From the Archives: Early T.G.S. YouTube Videos and Overlooked Gems

Sometimes when I’m on vacation or traveling I’ll pull out some older posts from the early days - perhaps content from a time when the site (and certainly the YouTube Channel) didn’t get as much traffic as it does now. Due to the algorithmic nature of the modern internet, a lot of good, informative content gets buried simply because it’s old. Periodically you need to do what you can to put it back out there. Here are three videos/video series that I had a lot of fun making and I hope you enjoy if you missed them the first time around.

• Fountain Pen Basics: How to Fill a Fountain Pen. I walk through several different filling systems, demonstrating how they work. Self-explanatory, but I do receive a lot of questions and inquiries on this topic.

• London Stationery Haul, Part I: Inks from Cornelissen. I thought this one would get more attention than it did, but perhaps the YouTube Algorithm simply isn’t as captivated by historically inspired dip pen inks as I am.

• Santini Italia Libra Fountain Pen Review. I reviewed a pen that was loaned to me by a friend, which honestly saved me a lot of money. These pens are beautiful but simply don’t match my writing style.

Due to our travel schedule this week, please note that our brick-and-mortar shop is closed and will reopen the week of July 21. Online orders will continue to be processed and ship but may require an additional 1-2 business days beyond our normal time. Thank you for all your support!

New Arrivals: Ro-Biki Passport Size and A5/B6 Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter Restock!

We may be on vacation this week, but we still have a bunch of new arrivals that we continue to work to get listed. Right before we left, we received a restock of A5 Roterfaden Taschenbegleiters in A5. While the four-clip versions sold out almost immediately, we continue to have stock of several classic three-clip A5 Taschenbegleiters with both suede and felt interiors, as well as a B6 version of the Smoke Blue and Honey Suede that has been a favorite.

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In addition to the standard size Ro-Biki notebooks, we now have the Passport-sized Ro-Biki notebooks available for purchase, which are the same dimensions as the Traveler’s Company passport refills and feature wonderfully fountain pen friendly dot grid paper. Now available in 17 different cover designs!

Due to our travel schedule this week, please note that our brick-and-mortar shop is closed and will reopen the week of July 21. Online orders will continue to be processed and ship but may require an additional 1-2 business days beyond our normal time. Thank you for all your support!

Vacation Reading for July 14, 2025

1. Stationery Feed Interview with Matthew Chen (via dwrdnet). Derek has nib grinder Matthew Chen sit for an interview this week! Matthew has one of the best naginata-style grinds out there, the Kodachi.

2. Dominant Industry Ink Archiving Book: A Log of Elixir (via Olive Octopus Ink). After seeing Lisa’s Atlantis archiving book, I went ahead and picked up a Log of Elixir. While I didn’t take it on vacation (figured bottles of ink wouldn’t travel well), I’ve played around with it back at the shop and these are fun ways to explore the properties of all the inks in your collection.

3. The WORST Pen Montblanc Ever Made? (via Doodlebud). I’m not sure I necessarily agree with this one, but the Montblanc Model M continues to draw very strong opinions!

4. Fifty4T Titan Ultem (via Figboot on Pens). A look at another new pen brand (pronounced “fiftyforty”) that uses this draw-filler/syringe mechanism.

5. Endless Stationery Phantom Fountain Pen First Impressions (via Dapprman). Endless is iterating on their low-cost capless fountain pen. I missed this Kickstarter, though admittedly I’m not following the crowdfunding platforms as much as I used to.

6. Benu Tribute Fountain Pen: “Black Coffee” Edition. A Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald. (via Penquisition). Usually Benu designs don’t do much for me, but this one takes a different approach.

7. Kaweco Piston Sport: A Quick Review (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). I’m a fan of what Kaweco has done with the piston sport, retrofitting a piston into their standard classic sport format. I’m hoping for some new colors in the future!

8. You Have to Make a Mess to Make It Better (via From the Pen Cup). I owe my home office a couple weeks of cleaning/organizing. That looks like an awesome room!

9. Upcoming Pen Show Workshops (via Well-Appointed Desk). I panicked a bit when I looked at the Calendar and saw that the D.C. Pen Show is just over two weeks away. Ana and I will both be holding workshops in the Vanness Pen Lounge through the weekend. Stay tuned for details on the notebook systems workshops I did last year, and as with last year, I’ll have some of them available for purchase if you want to try and buy.

10. Is It Good: My First Asvine Pen: The C80 with a #8 Nib (via Inkdependence). Asvine makes some excellent low cost pens, and are following Jinhao into the lower-cost No. 8 nib territory, though Asvines cost a bit more. (Worth it, IMHO.)

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In Case You Missed It…

This past week on the blog was a bit light as I was prepping to get out of town for a week. (My real first week off in about a year.) The main post from the past week was a comparison of the Yamamoto Ro-Biki Note to the Traveler’s Notebook, and how the two systems differ. (They do not have exactly the same dimensions.) I also published a YouTube video walking through the Ro-Biki Setup. For more details on what I’m taking with me on vacation, and how things will work while I’m gone, there’s a short post from Saturday.

