Behind-the-Scenes Tour: Welcome to the New Look T.G.S. HQ!

While many of you have been busy visiting Little Craft Fest this week in Houston, I took a break from pen-related travel to work on some upgrades to the shop, namely installing some new displays and reorganizing the floorplan so that we can display more items out on the main floor. Having everything out in the open also reduces the time it takes for me to find and pull items for online orders. For those who have been in our shop or who are thinking of coming to see us in the future, here’s what’s new and shiny:

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I’m actually really proud of my new pegboard display! This took a full day to assemble but it’s created so much space.

• New Larger Displays for Jetstreams, Anterique Pens, and A4 Paper. While I’ve had most of our Uni Jetstream selection on spinning racks, they were pretty flimsy and made it difficult to view all of the various options that we carry. Our new larger display racks use pegboard hooks to allow visitors to browse all of the various colors side-by-side, and I’ve also been able to move items off the tops of our counter displays, which makes it easier to view pens in the cases.

• New Testing Station. I’ve retired the standing desk testing station in favor of a true desk, which will have sharpened Blackwing pencils (plus a sharpener), a few inked fountain pens, and various types of paper for testing once I have it stocked up! Eventually I want to have expanded ink testing - perhaps a daily bottle that’s on the desk and available for people to fill their pen?

• All of the Washi Tape Is Now Available to Browse. Based on my experiments at the last two pen shows (Arkansas and Atlanta), I knew that I wanted to have a bigger in-store washi display. The entire trunk of washi tape is now sitting in the entryway, ready for people to dig through!

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Finding a testing station layout that works has taken some time and experimentation. I’m going to take the desk approach for a while, and I also have a stamp for those who want a souvenir for their notebooks.

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All the Washi. Come and get it!

So What’s Up Next for the Space?

I have a lot of ideas, mainly for in-store events that I’d like to host, but one thing at a time. I’m in the process of cleaning up our backroom warehouse to make room for a larger table for classes and meetups, and since that floor isn’t carpeted, it may make for a better area to play with ink. Because I’ve finished my first round of pen shows this year, I will plan to be in the shop fairly regularly (with maybe a weekend or two off for vacation) through the end of July, after which I will be attending the D.C. and San Francisco Pen Shows in some capacity. If you’re in the Nashville area, we’d love to see you! Regular hours are currently Thursdays and Fridays from 1-6, and Saturdays from 10-6.

Be sure to check out this page for updated hours, and we also regularly update hours on our Google Profile.

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TGS Pen Display

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Fountain Pen Ink and A4 Paper

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TWSBI and Tom's Studio

Thursday Drops: TRAVELER'S COMPANY Love & Trip Series Is Now Available! Plus Last Call for Certain Special Editions

This year’s TRAVELER’S Notebook special edition is now live in the shop. No pre-orders anymore, as these are authorized to ship today! The “Love and Trip” collection features a deep red/burgundy leather cover with a special red MD Paper insert with the gold foil “Love and Trip” motif. TRAVELER’S Company has apparently been working on finding the right tone for a leather cover for some time now, and this year it finally all came together. Note that this initial batch is a very limited release so we’re limiting purchases to one per customer. (One Notebook and One Refill).

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We’re also down to the last few remaining items of some of the Lamy and Kaweco 2024 special releases, and once these are gone, they’re gone because we need to make room for other new stuff that should be arriving in the coming weeks.

Note that we have regular ours this week! We are open today (Thursday) from 1-6, Friday from 1-6, and Saturday from 10-6. We look forward to welcoming you in the shop!

1. TRAVELER’S Notebook “Love and Trip” Limited Edition Traveler’s Notebooks. Available in both Standard and Passport size, in very limited quantities. Like most retailers, we are limiting these to one per person.

2. TRAVELER’S Company “Love and Trip” Traveler’s Notebook Refills. We have a handful of extra refills from the “Love and Trip” series. Each TRAVELER’S Notebook Starter kit comes with one of these refills, but you can purchase an extra in both sizes.

3. TRAVELER’S Company “Love and Trip” Folders. These handy document folders feature the Love and Trip theme, and can be used to carry receipts, folded documents, and more inside your Traveler’s Notebook.

4. TRAVELER’S Notebook Brass Clip. These had been out of stock for some time but we recently added more, just in time for the Love and Trip release!

5. TGS x Hinze Pens “Violet Tendencies” Taschenstift Pocket Pen. Combining a violet micarta material with a dark anodized section and lilac nib, this pen is our latest collaboration with Dallas-based Hinze Pens. You can read more about micarta materials in this post from last week.

