Curated Shop Updates: Keith Haring from Caran d'Ache, plus the Rylsee "Creative Nomad" Fixpencil Set

I love the fall, not least because it’s always time for another round of Caran d’Ache collaboration releases! This year’s offerings feature a line of products inspired by pop artist Keith Haring, as well as a special edition Fixpencil set developed in collaboration with the Swiss lettering artists Rylsee. The latter is a truly special release, as it includes not only the Rylsee signature Fixpencil but a set of 3B leads, eraser, plus a set of Fibralo brush and fibre-tipped pens along with access to an online lettering course!

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Shown here is the Caran d’Ache Keith Haring Colour Set, which includes 10 water soluble colored pencils plus a Fibralo brush pen. Use them with the Keith Haring A5 Colour Pad, featuring 20 different prints.

In addition to these limited quantity releases (more of which will be coming in the next few weeks), we’ve added to our selection of Caran d’Ache woodcase pencils (as well as our wide selection of pencils in general) and at customer request, expanded our line of Fixpencil replacement leads to include 12-packs. You can view the full selection of Caran d’Ache products, including all the new arrivals, here.

The Gentleman Stationer is an authorized retailer of all brands sold, including Caran d’Ache.

Sunday Reading for November 5, 2023

1. Ink Thoughts: Montblanc Dragon Red (via A Gathering of Curiosities). This is a lovely shade of red. One inevitable consequence of the ongoing “limited edition ink craze” - combined with the fact that many companies are now expanding their standard ink lineups to include hundreds of colors - is the duplication or near-duplication of colors (even if it’s unintentional and not part of a cynical cash grab).

2. Platinum Chou Kuro Black Ink Review (via Pen Addict). None more black: the review.

3. Hobonichi A5 Notebook (via Stationery Pizza). I’ve recently picked up both Hobonichi Planners and the Notebooks in A5 and A6, and look forward to working my way through them. It’s been a while since I’ve revisited the Hobonichi lineup.

4. Professional (Hand)writing Tool (via Pen Picture). What qualifies as a “professional” writing instrument? Honestly, I’ve gotten by using pretty much anything I want in the office over the years, but what type of pen or pencil best suits your needs will be specific to your particular situation.

5. A Quick Survey on How We Experience Wet Inks and Dry Inks (via mnmlscholar). The survey linked to in this article only takes a few minutes to fill out, and I’m interested to see the results. I love how this hobby leads people in so many different directions.

6. Time for a Change (via Rachel’s Reflections). Fountain Pen Day always gets me thinking about how I optimize my own rotation. I plan to do a big clean-out this evening.

7. Pen Show Pick-Ups: An Over-Due Overview (via The Poor Penman). I don’t think I’ve done a personal overview of everything I picked up this year, much less published a grand look back. Maybe in connection with the year-end review pieces…

8. Bright Night Designs Bright (via Dapprman). Yet another reason to eventually make it to the UK, with this proliferation of independent makers hopefully helping to further grow the pen show scene.

9. M600 Art Collection - Glauco Cambon Special Edition (via Pelikan’s Perch). I had the opportunity to see one of these in person this weekend - it’s a gorgeous pen, though there are less-pronounced red tones in person than appear in the picture.

10. Trick or Treat: Sailor North America Decreasing Prices on Select Collections (via Well-Appointed Desk). My guess is that this is a result of the North American pricing being out of whack with the rest of the world, driving customers to overseas retailers and the grey market, combined with a seemingly endless stream of “limited” editions that hang around for years and that retailers apparently have trouble selling due to oversupply.

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The Tile 2-Pen Box from NFP Design shown with two recent TWSBI Releases: the ECO-T “Rosso” and the TWSBI Kai.

In Case You Missed It…

This week on the blog I reviewed the “Tile” 2-pen box from a new company I had the opportunity to visit with at this year’s D.C. Pen Show: NFP Design. And since it was Fountain Pen Day week, I published a short piece on why I think this event, entering its 12th year, is important, going beyond the annual sales promotions.

