New Arrivals: TWSBI Precision "Gemini Blue" Fountain Pens, and a Small T.G.S. x Sunderland Restock

It’s finally here: TWSBI has released the Precision fountain pen in a new “Gemini Blue” color to complement the Gunmetal finish that has been a staple of the TWSBI line for years. In addition to the new Gemini Blue, we have additional Gunmetal Precision fountain pens plus TWSBI’s excellent Precision Ballpoint pens, Precision Mechanical Pencils, and TWSBI Pagoda Jr pencils (which are a steal at the current pricing). Available for purchase as of today.

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The T.G.S. x Sunderland Machine Works collaboration mk1 rollerball is an excellent everyday carry. You can read more about this release in a past post explaining the thought behind it. We plan to do more with Sunderland in the future!

Finally, we have a special announcement: A small handful of additional T.G.S. x. Sunderland Machine Works collaboration pens. (It’s a very small number, representing some spares from our last run.) We likely won’t do another run of these specific pens for a while, as we want to focus on other projects such as our latest release/collaboration with Hinze Pens, but stay tuned because we have more Sunderland coming!

The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. Please note that our Brick and Mortar hours are slightly modified this week, and we will be closing an hour or so earlier each day due to some work that I have to do both in and out of the shop.

Sunday Reading for April 27, 2025

1. Plotter Review (via Fountain Pen Love). You see many reviews of the Plotter binder system, but what about the paper itself? It’s quite good.

2. Bloggiversary VIII (via Weirdoforest Pens). Congrats on eight years of stationery blogging! Any bloggiversary is quite an accomplishment, but nearly a decade is hard to do.

3. Benu Pixie Fountain Pen Review (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). The Benu Pixie is very, very small. But that’s exactly what the market is looking for in this pen!

4. Aurora Optima Blue-Green (via UK Fountain Pens). I’ve always compared the Optima to the Sailor Pro Gear, with their similar flat-top designs. The slightly larger Optima is heftier with a different feel.

5. The History of the Pocket Slim Filofax: Series Introduction (via Notebook Stories). Fans of product design and brand histories should check out this ongoing series of posts regarding the small Filofax binder.

6. Kuretake ZIG Clean Color Dot Marker - Mild Smoky 6 Color Set (via Well-Appointed Desk). As Ana points out, these dot markers are great for creating to do lists in planners and notebooks. As well as annotating notes, etc.

7. Montblanc Writing Samples with Regular & Bespoke Nib Fountain Pens (via Gourmet Pens). If you’re interested in Montblanc’s specialty nibs and how they write, do check out this video!

8. The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper by Roland Allen (via Well-Appointed Desk). I also read this book and found it interesting and informative, especially since I tend to geek out on unique paper formats, their origins, and historical use.

9. The DWRDNET Stationery Feed Video Podcast (via dwrdnet). Derek has started to accumulate quite the collection of extensive video interviews on his YouTube Channel. I've planned to sit for an “interview” :) in the coming weeks.

10. I Have Four More Exclusive Inks! (via Inkdependence). Check out Mike’s latest collaborations with Pennonia. There are some great colors here.

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In Case You Missed It….

This week I spent a LOT of time on video content, and released a video documenting my recent trip to Vanness Pens! I also published a companion blog post talking about the benefits of shopping for pens in person, and wrote a post yesterday about steps I’ve taken to expand/improve “T.G.S. HQ,” our new physical location in Nashville!

Finally, I filmed a video walkthrough of our own space that I should have up on our YouTube channel this week, if not today. We’ve expanded our YouTube offerings in recent weeks and months, so please visit the Channel and check it out, and subscribe if you enjoy the content!

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

I mean, other than build three new displays and rearrange the entire shop, this past week was pretty quiet! (Just kidding.) We still have a limited number of TRAVELER’s Company Love and Trip items (mainly refills), pens from the Uni “Pure Malt” collection, a complete restock of Teranishi Inks and Yamamoto Paper, and more items that are constantly being added. Check out this week’s Thursday Drops post for a full listing of new releases.

TRAVELER's Company

Teranishi

TWSBI

Pilot

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 meetups. Patreon support starts as low as $3 per month, and if you pay annually there is a further discount.

Note: We have a small number of the T.G.S. x Sunderland Machine Works collaboration pen (pictured below) coming back into stock this week. Patreon members have access to a portion of them for preorder. Remaining pens will go on sale this week to the general readership.

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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.