Weekly Drops: New Teranishi Inks, More Taccia, and the Pilot Custom Heritage 92 in All Nib Sizes

This week’s theme is ink, as we have plenty of new arrivals from Teranishi and Taccia! We’ve also introduced a wide array of new gel pens in vibrant colors from Pilot’s Juice Up and Juice Plus lines, and we’ve also restocked all of our Uni Zentos and Zebra Sarasa Vintage. On the pen side, we recently received restocks from TWSBI, Pilot, and Lamy, with many long-time TGS “Workhorse” favorites now back in stock for graduation season.

Note: Our allocation of the TRAVELER’S 20th Anniversary Card-Size Notebook sold out in under an hour online. We have a couple left that we have set aside for in-store customers, so if you’re early today you might get lucky. Unfortunately, we do not have any insight into when we might receive an additional shipment.

See these and more in-person! Come visit us in our Nashville store this weekend from 1-6pm Thursday and Friday, and from 10am-6pm on Saturday.

1. Teranishi Fujiyama Irodori Inks. This line of inks from Teranishi features six colors inspired by Mt. Fuji, and we now have five of them. Teranishi inks are free-flowing and vibrant, and some of our favorites.

2. Teranishi Guitar Inks (Standard Line). The standard Teranishi Guitar line features many unique colors, especially in the green range. Lady Emerald, Brilliant Mint, and Gentle Green are perennial favorites.

3. Taccia Ukiyo-e Kuniyoshi and Hokusai Inks (New Releases). Taccia has released 16 new inks of the past few months, and they’ve all finally arrived. This round features darker, more subtle colors than previous releases, especially the Kuniyoshi inks.

4. Taccia Roughna “Sketch” Ink. An underrated release of four colors that flew under the radar, especially Earth Green and Earth Blue which are both excellent shades that absolutely invoke their namesake.

5. Pilot Juice Up and Juice Plus Gel Pens. We’ve added all the colors of Pilot’s “Synergy Tip” gel pens, the Juice Up and Juice Plus, to our shop. The Synergy Tip technology combines the precision of the Hi-Tec-C with the reliability of a traditional conical tip gel pen. I reviewed both of these gel pens last week.

6. Pilot Custom Heritage 92 Fountain Pens. I wish Pilot would do more with their piston filler, because the mechanism is one of the smoothest I’ve used and the clear acrylic is perfectly polished. Now available in nib sizes fine through broad. Are you confused about Pilot’s “Custom” series and the different models? We wrote up a quick overview a few weeks ago.

7. TWSBI ECO Black Marble & Bronze Fountain Pens. The popular Black Marble & Bronze is restocked. This one features a swirled black and white acrylic with TWSBI’s bronze-plated trim.

8. TWSBI Vac700R in Iris and Kyanite Blue Finishes. Based on availability we are seeking, the Kyanite Vac700R is either going away in the near future or is in short supply. We recently received pens in both the Kyanite and Iris as part of a recent restock.

9. Lamy Studio Fountain Pens, Rollerballs, and Ballpoints. We’ve expanded our range of Lamy Studios on offer to include the standard color rollerballs and ballpoints, listed alongside the fountain pens to make it easy to create a set. With graduation season approaching, we’ve restocked on pens like the Lamy Studio and the Lamy Swift, both understated workhorses that are well-priced.

10. Belle & Union Stationery Themed Stickers. In addition to their excellent correspondence sets, we’ve restocked on all of the Belle & Union stationery-themed vinyl stickers to adorn your water bottle, laptop, or wherever else you want to show your love for stationery!

We’ve been adding additional Belle & Union folded notecards and other correspondence stationery to our specialized letter-writing section of the shop.

New Arrivals: New Taccia Ukiyo-e Hokusai Inks (and more Kuniyoshi!)

Taccia is on a roll, having recently doubled the size of their much-loved Ukiyo-e series of fountain pen inks from 16 to 32 colors. Earlier this month, we received an initial shipment of the Kuniyoshi series, which sold quickly but has since been restocked. Just this past week (with our restock) we also received eight (8) new Hokusai inks. I’ve swatched all of the new colors and from this most recent release, Nakahanada and Rikan-Cha are probably my two favorites!

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Hokusai Nakahanada is best described as a dark teal black, with some sheen. Note that these new releases also have artwork on the bottles.

Rikan-Cha is a dark greenish brown.

Most of the Taccia Ukiyo-e inks are currently available, including all of the Kuniyoshi and the 8 most recent Hokusai inks. They can be purchased both in our online shop and in the Nashville store, and as always you can compare color swatches using our shop swatch books.

