Weekly Drops: ECO Glow Purple Pre-Orders, Traveler's 2023 Calendars, and an Early Fountain Pen Day Promotion!

This week in the Curated Shop, we welcomed Opus 88, and also received our initial allotment of Traveler’s Notebook dated refills in both Standard and Passport size. We have T.G.S. Penwells in stock and available to ship, as well as a full restock of iLootPaperie washi tape and Nahvalur and TWSBI fountain pens. Finally, we are giving away three bottles of Anderillium Ink! Check out this post for details, and don’t forget to visit the Instagram giveaway post as well.

Speaking of fountain pens and ink, we are launching one of our Fountain Pen Day promotions a week early! As of now, all fountain pen purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop ship with a free ink sample. We previously ran this promotion to celebrate the Nahvalur launch, but are expanding it through Fountain Pen Day (November 4)! Purchase a new fountain pen and fill it immediately!

UPDATE: TWSBI ECO Glow Purple Pre-Orders are now available! Match your ECO Glow Green, and the pens will ship on Halloween!

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

1. Traveler’s Notebook 2023 Diaries (Standard and Passport). The 2023 Traveler’s Notebook Diary inserts are now available for purchase, in all five variants. The Standard size features Weekly Vertical, Weekly + Memo, and Monthly options, while the Passport size features weekly and monthly inserts. (Photos have not been updated yet, so even though 2022 is pictured, you will receive a 2023 edition.) We are fully stocked on most Traveler’s Notebook covers, refills, and accessories.

2. T.G.S. x Penwell Exclusive “Aged Red” Edition. The T.G.S. Penwell is back in stock, in our exclusive “Aged Red” finish. In case you missed yesterday’s post on how I use the Penwell and why I love it so much, check it out here.

3. Opus 88 Minty Fountain Pens. The latest release from Opus 88 features a cracked-ice style acrylic in “light blue” (really a teal green) and “orange” (really a coral) colors. This streamlined flat-top pen holds a ton of ink, and the Japanese-style eyedropper system ensures your pen is leak free on an airplane or in your bag.

4. Opus 88 Jazz Fountain Pen. This frosted cigar-shaped demonstrator also features Opus 88’s high-capacity Japanese-style eyedropper system, making it one of my personal favorite workhorses.

5. Nahvalur Nautilus Ebonite Fountain Pen. Nahvalur’s Flagship “Nautilus” fountain pen has fast become a preferred recommendation for those looking for a larger piston filler that won’t break the bank. You can read the review here.

6. Nahvalur “Original Plus” Fountain Pen. At an even more attractive price point, Nahvalur offers the “Original Plus,” a new take on their first fountain pen that features lightly swirled transparent acrylic with a high-capacity vacuum filling system. Full writeup here.

7. TWSBI ECO Fountain Pens. At only $32 for a high-quality piston-filler, it’s easy to see why the TWSBI ECO series is so popular. We have stock of recent releases including the Cerulean Blue and the “Glow Green,” with the “Glow Purple” on the way next week!

8. TWSBI 580 Fountain Pens. The first TWSBI is still a favorite, with a reliable piston-filling system, interchangeable nib units, and a variety of different finishes from which to choose. The big seller has been the iridescent “Iris” finish.

9. TWSBI Swipe Fountain Pens. The Swipe is TWSBI’s first fountain pen with a cartridge-converter option, making it perfect for those not quite ready to commit to bottled ink but who would still like the option. The Swipe comes in four colors: Prussian Blue, Smoke, Pear (light green), and Salmon (light orange). Read our write-up on why we like the Swipe here.

10. iLootPaperie Washi Tape. We recently added over a dozen new patterns of washi tapes to the shop, and restocked on many different favorites.

Review Revisited: The Penwell Classic Five Years Later

It’s been five years since Penwell Co. (since renamed Good Made Better as they’ve expanded their range of goods) introduced the Penwell, a thoughtfully engineered desktop pen stand designed to allow you to enjoy the “desk pen” experience with any fountain pen or other capped writing instrument. I’ve received a few questions over the past two weeks regarding how exactly the Penwell works and how I use it, so I thought it might be fun to do a “review revisited” post.

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I have two Classic Penwells: one in the brass finish, and one in our exclusive “Aged Red”.

The beauty of the Penwell is that it’s such a simple product. It consists of three parts: (1) the base, available in a variety of materials and finishes; (2) a foam insert, which secures the pen cap, and (3) a microsuction pad that adheres to your desk or other surface. The Penwell’s base does not use any sort of adhesive, but rather thousands of tiny microscopic suction cups. I have two different Penwells that I’ve used for years, and despite moving them around multiple times, I’ve never had the microsuction pad damage the finish on any surface, nor has it lost any of its stickiness. If you find the Penwell coming loose or sliding around, all you typically need to do is wipe the microsuction surface with a damp cloth and you’re good to go.

