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

October 15, 2024

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!

London 2024 Stationery Haul — I'll post more about this later of course, but here's my small, thoughtfully curated London Stationery haul.

Sunday Reading for October 13, 2024

October 13, 2024

Good Made Better Muse (via Figboot on Pens). David gives us his take on the Good Made Better “Muse” fountain pen - their very first offering that’s now available on Kickstarter! Read my own thoughts on the Muse, and it’s pocket pen companion the “Jester”, here.
Techo Kaigi (via Notebook Stories). Oh boy do I need to do one of these! Anyone with multiple planners should read this one before buying next year’s options.
This Shouldn’t Have Worked. A Tale of Two Scribos (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). If the pen doesn’t work, and maybe is only slightly off, don’t necessarily give up. It could just need a nib adjustment (or a nib swap).
Jacques Herbin Turquoise de Perse (via A Gathering of Curiosities). A new Herbin shimmer ink, in turquoise. Of all the ink colors, I’ve always felt that turquoise shows off shimmer quite well.
Sailor Hocoro Dip Pens (via Well-Appointed Desk). Both Sailor and Pilot have tried their hands at dip pens in addition to their traditional fountain pen offerings. I’ve not yet had the opportunity to try either.
Colorado Pen Show 2024 (via Fountain Pen Love). If you’re in the Denver area, be sure to try and catch the last day!
Pelikan M600 Turquoise and White (via Dapprman). Even though there is not a huge size difference, I think I lean towards the M600 over the slightly smaller M400.
What Does One Do With Blank Planner Pages? (via mnmlscholar). I’m in the same boat, and curious to hear ideas.
Diamine Green Ed. Olive Swirl (via Fountain Pen Pharmacist). Of all the recent Diamine Inkvent sets, this one is a favorite.
Retro 51 2024 Spooky Season Editions (via Pen Addict - Sarah). I’m not typically a fan of the Halloween Retros - two busy for my taste - but these are much more understated!

Big Ben from Millennium Bridge, a walking tour of London! — A shot from one of my days spent wandering London.

In Case You Missed It…

Well, you didn’t really miss all that much content-wise this week, other than some of the photographs I took while walking an average of nine miles per day across London! (Yes, I needed the exercise.) I did manage to visit some of the excellent London Stationery stores and bookshops, as you can see from my haul photos posted above. More on my trip this week!

The TGS Curated Shop In-Store Experience — I will be in the shop today, plus three days later this week!

This Week in the T.G.S. Curated Shop

Many thanks to my helpers who shipped orders while we were gone, and many thanks to everyone who continued to support the store, as I was super hesitant to take this trip given that I’m still in the early stages of a somewhat expensive expansion of this business and was worried about taking a week off. Other than a small number of inevitable mix-ups (which I plan to address immediately today), everything went smoothly. New arrivals which sold quite well while we were out included the Midori MD “Thick” paper, as well as some of the last remaining T.G.S. x Sunderland Pens from this run! Needless to say, I was stunned at the extent to which many of the brands only stocked in small specialty boutiques here in the U.S. are prominently featured by major high street retailers in the U.K. You can read a bit more about this in Friday’s post, but I’m a huge fan of brands such as Tom’s Studio and Object Index, and wish they received more attention. I’m doing my part!

Note: I will be in the shop today (Sunday, 10/13), even though our regular hours have us “Closed” on Sunday. Stop by between 1 and 5pm if you’d like to shop or pick up any orders!

Kakimori Notebooks

Object Index

Lamy

Anterique

Check Out T.G.S. Patreon for Breaking news and first access/Special pricing on exclusives (Including the Sunderland Mk1)

If you enjoy our content (whether here on the main website, Instagram, YouTube Channel or elsewhere), and would like early/extra access to shop releases and gently used stationery opportunities, consider supporting us via Patreon. We do our best to remain 100% self-supported without having to rely on third-party advertisers or affiliates. Of course, the number one way to help is to visit our curated retail shop either online (or in person, if you’re in the Nashville area)! If you enjoy in-person and virtual meetups and having access to more personal content, the T.G.S. Patreon includes these as well as access to early shop releases, the quarterly gently used sales, a monthly updates newsletter, and of course our monthly Zoom meetups. Patreon support starts as low as $3 per month, and if you pay annually there is a further discount. This month’s Patreon “special” is an extra bit off the TGS x Sunderland Collaboration Pen.

No matter how you support us - even if just with a comment, recommendation, or encouraging word - we greatly appreciate your readership!

Vacation Photo of the London Eye — I will miss this view.

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

October 12, 2024

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!

Stationery Displays in London Department Store - Example

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

October 11, 2024

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….

Tom's-Studio-Department-Store-Display — 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!

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.

Harry Potter "Travel Notebook" Slytherin Edition — 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!

Cornelissen is an art supply/calligraphy dealer that has been in business in some form since 1848.

Travel Interlude, Part II: Stationery Shopping in London, a Photographic Recap!

October 9, 2024

While a full recap of my adventures will have to await my return, along with a spread of what I’ve picked up on my travels, I thought it might be fun to live post some of the pictures I’ve taken in real time. My main observation regarding stationery stores in London (and most other boutique shops, for that matter), is that most are thoughtfully curated and laid-out, as opposed to the warehouse-style displays that you tend to see in the U.S. I’ve found the shopping experience to be pleasant and less-intense, and it was quite fun and even relaxing to shop for an afternoon! I’ve not had that experience in quite some time.

So far I’ve visited four main stores that sell stationery and related goods: L. Cornelissen (a calligraphy and art supply dealer); Present & Correct (a heavily curated stationery store with a thoughtful selection of unusual notebooks, writing implements - mostly ballpoints and pencils - and desk accessories); Choosing Keeping (probably the most “traditional stationery store” of the bunch); and the London Graphic Centre (a classic art/student supply store that sells the Freitag line of bags, which I’m still debating). I’ll post my full recap of what I purchased when I return, as most of it is so carefully wrapped and packaged that I want to have an opportunity to photograph the unboxing as well!