We will be open normal hours this week in our Nashville shop, from 1-6pm Thursday and Friday, and from 10am-6pm Saturday. Stop by to see these and more in-person!

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Thursday Drops: New Japanese Gel Pens and Highlighters, Kuru Toga Wood Pencils, and a Graphilo Restock!

Over the past year, we’ve been working to expand our selection of Japanese gel pens, low-viscosity ballpoints, and highlighters, including many not typically found outside Japan. This past week we received a shipment that included the Pilot Juice Plus, the Pilot Kire-Na double-ended highlighter, and a restock of various Uni Jetstream Lite Touch and Zento gel pens. We even have more of the SXR-600 Parker-style Jetstream refills, which I consider one of the best widely compatible ballpoint refills available. We’ve also received a restock of Uni Kuru Toga mechanical pencils, including new versions like the Kuru Toga “Wood” series.

The new Uni Kuru Toga Wood mechanical pencils, available in two colors!

On the paper side, Graphilo is restocked in most formats, including A4 and A5 looseleaf, and we also have loads of new Midori, including Soft Color notebooks in both staple-bound and spiral/wirebound formats. (You’ll see these featured in this week’s episode of On The Paper Trail!)

Update: As of Friday, April 17, we have additional stock of the Taccia “Kuniyoshi” Ukiyo-e Inks! Be sure to check these out as there are some great colors in here.

Come see these and more in-person at our Nashville location! We are open Thursday-Friday 1pm-6pm, and on Saturday from 10am-6pm.

1. Pilot Juice Plus Gel Pens. The Pilot Juice features Pilot’s new “Synergy” tip, which is a hybrid between a needle-tip and a conical tip and designed to deliver precision while maintaining flow and durability. The Juice Plus (or “Juice+”) is an excellent fine-tip writer, currently available in .4mm.

2. Pilot Kire-Na Double-Ended Highlighters. Pilot’s answer to the popular Mildliners, the Kire-Na features an innovative clear “guide” on the broad end which helps you keep your highlights all neat and clean. The fine tip is even finer than a Mildliner, allowing you to highlight smaller text with precision or even annotate. Available in 10 different colors.

3. Uni Kuru Toga Wood Mechanical Pencils. We’ve been trying to source these mechanical pencils for nearly a year, and finally managed to procure a small shipment. The Kuru Toga Wood features a contoured dark wood grip paired with a softly knurled upper metal barrel. Available in two colors, green and grey.

4. Uni Kuru Toga Alpha Gel Switch Mechanical Pencils. Looking for an all-day, every-day comfortable writer? We’re huge fans of the Kuru Toga Alpha Gel Switch, which comes in a wide array of colors, two different lead sizes, and with the ability to turn the Kuru Toga rotating mechanism on and off.

5. Pentel Tradio and PulaMan Fineliner/Fountain Pens. We recently received stock of the standard Pentel Tradio refillable fineliners, as well as the single-use/disposable PulaMan pens which feature a similar tip. Note that these are the standard versions and not the dark green Craft Design Technology versions, which are in the process of being restocked as well.

6. iiro 6-ring Refills. Kobeha, maker of Graphilo paper, also released these fun Bible-size refills which feature colorful dot-grid paper. Note that these relatively inexpensive refills are NOT made with Graphilo, but rather a more absorbent paper that’s designed to dry quickly and is better suited to ballpoints, gel, and rollerballs than especially wet fountain pens.

7. Graphilo Paper. We’ve restocked on most variants of Graphilo paper, including looseleaf, standard A5 and A5 Square notebooks, and the memo blocks. Graphilo paper is some of the most fountain pen-friendly paper available, and has rapidly become a shop favorite.

8. Belle & Union Correspondence Sets. By popular request, we’ve increased our selection of correspondence sets, including notecards and letter-size paper. We’ve even added their popular desk box, which includes both sizes.

9. Kaweco Metal Sport Fountain Pens. We have additional stock of the popular Stainless Steel Kaweco Sport fountain pens, as well as continued stock of the new Lunar Light Green and Shadow Green releases!

10. Kaweco Liliput Fountain Pens. We’ve also received additional green and brass Kaweco Liliputs, which are two of the more popular finishes of Kaweco’s most popular pocket pen.

New Arrivals: Stationery Sets from Belle & Union, Plus Washi Tapes from Papier Platz and Oeda Letterpress!