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The foam insert is flexible enough to accommodate pens of varying sizes. While I’ve been able to use nearly all pens with the standard foam insert (which ships with our Aged Red Model), if you have an especially large pen you can purchase a thinner XL foam sleeve for $5 directly from Good Made Better.

As I noted in my original review, I love that the Penwell gives me the ability to “park” my pen cap-down while I’m working, especially with larger pens that don’t post. One reason that I post my pens is that I get (justifiably) nervous about the cap getting knocked off the desk onto the floor, and my strategically placed Penwells give me peace of mind. The Penwell base holds the cap securely, so you can uncap your pen one-handed and easily recap when you’re finished writing, as you would with a traditional desk pen. Currently, I have one Penwell stationed on my main desk in my home office, and another on each standing desk, at home and in my office downtown.

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The Penwell microsuction base on a two year-old Penwell. For a demonstration of how to use the pen holder, check out this Instagram video.

I’ve always loved the idea of a dedicated desk pen, especially some of the more lovely vintage sets, but the bases tend to have a large footprint and the pens themselves aren’t especially versatile, featuring long tapers and low ink capacity. With the Penwell, you can use your pen of choice in “desk pen mode”, and then pull it out to take it with you when you move away from your desk. That said, I sometimes use my larger Opus 88 eyedroppers, such as the classic “Demonstrator” pens, as semi-permanent desk pens when they’re inked. They hold so much ink that if I’m on a busy streak at work and don’t want to worry about refilling, I can park them in the Penwell and keep a fountain pen at the ready, which is convenient for those days when I accidentally leave my pen case at home. Below I’ve included pictures of the Penwell with fountain pens in different sizes, to showcase the versatility.

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Penwell with Opus 88 Demo

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Penwell with PenBBS Pneumatic

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Penwell with TWSBI ECO

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Penwell with Opus 88 Minty

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Penwell with Platinum Plaisir

Takeaways and Where to Buy

Years later, the Penwell is still one of my most-used desk accessories, which is notable because I tend to cycle through things and “redecorate” my workspace often. There are very few constants on my desktop. I expect the appreciation for this product is widespread, given that Good Made Better has expanded over the years and become a fixture at pen shows.

Here, I liked the Penwell so much that it was my first choice for a product collaboration back in 2020 when I launched the T.G.S. Curated Shop. In addition to our own special-edition Penwell in the T.G.S.-exclusive “Aged Red” finish, you can purchase other Penwells directly from the Good Made Better website, along with a range of other desk accessories designed to make your work more enjoyable, including the recently released “Bookfellow” book weight. The Penwell Classic (which remains my preferred model) comes in a variety of different finishes, though you may also want to check out the larger Penwell Craftsman and the portable Penwell Traveller.

The T.G.S. Curated Shop is an authorized retailer of certain Penwell products. This post does not contain paid third-party affiliate links. T.G.S. is supported entirely by purchases through the T.G.S. Curated Shop and the T.G.S. Patreon Program.

Giveaway Time! Win a Bottle of Anderillium Ink!

I’m “out of the office” today for a family event, so it’s time for a giveaway post! Three winners will receive a bottle of Anderillium Ink from one of the following colors: Vampire Squid Red, Common Loon Black, Spirula Green, Blue Ringed Octopus Blue, American Goldfinch Yellow, or Indigo Bunting Blue. You can read more about Anderillium Ink here!

To enter, comment on this post and/or like the accompanying Instagram post, and next week I will pick a winner using a random number generator. The giveaway will remain open until 11:59pm Central U.S. time on Sunday, October 30, 2022. While the giveaway is open to everyone (provided it’s possible for me to ink ship to you), I may request that you chip in for international shipping if it ends up being prohibitively expensive. Also, if you comment anonymously or don’t allow Instagram DMs, I may not be able to contact you to tell you that you won.

Finally, remember that all orders for fountain pens placed in the T.G.S. Curated Shop through next Friday, November 4 will receive a free ink sample! No promotional code necessary!

This giveaway is not a paid promotion. The T.G.S. Curated Shop is an authorized retailer of Anderillium ink and all other brands sold.

New in the Shop: Welcome Opus 88!

When you’re looking for a quality pen with a large ink capacity, workhorse durability, and comfortable, vintage-inspired design, it’s hard to go wrong with Opus 88. Made in Taiwan, Opus 88 first become known for their colorful demonstrator fountain pens, and have in recent years expanded into a broader range of materials and designs. What has remained consistent is the brand’s excellent Japanese-style eyedropper filling system. Each fountain pen ships with a glass dropper to allow you to fill the barrel directly with ink, yet the pen itself also features a valve system that you can open and close to manage ink flow - open it for longer writing sessions where you want ink to flow freely; close it when traveling with the pen (especially on an airplane) to prevent leaks. I’ve written a lot about Opus 88 fountain pens over the years, and you can read the “Workhorse Pen” overview here.

