Craft Design Technology x Zebra Sharbo Multifunction Pen — The Craft Design Technology multi pen, made for them by Zebra, features intricate patterns on the barrel.

Thursday Drops: Last Minute Gifts and Unique New Arrivals! Craft Design Technology, Graphilo, and Musgrave!

December 18, 2025

Well, it’s the week before Christmas, so if you’re relying on the internet to get you something shipped, mailed, and delivered in time, the best-case scenario is that you roll the dice and you luck out and it arrives on the 23rd or the 24th. There are simply no guarantees at this point. That said, we are here to help you in-person, and we have a ton of cool stuff that’s arrived in-store, including several recent Japan shipments containing Craft Design Technology, Graphilo, and more! If you’re short on ideas, you can check out our Holiday Gift Guide, and most of what we highlight there continues to be in stock.

Craft Design Technology x Pentel Sign Pens — These CDT Pentel Sign Pens, featuring a soft brush tip, have been heavily requested by in-store and online customers.

Craft Design Technology is a design house based in Japan and the U.K., best known for partnering with manufacturers on specialized custom versions of classic stationery items such as the Zebra Sharbo Multi Pen, Pentel Sign Pen, Pilot Frixion, and more. I have followed their work for years and am thrilled to be able to offer teir goods directly. As discussed in Tuesday’s post, we’ve also recently added Graphilo to our lineup of specialty Japanese papers, and people seem to be enjoying it because it’s flying out the door. Finally, we’re excited to restock on many of our Musgrave pencils, including the Heritage collection sets that offer a way to try out different Musgrave pencils and also have a cool pencil-themed case and pencil cup.

Our Nashville shop is open this week from 1-6pm on Thursday and Friday, and from 10am-6pm on Saturday. Check the shop page and on our Google profile for hours.

Craft Design Technology x Zebra Multifunctional Pen. Years ago, the Zebra Sharbo was the trendy multi pen, known for its D1 gel refills that ran out in approximately 2 hours. Craft Design Technology has partnered with Zebra to release it’s own design in matte black and silver, substituting the gel refills for low-viscosity ballpoints and a .5mm mechanical pencil. For those who find other multi pens too long and clunky, this one is almost perfectly balanced.
Craft Design Technology x Pilot Frixion 3 Multi Pen. Yes, the Pilot Frixion comes in a Dr. Grip-style 3-slot multi pen, complete with three different ink options and the Frixion eraser. Available in CDT’s dark green colorway. Refills available separately by individual color or a multi-pack.
Craft Design Technology x Pentel Tradio Plastic Fountain Pen. A hybrid between a fountain pen and a fineliner, the Tradio adds a touch of softness to your writing to make it more expressive. Of all the CDT collaborations, the Tradio has been the one I’ve used the most, since the ink dries very quickly and makes an excellent planner pen. Tradio refills available separately.
Craft Design Technology Brush Sign Pens. One of the most-requested items is now available! These soft-tip fineliners/markers/brush pens are sold individually in 10 different colors or come in two different assortment packs of 5 or 10 pens.
Craft Design Technology Desk Note Notebooks. These landscape-style notebooks are made from bagasse paper, a byproduct of sugarcane processing. Bagasse paper is quite fountain pen friendly, and I’ve found that this particular notebook handles not just fountain pen inks but markers and other writing instruments as well.
Kobeha Graphilo Paper. Developed specifically for use with fountain pens, Graphilo has developed a cult following over the years. Available in multiple formats, including A5, Square, and a 188-page A5-Slim (which will work with our Roterfaden TGS_25).
Musgrave Heritage Pencil Assortment Pack. These popular pencil assortments have arrived just in time for Christmas, and yes you can reuse the pencil box as a pencil/pen stand or pencil case.
Musgrave Highlighter Pencil Set. I can never stock too many highlighter pencils, and these 8-packs contain two of each color in a relatively rare slim barrel design.
Musgrave Songwriter Pencils (Including Special Edition Blue Set). The 4B Songwriter pencil sold out nearly immediately when we had it in stock early in the year, and we’ve restocked on both the standard cream version as well as the new special edition Teal Blue set.
Musgrave “Tennessee Red” Pencils. The Tennessee Red features the highly aromatic Eastern Red Cedar wood, which used to be a staple of pencil manufacturing until it was abandoned in favor of the more readily available Incense Cedar. A few years back, Musgrave sourced some slats to make the Tennessee Red, and it’s one of the more unique offerings.

The Craft Design Technology “Desk Note” in Large and Small Size.