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Celebrate Fountain Pen Day with us and get yourself some TGS and Fountain Pen Day Swag in your order!

This Week in the T.G.S. Curated Shop (It’s Fountain Pen Day! Or Fountain Pen Week! Or Fountain Pen Weekend….) PLUS New Gently Used Items!

Today is the last day of our own Fountain Pen Day promotion and sale. You can take 10% off most orders (excluding brands such as Roterfaden and TWSBI) using the code “FPDAY23” at checkout, and there are also tiered “add-ons” at certain order thresholds. You can read the full details here. Also, be sure to enter our Fountain Pen Day giveaway, with full details on yesterday’s blog post and Instagram. While Roterfaden and TWSBI can’t be discounted, purchases of these items will count towards your tier bonuses.

Finally, the Gently Used Page has been updated to include those items that remain after Patreon members took the first pass! These specific items are not eligible for further discounting, as they’ve been priced to move.

TWSBI

Roterfaden

Kaweco

Diamine

Patreon Update - Support T.G.S. via Sample Sales, Early Access, and Meetups!

If you’re interested in further supporting T.G.S., consider joining the T.G.S. Patreon, which features not only access to meetups and the early gently used sales (one of which is pending now), but more exclusive content. Patreon support starts as low as $3 per month, and if you pay annually there is a further discount. In addition to purchases from The Curated Shop, Patreon allows us to continue to grow the site without relying on advertisements and affiliate marketing. If you’re interested in meetups and exclusive content, or simply supporting the site, we greatly appreciate your pledge!

Why Fountain Pen Day is Important: Reflections on 12 Years

Has it really been 12 years? I didn’t realize that the community has been celebrating Fountain Pen Day for more than a decade until I opened up this year’s shipment of Fountain Pen Day swag and realized that it’s emblazoned with “12th Anniversary!” I don’t plan to get very far into the history of the holiday - Kimberly over at the Pen Addict recently published an interview with Fountain Pen Day founder/creator Cary Yeager that does just that - but I did want to briefly reflect on why I enjoy Fountain Pen Day and why I think it’s important that we as a community continue to celebrate.

1. If Things Are Important To You, You Owe Them A Day. Fountain Pen Day is sometimes cynically written off as “Black Friday for Pens.” Look, I get the sentiment. Fountain Pen Day “the event” has grown exponentially since it was first launched, and - intentionally or not - has morphed into one of the biggest sales events of the year for many stationery retailers. Some of the hype borders on FOMO-driven consumerism. That said, I still believe that the idea of a day devoted specifically to fountain pens remains important because of what it represents. With “tech” increasingly pushed on us at every turn, celebrating Fountain Pen Day makes a statement to others about what we value, and provides us with an opportunity to reflect on why we devote so much time, energy (and money!) to this thing we love that goes far beyond a hobby.

2. If You Value Small Business and Independent Makers, Support Small Business and Independent Makers. I can personally vouch for the fact that the vast majority of us on the “business side” of fountain pens are not in this to make a lot of money. We do this because we love writing and want to do our part to ensure that quality pens, paper, and ink continue to exist well into the future. Events like Fountain Pen Day serve as a concrete reminder that if you value smaller, niche industries, it’s essential to make a conscious effort to support the participants you want to see continue, rather than defaulting to Amazon or whoever offers the biggest discount. Sure, nearly everyone has limited funds to devote to their hobby, but I’ve made a conscious effort to redirect my own personal spending this year to specific people I care about and who I want to see succeed.

3. It’s Nice to Have a Permanent “Stopping Point” for the Year to Evaluate How I Use My Planners and Notebooks and What I Might Want to Change. Over the years, Fountain Pen Day has become a waypoint, which signals the start of my personal year-end review process and gives me a full two months to think about what works, what doesn’t, and what I need to change for the following year. For example, I rarely buy planners in October, when Midori, Hobonichi, etc. release their new editions. I force myself to wait a month until Fountain Pen Day, which pauses the FOMO and allows me to reflect on what planner or journal I might realistically use.