We’ve continued to build out the written correspondence section of the shop, adding additional notecard/envelope sets as well as traditional half and full-sheet letter sets. San Antonio-based Belle & Union uses 100% cotton paper printed with snail mail and analog-themed motifs, and they’ve even assembled a desk box that contains both notecards and letter paper so you have a complete correspondence set ready to go for whatever type of writing you need to do. Be sure to check out the full line of Belle & Union products both online and in-store!

We’ve also expanded our washi tape offerings to include new designs from Papier Platz and Oeda Letterpress, two Japanese brands specializing in stationery and calligraphy-themed tapes and other accessories. Papier Platz has collaborated with Japanese artist Eric Small Things on a line of washi tapes that includes fountain pen ink, bookshelves, and desk art - these are among my favorite of the new washi tapes, particularly the “My Desk” and “Writing Utensils” designs.

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We will be open normal hours this week in our Nashville shop, from 1-6pm Thursday and Friday, and from 10am-6pm Saturday. Stop by to see these and more in-person!

Thursday Drops: Jetstream Prime, Kuru Toga Pencils, Zento Flow and More!

Four huge boxes arrived from Japan after making their way through customs, allowing us to finally restock on Kuru Toga and Tombow Mono “Shaker” mechanical pencils, Uni Zento Flow pens, new Jetstream Prime Pens, and, yes, more ink from Teranishi and Herbin! My favorite of these new arrivals are the all-matte-black Jetstream Prime (clip included) with a .7mm refill, and the Zento Flow “Birch”, which features a half-white, half etched aluminum barrel and a .38mm refill. Uni Jetstream ink is among the smoothest of the low-viscosity ballpoints, and the Zento gel ink has a matte texture that writes with little friction and dries extremely fast.

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The latest Uni Zento Flow arrival is this “Birch” version which features a combination white and etched aluminum barrel.

If you come visit us in store, we have testers of all these pens and more at the back of the shop to try out in person. We’re open this week Thursday and Friday from 1-6pm, and on Saturday from 10am-6pm. We hope to see you soon!

1. Kuru Toga Alpha Gel Switch Mechanical Pencil. Available in seven different colors and two tip sizes (.5mm and .3mm), the Switch features a comfortable gel grip and a switch that allows you to turn the Kuru Toga engine on and off, depending on whether you want the lead to rotate.

2. Tombow Mono Graph “Tune” Mechanical Pencil. The Tombow Mono “Shaker” style pencil now comes in four dark matte colors replete with matching matte trim.

3. Kuru Toga KS Mechanical Pencils. These entry-level Kuru Toga pencils are available again in muted pastel shades, as well as “Iron Blue” and Olive Green.

4. Uni Zento Flow Gel Pen. The Uni Zento Flow is the “mid-range” Zento, with a metal barrel that adds a touch of heft while maintaining a reasonable price point. As I mentioned above, we’ve recently added two new colors: Hematite (a dark grey) and “Birch” (a white barrel with etched aluminum finish).

5. Uni Jetstream Prime Ballpoints (including the new All Matte-Black). The Jetstream Prime is a go-to recommendation of mine for those looking for a standard “professional” ballpoint, and the new all matte-black finish with a .7mm refill might be my standard gift recommendation for graduation and holiday season.

6. Uni Jetstream Prime Lite Touch 3 Multi Pen. We have all four colors of the excellent Jetstream Prime Lite Touch 3, including the yellow and “Ivy Green” (which is definitely more like a blue). The Prime Lite Touch 3 is a three-slot multi pen that holds three Jetstream Lite Touch refills (black, blue and red). No mechanical pencil.

7. Uni Jetstream 4+1 Lite Touch Multi Pens. For those who want a mechanical pencil option, we stock the Jetstream 4+1 as well (black, blue, red, and green + .5mm mechanical pencil).

8. Uni Pure Malt “Oakwood” 4+1 Multi Pen. The “Oakwood” multi pen features a matte black barrel with a grip made from reclaimed whiskey barrels. We’re happy to have more of these unique pieces.

9. Herbin “Couleurs de Paris” Fountain Pen Inks. Colors inspired by scenes from Paris, France. Go figure that “Tour Eiffel” is the winner so far in terms of in-store popularity!

10. Teranishi Guitar Fountain Pen Inks. One of our top-selling ink line has been restocked, including favorite colors like Gentle Green, Lady Emerald, and Traveling Sepia.

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The latest addition to the Uni Jetstream Prime lineup - an all-matte-black version that includes a matte black clip similar to that found on the Prime Lite Touch 3 Multi Pen.