Kobeha Graphilo Notebooks in A5 and Square formats

New Arrivals: Introducing Kobeha Graphilo Paper

December 16, 2025

Like other specialty Japanese papers, Graphilo has developed a reputation as an excellent fountain pen friendly writing paper that has, to date, been somewhat difficult to obtain in the United States. Made by Kobeha, a stationery company located in Kobe, Graphilo was developed specifically for use with fountain pens, much like Nakayabashi developed Yu-Sari. Graphilo is a coated, slightly textured paper with an 81.4gsm paper weight, making it suitable for writing with nearly all fountain pen inks as well as ink-heavy art applications like drawing and some painting.

Graphilo Style A5 Slim Notebooks 3 Covers — Graphilo notebooks offer four different rulings: lined, grid, blank, and “Ciro” (white lines).

I’m most excited about the 188-page “Graphilo Style” A5-Slim notebooks, which are the same size as our own Roterfaden TGS_25 exclusive and the Lochby Voyager Journal. Graphilo paper is also available in stitched softcover notebooks in A5, Square, and A4 formats, as well as A4 and A5 looseleaf sheets and memo pads. All Kobeha Graphilo products are in-stock and available to ship immediately. Visit our Curated Paper section to see the Graphilo line and and more!

This week our Nashville shop will be open normal hours, from 1-6pm Thursday and Friday and from 10am-6pm on Saturday. If you’re looking for gift ideas, be sure to check out the 2025 edition of our Annual Holiday Gift Guide!

Thursday Drops: NJK Long-Point Pencil Sharpeners Are Back, Along with Allex Scissors!

December 11, 2025

We’ve been awaiting a huge restock of products from Japan, including in-demand items such as the NJK pencil sharpeners and Allex scissors in multiple sizes and finishes. We also have new Tomoe River notebooks and Journals from Karatis, including vegan leather versions with massive page counts, Caran d’Ache pencil restocks, and even a handful of Standard size Traveler’s Notebooks in Olive. (I don’t expect these to last long so get them while you can!)

We’re getting very close to Christmas and are shipping orders as quickly as we possibly can. Right now, we are within our usual 2-3 business day ship time, but we continue to encourage people to get orders that absolutely need to be delivered by Christmas or New Years in to us as soon as possible to account for any delivery delays. If you’re looking for gift ideas (including any last minute items), be sure to check out our Holiday Gift Guide, which we update every year!

Our Nashville shop is open this week from 1-6pm on Thursday and Friday, and from 10am-5pm on Saturday. (We plan to close an hour early on Saturday due to a personal commitment.) Check the shop page and on our Google profile for hours.

NJK Long-Point Pencil Sharpeners. These long-time T.G.S. favorites are imported directly from Osaka, Japan, and come in several different colors. Replacement blades are also available, though all sharpeners ship with a spare blade. You can read about why we enjoy these sharpeners here.
Blackwing Volume 21: The Woodworking Pencil. These unique pencils feature a square barrel plus a stained finish that still allows you to see the finger joints on the wood. The pencil is designed to work in standard sharpeners, including the excellent Blackwing sharpeners.
Allex S-165 Office Scissors. The classic Allex Scissors available with three different handles and fluorine-coated or stainless steel blades. (Fluorine is a teflon-like coating that helps cut through substances like tape and sticker paper.)
Allex Desk Scissors. These standard desk scissors also come in coated or non-coated blades and feature textured metal grips. This is my personal favorite model and use the standard stainless version in my office.
Allex Slim 100 Portable Scissors. These compact scissors are a great choice for a portable stationery kit, and available in either a standard stainless or blacked-out fluorine finish.
Exacompta Index Cards. These fountain pen friendly index cards come from the same paper mill as Clairefontaine and Rhodia paper, and come in multiple sizes and rulings. These are classic pieces of stationery that we’ve tried to keep in stock as staples.
Clairefontaine “My Essentials” A5 Notebooks. These were top sellers when we had them in the shop the first time around, and we finally got around to restocking. We have all cover colors available!
Herbin “Shogun” Ink. Way back when we first launched the store, we included this dark grey shimmer ink with an understated look. I’ve never been a huge proponent of shimmer, but it’s growing on me as I expand my range, and Shogun was one of the first that really appealed to me.
Lamy Bottled Ink. We have the full line of Lamy bottled ink back in stock, including Petrol, Sepia, and Dark Lilac.
Tom’s Studio Fountain Pen Ink. Tom’s Studio recently released several new ink colors, including a Clementine Orange, Espresso, and Sepia. These are warmer colors perfect for autumn and, soon, winter!