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So How Did I Celebrate Fountain Pen Day? Plus Some Big News!

I actually intended to publish this short post yesterday, but as you’ll read below, the day turned into a bit of an event! I kicked off the day by visiting friends from our local/regional pen club at the Columbia Arts Building in Columbia, Tennessee, about 40 minutes south of where I live. After meeting for coffee, I had the opportunity to stop in and support another small retailer at Butler Stationery. If you ever make your way down to Columbia, it’s a great little shop with a nice selection of pens, ink, and paper.

Second, I took possession of and moved into the new offices of The Gentleman Stationer! Our operation has grown to the point where the business needs to begin moving out of our home. This isn’t a retail location - it will primarily serve as a space for me to work on administrative and content-related projects with a permanent setup - but at some point in the near future we will probably offer the option to pick up orders at the office. (We’re not quite there yet). Stay tuned for updates.

Finally, while the office move prevented me from attending this week’s Ohio Pen Show in Columbus, I will be going to pen club for Fountain Pen Day weekend! Those of you in the greater Nashville, Tennessee area (both residents and visitors!) should consider attending a meetup of the Middle Tennessee Fountain Pen Club. Meetings take place every Saturday at alternating locations. Details are available through the Facebook Group and/or a mailing list. (I’m not an admin - just a member - so please don’t rely on me to sign you up.)

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In addition to adding office space, we recently had to lease a larger warehouse space to accommodate growth!

T.G.S. Fountain Pen Day Promotions and Giveaways

All T.G.S. Fountain Pen Day promotions from yesterday’s post will run through 11:59pm tomorrow. Starting today, we are also launching a giveaway of two Esterbrook x Fountain Pen Day pen sleeves (shown at the top), both in this year’s Magenta colorway! All you need to do to enter the giveaway is to comment on either this blog post or the ensuing Instagram post that will be up shortly. No purchase is necessary, and I will choose a winner by numbering all comments and selecting two winners using a random number generator. Each winner will also receive a full T.G.S. Swag Pack. Many thanks for all your support this Fountain Pen Day!

The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop, and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. Patreon members get exclusive access to meetups, periodic additional content, plus early access to my quarterly “Gently Used” sales. New items not claimed by Patreon members were recently added to the Gently Used page, which you can check out here.

Happy Fountain Pen Day Weekend One Day Early! A Sale, Promotions and More All Weekend

Since there will be so much going on tomorrow given the Fountain Pen Day festivities taking place across the community (both in-person and online), and because I plan to take tomorrow to get out in the community and interact in-person, we’ll launch our Fountain Pen Day weekend special today! This year’s promotions include:

• 10% Off Most Products in the T.G.S. Curated Shop using the Coupon Code “FPDAY23” at checkout. Some brands such as TWSBI and Roterfaden are excluded from the discount but otherwise qualify for the promotions below.

• While supplies last, all orders placed over Fountain Pen Day Weekend will include a Fountain Pen Day sticker or bookmark, as well as a piece of TGS Swag such as a sticker or button.

• Certain items throughout the shop are marked as “on sale”. Most are clearance items that we may not restock going forward.

• Orders that qualify for free shipping ($75 and up) will receive a complimentary “secret gift” from the TGS Archives. It could be an ink sample, it could be a pocket notebook, it could be a gel pen or pencil…. We have a TON of stuff sitting around that’s been sent to us for review.

• Orders over $150 will receive a full TGS Swag Pack (which can also be purchased separately).

• This promotion will run through Sunday, November 5 at 11:59pm CT. Be sure to check our Instagram and social media feeds (on actual Fountain Pen Day) for details on giveaways we will be running through the weekend. No purchase will be necessary to participate in the giveaways.

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Each of the TGS Swag Packs will include one of our acrylic logo pins!