The Opus 88 Jazz Demonstrator

We currently offer two different models of Opus 88 fountain pens: the “Minty”, which is a streamlined flat top fountain pen in vintage-style flecked acrylic, and the translucent cigar-shaped “Jazz” demonstrator, a personal favorite of mine. Both pens are priced at $125 and $120, respectively, and feature reliable No. 6 JoWo nibs. As a preview of our upcoming Fountain Pen Day promotions, starting today all purchases of any fountain pen from the T.G.S. Curated Shop will ship with a free ink sample, so you can get your Opus 88 eyedropper writing immediately!

The Gentleman Stationer is supported by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. All domestic U.S. orders over $75 ship free. Many thanks for your support!

Sunday Reading for October 23, 2022

1. Colorado Pen Show Recap (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). Though a smaller regional show, the Colorado Pen Show always receives good reviews, and if you’re West of the Mississippi it should be on your list of shows to attend.

2. Edison Pens Collier Grande with #8 Nib (via SBRE Brown). Back when it was first introduced, the standard Collier fountain pen was considered huge! Today, not so much. The Collier Grande features a huge No. 8 nib that many people I’ve spoken with have enjoyed.

3. Meet Your Maker - Tim Crowe, Turnt Pen Company (via Pen Addict). I’ve enjoyed reading this recent Pen Addict series of profiles on independent makers

4. Esterbrook Premium Camden Northern Lights Manitoba Blue (via Macchiato Man). This year Esterbrook released “Premium” models of their Camden fountain pen, with colorized nibs from Hinze Pens. As always, Yagan has a quite thorough review.

5. Endless Recorder Regalia vs. Cosmo Air Light (via Well-Appointed Desk). Endless, unfortunately has had to move away from both Tomoe River 68gsm (gah!), but their Regalia substitute looks excellent. I’ve not tried it myself but it’s received good reviews.

6. Sunshine: Penco A5 College Ruled Notebook (via A Fleeting Ripple). As you all know, we sell Penco products in our shop, but I’ve been somewhat hesitant to stock their notebooks given that I don’t know much about performance. Since Penco as a pen company is mainly known for their ballpoints and mechanical pencils (which are great) it probably shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the paper isn’t designed for fountain pens.

7. New Pen: New Moon (via Fountain Pen Blog). Delike apparently has a writer’s Fude nib on the market, with only a slightly upturned tip, making it excellent for writing?

8. Sailors’ Dilemma (via The Poor Penman). I managed to successfully avoid Sailor’s North American “Don’t Miss the Boat” sale (mainly because I was out of town), but you could get some absolutely insane deals! To this day, I’ve never owned a Sailor Zoom nib, but I am intrigued a bit because they’ve been getting a lot of attention lately.

9. Blackwing Soft Handheld Eraser (Well-Appointed Desk). Blackwing has worked on building out their accessory lineup, with the latest being a larger handheld eraser based off the iconic Blackwing ferrule.

10. M1000 Maki-e Phoenix Limited Edition (via Pelikan’s Perch). I always admire the artistry on teh M1000 Maki-e edition, even though the pens have always been more than a bit out of my price range.

In Case You Missed It…

This week on the blog things got back into a bit of a rhythm following my return from vacation. I published the fourth installment of my “Guide to Notebook Systems,” this time looking at single-book systems (or “Non-System Systems”), using Midori MD as an example. I’ve enjoyed writing this series and it’s almost complete. I also reviewed two inks from Anderillium: Colossal Squid Dark and Green Kingfisher Green, both of which are darker green-black/teal-black colors that make for excellent workhorses.

This Week in the TGS Curated Shop: T.G.S. Exclusive Penwells Are In Stock and Shipping!

Our collaboration with Good Made Better - the T.G.S.-exclusive Penwell in the “Aged Red” Finish, is back in stock after a two-year hiatus! For this run, we’ve managed to keep the pricing the same, and Patreon members qualify for a special discount + free shipping, so members should check the Patreon site for details. We also restocked some favorite Washi Tape patterns, and added nearly a dozen more from iLootPaperie, which you won’t want to miss. You can check out the full new releases post here, as well as an update regarding the latest special editions from Caran d’Ache, the “Colour Treasure” editions.

Platinum

Caran d'Ache

Anderillium

Washi Tape!

Many Thanks for Your Shop Support, and Please Consider T.G.S. Patreon!

We’ve been surprised at the level of enthusiasm and support for our curated retail strategy over the past couple of months, and after careful consideration are beginning to build out our inventory with more brands and product categories. I love managing this aspect of T.G.S., as it offers me the opportunity to directly put great stationery - including brands I feel are underappreciated and underemphasized - into your hands. For those who want to support T.G.S. without necessarily adding to their accumulation, the Patreon Program offers two options for tiers of support: $3 and $5, and plan on making monthly meetups, pen show events, and periodic exclusive content the primary benefits. Of course, Patreon members will continue to get first access to periodic sample sales, with right of first refusal on gently used pens. (Reminder that those pens which made it through Patreon are now available to the general readership!)