Blackwing Volume 21 Pencils — Blackwing Volume 21: The Woodworking Pencil

Karatis Tomoe River Paper Journals Color Covers

New Arrivals: Karatis Tomoe River Paper Notebooks

December 9, 2025

Tomoe River Paper has long been a favorite choice of fountain pen enthusiasts, and now that production issues have seemingly stabilized, we are once again starting to see many new brands release notebooks and journals using “TRP”. Our most recent arrival is a line of notebooks from Karatis, featuring blank 52gsm cream paper. (Each notebook ships with guide sheets for maximum versatility.) Karatis notebooks are available in multiple formats, including “Soft” kraft cover notebooks in two sizes, and vegan leather journals containing a substantial 240 sheets/480 pages for those of you who love to journal for multiple pages a day.

Karatis Vegan Leather Tomoe River Journals

We carry a wide range of notebooks featuring Tomoe River Paper, which you can find in our shop. These include the soft and hardcover Sakae notebooks, along with looseleaf sheets, as well as the entire Lochby notebook lineup which uses the slightly heavier 68gsm variant. Visit our Curated Paper section to see all of these and more!

Thursday Drops: New Fountain Pen Nibs & Ink From Tom's Studio, Maruman Padfolios, and an In-Store Exclusive!

December 4, 2025

This has been a fun couple of days as we wind down from the first wave of holidays! We received a large shipment of new and restocked Tom’s Studio items, including both fountain pens (Studio and Studio Pocket) along with new nibs that include Zoom and Fude options. We also have new Tom’s Studio inks (Clementine and Espresso), plus a restock of Lamy pens and Lamy inks in all colors from the standard lineup. Finally, Tom’s Studio has released a new series of Wren Fineliners, the Wren - Write Off! which is made from reclaimed plastic from disposable pens. The caps are delightfully textured and paired with an aluminum writing section.

Paper wise, the shop is fully stocked on Maruman, and though not specifically listed below, we have some TRAVELER’S Notebooks (Passport-size) in Olive, Brown, and Blue leather. TRAVELER’S has been experiencing material shortages, which is why the Standard size has not been available, but we continue to try to restock as we are able.

Tom’s Studio Fountain Pen Nibs (Zoom and Fude). New Tom’s Studio fountain pen nibs include Zoom and Fude versions, as well as additional Architect, EF Steel Flex, and more! These nibs are a great way to test out custom grinds, and they fit the Tom’s Studio fountain pens. I have heard of people pairing them with Bock housings, but I have not experimented myself and cannot vouch for compatibility with any brand other than Tom’s Studio.
Tom’s Studio “The Studio” Fountain Pen. By customer request, we’ve brought back a few of the full-size Tom’s Studio fountain pens as a test run. If they are popular we will stock the entire line. These pens will accept the Tom’s Studio fountain pen nibs.
Tom’s Studio “Studio Pocket” Fountain Pen. This compact fountain pen works the same way as the Wren fineliners, with a pocketable form that expands to a full-size fountain pen. These pens will accept the Tom’s Studio fountain pen nibs.
Tom’s Studio Fountain Pen Inks in New Colors! The Tom’s Studio fountain pen inks are now available in three new colors, “Clementine” (a golden orange), Espresso, and Sepia. (The latter two are exactly what you would expect, rounding out the line with different shades of brown.) We’ve also restocked on many popular colors.
Lamy 2000 Fountain Pens. One more post-holiday Lamy restock arrived, including a shipment of Lamy 2000 fountain pens. We started with most nib sizes but some already have sold.
Lamy 2000 Multi Pens. The 4-color ballpoint/multi pen is one of our top sellers, and an incredibly versatile multi pen in that it takes universal-style D1 refills. You can read more about why we love this pen here.
Lamy Fountain Pen Inks. Lamy surprised many by adding three new inks to their permanent lineup this year, including new versions of old special editions Dark Lilac and Petrol, plus a somewhat out-of-nowhere release of Sepia. Of these three, Petrol is probably my favorite.
Maruman Mnemosyne Notepad Holders. We’ve finally been able to restock the Mnemosyne Notepad Holders in the 5-Pocket format. Each of these padfolios holds a Mnemosyne grid writing pad in either A4 or A5 size. We also have extra pads of paper available.
Maruman Mnemosyne Spiral Notebooks and Notepads. Maruman Mnemosyne remains one of my go-to recommendations for a nice professional notebook. These are available in multiple sizes and rulings.
Maruman Basic Spiral Note in A4. The excellent (and inexpensive) Maruman Basic notebook is available in A4 size, in addition to A5 and B5. These notebooks remain fountain pen friendly while coming in at a lower price point than the Mnemosyne line, featuring a kraft cover and single wire spiral.
In-Store Only: Maruman Mnemosyne A3 Spiral Pads. These giant spiral writing pads can’t easily be shipped, so this is an in-store item for the time being. We have a small number so if you want one please come see us in-store!