don’t get me started on how many more bookshops there are compared to the literary desert that America has become. But enough about that….

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I love seeing small brands prominently featured in major retailers.

We’ve had a few new arrivals lately, which I’ll recap below, including additional stock of the Lamy Note+ ipad-compatible styluses, Traveler’s Company Tokyo Edition Refills, and Kakimori Notebooks and Desk Accessories. Remember, you can always check out the "New Arrivals” category on each shop page to see what’s newly available!

1. Lamy Safari Note+ Stylus in Red. We’ve added another color of Lamy’s iPad-compatible stylus, which is a bright red. I’ve enjoyed testing out this particular electronic writing tool, and have to admit that at roughly half the price of the Apple pencil it’s an attractive proposition if you need basic stylus functionality.

2. Traveler’s Company Limited Edition Tokyo Refills. We have additional stock of the 2024 limited edition Tokyo Traveler’s Notebook refills, featuring blank Midori MD Paper.

3. Kakimori Hardcover Notebooks. We have a fresh selection of Kakimori notebooks, featuring their clothbound covers in a range of different limited patters and grid OK Fools paper.

4. Lamy Noto Ballpoint Pens. We’ve added additional colors of the excellent Lamy Noto triangular ballpoint pens, in addition to the limited edition chocolate and dark blue versions.

5. Object Index Pens and Desk Accessories. Kakimori’s sibling brand “Object Index” features a curated selection of products across categories, and I’ve seen them prominently featured in many shops over here in the U.K. Hopefully they catch on in the U.S. as well because I love the aesthetic.

6. Tom’s Studio Studio Pocket Fountain Pens. I came across Tom’s Studio - which you may not know is a UK brand - prominently featured in the stationery department at a high-end food and home goods department store. It was a bit surprising, to say the least, to see what is a highly specialized brand/product line at home on display in what I would consider a mainstream retail outlet.

7. Tom’s Studio Lumos Refillable Fineliners. It was even crazier to see the Lumos featured in a high-end department store alongside fountain pens and bottled fountain pen ink. As someone who is regularly amazed that this particular product line even exists, it blew my mind to see it in a regular non-specialty store.

8. Tom’s Studio Bottled Fountain Pen Ink. We’ve restocked on all colors of the Tom’s Studio fountain pen ink, made in the U.K.! I chose “Loch Ness” for the single fountain pen I inked up on this trip (a Pilot Custom 823 in Amber).

9. Lamy Safari Line in Steel Black. It’s not received as much attention as I would have liked, but Lamy has recently added a new color to the Safari lineup: a bluish/purplish black that I find reminiscent of the undertones to their standard black fountain pen ink.

10. Bookmarks and Other Reading Accessories. As I noted above, the number of bookshops and reading-related attractions here amazed me. Let's just say I added to both my TBR shelf and my bookmark collection.

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I'm not familiar with this special edition of the "Travel Notebook." :) Didn't buy, but still tempted.

The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. While our Brick and Mortar Shop is closed due to travel, regular online orders are still being processed and shipped by our helpers. If you enjoy our content please give us a follow and consider supporting us by shopping with us directly or pledging via Patreon. Many thanks!

New Arrivals: Anterique Brass Pens in Forest Green, Plus New Colors and Formats!

Anterique makes some of my favorite low-viscosity ballpoint pens on the market, though they have yet to really hit the mainstream in the U.S. Curiously, they receive somewhat of a top billing here in the U.K. (where I’m currently on a “work trip”), having seen these excellent everyday writers featured front and center in a couple different shops. Last week before I left we received a shipment of the Anterique Brass Ballpoints in a new color (Dark Forest Green), and the standard pens in a new Hazy Pink and Deep Purple. Just prior to this shipment, we also expanded our Anterique selection by bringing in the Anterique Mini pocket pens, in both brass and standard. Shop our full selection of Anterique here!

The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. While our Brick and Mortar Shop is closed due to travel, regular online orders are still being processed and shipped by our helpers. If you enjoy our content please give us a follow and consider supporting us by shopping with us directly or pledging via Patreon. Many thanks!

Thursday Drops: Midori MD Thick Paper, More Traveler's Tokyo Refills, and Other Restocks!

This has been a busy week! We received a major restock of Midori MD notebooks and paper, including the Midori MD Thick A5 notebooks, as well as additional MD A5 Dot Grid Journals and the Goat Leather MD Covers sized to fit the A5 and B6 Slim MD notebooks. We’re also entering the home stretch for our recent reorder of the T.G.S. x Sunderland Machine Works mk1 Machined Pen, so if you’ve had your eye on a pen from this particular shipment, please get your orders in. We do intend to keep this pen regularly available but production on the various runs take time and stock may not be continuous.

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The new Anterique Brass Ballpoint in Forest Green.

Finally, we have brand new colors of standard Anterique Ballpoints and Brass Ballpoints available, including this sharp-looking brass version in the Forest Green!

The Gentleman Stationer is an authorized retailer of brands sold.

1. Midori MD Thick A5 Notebooks. For those of you who enjoy mixed media work alongside your fountain pens, including watercolors, ink washes, oil-based marker, and even very wet fountain pen inks, Midori has released a new paper that’s twice as thick as the original. We now stock this notebook in A5.

2. Midori MD Goat Leather Covers in A5 and B6 Slim. We have additional stock of the Midori MD leather notebook covers in the most popular A5 and B6 Slim sizes. These covers age nicely and will develop a patina as you use them over the years.

3. Traveler’s Company “Tokyo” Limited Edition Refills. While we don’t currently have additional stock of the Tokyo Traveler’s Notebooks, we DO have a bunch of the Tokyo-themed refills. These are fun refills, and the cover is packed with all sorts of symbols of Tokyo.

4. Write Notepads Classic Hardcover Notebooks. I’ve long used these hardback notebooks (available in lined or dot grid) as commonplace books. They look great filled up on a shelf, and the paper is excellent.

5. Write Notepads Weekly Planners. A classic undated weekly planner in a two-page landscape layout, featuring Write Notepads’ excellent fountain pen friendly paper.

6. Ohto Rays Flash-Dry Needle-Tip Gel Pens. These needle-tip refillable gel pens, with a “Jotter-esque” aesthetic, have returned, along with a new Olive Green color.

7. Ohto Rays Flash-Dry Needle-Tip Refill. The excellent Ohto Parker-style gel refill from the Flash-Dry series of pens is back in stock, ready for you to load into the Parker-compatible pen of your choice.

8. Anterique Ballpoints in New Colors. The standard Anterique low-viscosity ballpoints are now available in four new colors: Hazy Pink, Deep Purple, and French and Italian tricolors!

9. Anterique Full-Sized Brass Ballpoint in Forest Green. Finally, we get a dark green Anterique Brass Ballpoint. (There’s also a transparent green version of the Brass Mini Ballpoint.).

10. T.G.S. x Sunderland Machine Works mk1 Machined Pen. We’ve now passed the 2/3 sold mark from this latest order, and it’s been wonderful to see so much interest in this pen. For a closer look and more discussion of why I like this pen, please check out this YouTube video that I posted the other day.

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Travel Notes and Store Hours

Please note that our brick-and-mortar location will be closed to visitors for the next week (Friday, October 4 through Saturday, October 12), as I am traveling for a combination of business and vacation. The online store will remain open and orders will continue to ship. While we have help, it’s a lot for me to ask them to staff the store for in-person shopping while they are already navigating the somewhat steep learning curve of pulling and fulfilling the online orders. Many thanks for your patience and support as we grow, and we hope to have expanded in-person shopping hours upon our return as we head into the holiday season!