6. Uni “Pure Malt” Series. Made with the same woods used in Japanese Whisky barrels (light and dark shades of oak), the Pure Malt series has been popular for a while in Japan. The dark “Oakwood” 4+1 Uni Jetstream Multi Pen has been on my own acquisition list for years.

7. Special Edition Lamy Safaris and AL-Stars. We have a few remaining items from past years’ special Lamy Releases, including Lilac AL-Stars, 2024 special edition Safaris, and more. Stock is getting low and these won’t be restocked once they are gone.

8. Kaweco Collection “Apricot Pearl” Sport Fountain Pen. We have a handful of remaining “Apricot Pearl” pens in stock, which will be gone to make room for other new items once they sell. If the nib size you are looking for is showing as out of stock, let me know because Kaweco nibs are interchangeable and we’ll see what we can do.

9. Kaweco Collection “Infra Red” Perkeo Fountain Pen. Kaweco surprised us all with a Kaweco Collection Perkeo release, and this one has proven enduringly popular. I hope they keep this up. Note that we’ve also managed to source some of the last remaining “Indian Summer” and “Bad Taste” color combinations from when this model first launched.

10. Carl Angel-5 Premium Pencil Sharpeners. We have the two additional colors of the Carl Angel-5 Premium Sharpeners (Alpaca and Flamingo). The “teeth” aren’t as sharp on this model, so it won’t mark up your pencil as much as the standard Angel-5.

Oh, and we’re getting close to the last of our shipment of Uni Jetstream M17 refills (the Lamy-compatible ones). Get these while you can!

Ask TGS: Five Benefits to Buying Fountain Pens In-Person

Why should you shop in person rather than online? It’s a question that’s increasingly important, as smaller independent retailers disappear from towns and cities across the United States - a trend that disproportionately affects the stationery industry, as the “big pen stores” vanished a long time ago. I’ve never been one to answer this question categorically. Brick-and-mortar retail isn’t inherently better or morally superior. Especially with niche industries like stationery, there are markets that simply can’t support an in-person pen shop, whether that’s due to population/demographics, the cost of real estate, or a wide range of other factors. That said, I do firmly believe that a brick-and-mortar retail space - if the business will support one - offers a handful of distinct advantages that an online shop will never be able to replicate. Today I’ll talk about several areas where I think a physical pen shop offers customers a unique experience. While I discuss these five factors from the perspective of buying a fountain pen (they are often the trickiest to purchase, especially for the first time), they apply to other products as well.

1. You Can Pick Out Your Specific Pen. I find this to be a huge advantage when I’m considering an expensive pen in an unusual material where there might be a lot of variation between different items. Case in point: in a couple of recent YouTube videos (including the one below), I discuss the Leonardo Momento Zero Nuvola, which features a multicolored swirl pattern that’s different on every pen. When I visited Vanness Pens last month, I was able to look at a handful of pens and pick which specific pattern appealed to me the most.

2. You Can (Usually) Test Nibs. This practice will differ by retailer, but unless the pen is limited, a collector’s item, or extremely expensive, most retailers will allow you to at least dip a pen in ink to test the nib. In my own shop, I generally keep a set of pens inked so that customers can test out specific models and see which one best fits their handwriting.

3. You Can More Easily Match Pens and Inks. If you’re someone who likes to pair fountain pens with a specific ink that complements the pen’s color or design, it’s much easier to do this in person than online. You have the pen with you, which you can compare against the ink swatches most retailers have available. There’s really no substitute for seeing inks in person, given how much color calibration can vary among computer monitors and phones.

4. You Can Learn How Different Filling Systems Work. Vacuum fillers such as the TWSBI Vac700 and the Pilot Custom 823 can be tricky if you’ve never used one before, and I’m always willing to do an in-house demonstration with one of my own pens or to allow customers to fill a new pen in the shop so that they can ask any questions. In other words, you can ruin my carpet instead of yours!

5. The Retailer Can Learn Your Preferences. I can always offer better recommendations if I have the ability to see in person how someone holds a pen and their handwriting style. Once I’ve seen this in person a couple of times, I have a better sense of what the customer likes and can even alert them to new pens that might be coming into the store before they’re released. It’s hard to develop that sort of customer relationship online.

I go into more detail on this topic in yesterday’s YouTube video. You can also watch me pick out my Leonardo Momento Zero Nuvola and select a nib.

What If You Don’t Have a Pen Store Near You?