Fountain Pen Day, for me, typically marks the point in the year at which I (1) finally pull the trigger on more expensive items that I’ve had my eye on, as well as (2) start planning for the new year by acquiring new planners, organizers and notebooks. Whether you’re looking to add a daily writer like the Lamy 2000 or Pilot Custom 74 / 823, still need to pick up your 2024 Traveler’s Refills, or getting ready for the holidays with the Diamine Inkvent Calendar, this is a great time to do so. Happy Fountain Pen Day everyone!

The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the TGS Curated Shop and pledges via the TGS Patreon Program. Many thanks to all of you who have helped us grow over the years! Our annual Fountain Pen Day Promos are our way of saying Thank You!

Pen Show Discoveries: NFP Design "Tile" Series

Though I tend to focus on practicality when it comes to pens and their accessories, I also pay attention to design. Well-crafted accessories - especially those made by small makers - always have a home on my desk. From the Toyooka Craft pen trays that I use to hold pens at my workstation(s), to Superior Labor Pen Rolls and Roterfaden Organizers, lately I’ve been enjoying accessorizing my core workhorse tools more than adding to my personal accumulation. This week, as everyone enjoys the promotional pomp of Fountain Pen Day, I thought it might be fun to take a look at a new maker that recently came on my radar: NFP Design.

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The slots in the NFP Design cases are large, and will accommodate most pens. The two shown here are the TWSBI Kai fountain pen (which is a fairly thick piston filler) and a TWSBI ECO-T in Rosso. The pen slots are soft, and the inside of the lid features foam padding to protect your pens if you need to transport them in the case.

Based in Turkey, NFP Design attended the 2023 D.C. Pen Show and was located in the third ballroom close to Galen Leather. They specialize in woodwork, namely wood pen boxes and inlaid pen rests featuring traditional lacquer and tile work. They were kind enough to gift me a two-pen “Tile” box to take home for review, and while the case itself is fairly self-explanatory as far as the product’s function is concerned, I absolutely love the lid inlaid with traditional Turkish artwork.

NFP Design includes a slip of paper with each tile case, explaining a bit of history:

“Within traditional Turkish art, tiles have been prominent both in the Seljuk and in the Ottoman eras, appearing both in daily objects and as a plating material in architectural surfaces. Today, whilst maintaining these functions, they make a scene for themselves as artistic or decorative products combined with various mediums.”

— NFP Design

Lately I’ve been trying to reduce the number of objects that I have in my office and on my desk, so those pieces that I do choose to keep need to tell a story, preferably about the place where each item was made. Here, not only is this box inlaid with Turkish tile art specific to the place of its creation, but the painted and glazed tile is adorned with a bird that reminds me of a blue heron, which is common in the area where I live.

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The NFP Design Tile case measures approximately 8” x 3.5”, so it’s fairly compact and doesn’t take up much room. Shown here next to a Rickshaw Bagworks 6-pen case for scale.

Takeaways and Where to Buy

I’ve enjoyed spending time with the NFP Design product line since first having the opportunity to meet them at the D.C. Pen Show this past August. In addition to the “Tile” 2-pen box shown here, NFP Design offers a wide range of different storage options, including some beautiful lacquered boxes in various sizes. (I see a “Blok11” in my future as soon as the orange or yellow color options come back in stock.) Currently, NFP Design sells directly through their online shop, and I believe our friends at Vanness Pens have certain of their cases in stock as well, though they may not be listed on the site quite yet. I spent most of the Dallas Pen Show behind their table working with the “Blok” series, so inquire directly at Vanness if you are interested.

I chose the tile with an inlaid blue heron (or what looks like a blue heron), since we have so many of them in my neighborhood.

NFP Design products are competitively priced, with the “Tile” design shown here selling for the equivalent of around $40 USD. If you’d like to add one of these beautiful pieces to your own desk setup, the barrier to entry is very low!

Many thanks to NFP Design for providing this item to me for review, free of charge. I was not otherwise compensated for this review. The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program.