Unfortunately, given the somewhat niche nature of the stationery business these days, most communities lack a designated pen and stationery store, and many communities don’t have a store with any meaningful stationery selection. While I love in-person retail, this is the main reason why online stores will always have a place in the market and why I continue to focus on growing the online T.G.S. business to reach those who have few other options. That said, even if you don’t have a pen store near you, local or regional pen clubs that meet periodically (even monthly or quarterly) can give you a chance to try before you buy, and of course the series of pen shows held across the country every year offer in-person shopping opportunities if you’re willing to travel.

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To that end, if you’re ever in the Nashville, Tennessee area, please stop in and see us! We’d love to welcome you in store and answer any questions you may have.

The Gentleman Stationer is open most weeks Thursdays and Fridays from 1-6 and Saturdays from 10-6. Our site is entirely self-supported through the shop and the T.G.S. Patreon Program.

New Arrivals: Uni "Pure Malt" Collection, Plus More Teranishi Favorites

One of the more common requests we’ve had is for the Uni “Pure Malt” series, which are pens that incorporate different woods used in Japanese whisky barrels. The “Oakwood” 4+1 Jetstream Multi Pen has been on my personal list for some time. We’ve added these to the shop along with the standard slim ballpoints that come available in both light and dark woods. We continue to have stock of other Uni Jetstream multi pen releases that incorporate different woods into the barrel, including the Karimoku 4+1 special releases and the “Bamboo” series.

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We also have additional stock of the Teranishi fountain pen inks, including colors that have been out of stock such as Gentle Green, Lady Emerald, and Brilliant Mint. Despite how popular these inks are, we should be set for a while! You can check out this post to learn more about some of my favorite colors from this deep lineup.

The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program.

Sunday Reading for April 20, 2025

1. Best Fountain Pen Stores in Europe (via Figboot on Pens). I had the opportunity to talk with David about his trip when we were in Atlanta for the Atlanta Pen Show. He went to a LOT of great pen shops.

2. Beautiful Stationery Unboxing (via Inky.Rocks). Wow, talk about upping the online retail packaging game!

3. Tariffs, a Vibe (via A Gathering of Curiosities). A lot to unpack with everything that’s been going on recently. We still don’t know how/if/when tariffs will impact the retail side, with everything changing by the minute.

4. 2025 Atlanta Pen Show Highlights (via Olive Octopus). Lisa has an epic Atlanta Pen Show Recap, and this one really shows that despite the organizational challenges, Atlanta remains a great show for attendees in terms of the vendors who attend.

5. Montblanc Boutique, Honolulu - Shop Visit (via Pen Addict-Kimberly). I’ve not set foot in a Montblanc boutique in a long time. Some of these new inks intrigue me, though.

6. How I Use My Notebooks: New Streamlined Weekly Review Format (via Writing at Large). This is a great series, for those of you looking to get more systematic or organized in how you use your notebooks and planners without adding too much structure.

7. Rober Oster Bless Your Heart (via Mountain of Ink). Don’t forget to check out the latest Vanness Pens Exclusive ink from Robert Oster!

8. The Pencils I Use (via Pens! Paper! Pencils!). I love reading about the tools people use - especially when they REALLY use them, like Ian.

9. Interview with Darrell Davis of D Squared Arts (via dwrdnet). Derek has a great interview with Darrell, who you may have seen at the Arkansas Pen Show and the various recaps. Darrell’s pens are unique because they’re inspired by his other art, including sculpture.

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In Case You Missed It…

This week on the blog I reviewed something from the deep Lamy back catalog: the Lamy Swift capless rollerball, which features a unique retractable clip mechanism that prevents you (i.e., me) from ruining shirts by inadvertently sticking an open rollerball into the pocket. I also talked about micarta, an increasingly popular and unique penmaking material that I’ve made a part of my own collection - finally!

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

The shop is seeing restocks every day, and we’re also continuing to expand our offerings from both new and established brands. This week we added the new releases from the Caran d’Ache “Black Edition Collection,” which incorporates all of the previously released “Black Code” products as well as a new XL Ballpoint and Fixpencil. We received a shipment of the Uni “Pure Malt” ballpoints, as well as additional stock of the rare and discontinued papers collection from Yamamoto papr in Japan. Finally, we now also have the Pilot Capless Decimo, as well as a restock of Pilot Vanishing Point fountain pens!

Don’t miss our most recent exclusive release, the “Violet Tendencies” Hinze Taschenstift fountain pen made from CrazyFiber and paired with a purple anodized section and nib.

Pilot

Lamy

TWSBI

Uni Refills

Check Out T.G.S. Patreon for Breaking news and first access/Special pricing on exclusives and Sample Sales

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 (including the Taschenstift “Violet Tendencies”), 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.