Fans of desk pads should check out the Shorthand Press offerings!

This Week in the T.G.S. Curated Shop - Vacation schedule

We continue to build out our selection of notebook systems, and this past week introduced the Yamamoto Paper Ro-Biki System. We also have a full Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter A5 restock that includes most of our favorite colors and formats. In terms of new brands, we have added Shorthand Press, a U.S.-made brand out of Los Angeles, as well as new notebooks from Anecdote Goods. Be sure to check out last week’s Thursday Drops post for details on all new arrivals.

Note that our brick-and-mortar shop is closed this week to in-person shopping, though most online orders will continue to be processed as I do have some help while I am out. Fulfillment may take an extra business day or two.

Stàlogy 2025 Releases

Jetstream M17

Lochby

Kuru-Toga KS

PAtreon curated stationery boxes are available!

If you’re a Patreon supporter, be sure to check the Patreon feed because the second round of quarterly curated stationery boxes are available, with plans to start shipping by the end of the month. 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 special promotions like this one, 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)! The T.G.S. Patreon includes early access and discounts on exclusive 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. As noted above, we’ve recently started a Discord community for all paid Patreon supporters.

Vacation Prep: What I’m Taking and What to Expect Next Week

So we’re taking a vacation. A real vacation. The kind of do-not-much-but-read, actually relaxing vacation. I have some pre-set content queued up, but things will be quiet here for a few days. The brick-and-mortar shop will be closed next week (July 13-20), but online orders will still be processed and will continue to ship as I have helpers assisting with fulfillment. We’re driving all day tomorrow, so “Sunday Reading” will likely become “Monday Reading”, and I have some fun “throwback” posts on the way.

My 2025 Vacation Travel Kit

I’m keeping it simple, per the picture above, taking a single Rickshaw Sinclair with whatever fountain pens are currently in there, a couple Lamy’s with the new (and restocked!) Jetstream refills, plus my current Maruman Mnemosyne Journal and my oldest Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter with a Nanami Paper Seven Seas writer containing a partially finished first draft of a creative writing project I want to revisit. We’ll see how much actually happens, but the plan is to disconnect from work and “the world” for a bit. Honestly, this is a travel-kit-by-default because I’m working all day today to get pending orders out the door or pulled for packing tomorrow and don’t have time to redo anything, but I put a lot of thought into this currently inked rotation and really want to use all of these pens until they’re dry.

See you next week!

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A5 Roterfadens are back in stock! These are easy to ship while I’m out, so orders will be processed in our normal shipping time.

Thursday Drops: Yamamoto Ro-Biki Notebooks, Shorthand Press, and Anecdote!

Paper, paper, and more paper! With the occasional waxed canvas cover thrown in! Those are the themes from this week, since we introduced the Yamamoto Paper Ro-Biki lineup, new notebooks and notepads from Shorthand Press, and a restock from Andecdote, among many other things! Of all the recent new arrivals, I’m probably most excited about the Ro-Biki and the new Lochby Voyager Journals, which are the latest addition to Lochby’s growing lineup of versatile cases.

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At the end of my most recent YouTube Video (which was a demonstration on how to setup the Ro-Biki cover with multiple refills), I added a special announcement about our latest collaboration release that should drop next week. Patreon members will get first refusal, though there will be plenty left over for a subsequent launch.

Please keep in mind that we are out of town on vacation next week, so the brick-and-mortar store will be closed during our normal Thursday-Saturday Hours on July 17-19. If you want to come see us and pick something up in person, come this weekend! Most online orders will continue to ship next week, though there may be a slight delay in fulfillment times. Thanks so much for continuing to support us!

1. Yamamoto Ro-Biki Note Notebooks. Known in some pen and planner circles as “the other” narrow format notebook, Yamamoto’s Ro-Biki notebook system features wonderfully fountain pen friendly cream-colored paper with a fairly wide variety of rulings and cover designs.

2. Yamamoto Ro-Biki Canvas Notebook Covers. These soft cotton canvas covers combine the concepts of a stationery wrap with a notebook cover, allowing you to carry up to three Ro-Biki notebooks as well as small items in the zippered pouch, plus pens and other accessories in the outside pockets.

3. Shorthand Press Standard Notebooks and Spiral Task Pads. These hand-assembled notebooks from Los Angeles based Shorthand Press are made in the U.S., and feature a range of vintage-style lined, grid, and dot grid rulings on cream paper. The fact that they have Mint and Mustard cover options won me over immediately. Standard Notebooks are side-bound and the Task Pads are top bound, both with double brass wire-o bindings.

4. Lochby Voyager Journals. Lochby recently released their “A5 Slim” notebook cover, which will fit Lochby’s own Voyager refills as well as Traveler’s Company and Yamamoto Ro-Biki paper refills. Fans of Lochby’s waxed canvas construction should enjoy having this option.

5. Shorthand Press Notepads. We always get requests to bring in more desk pads, and especially undated calendar pads like these from Shorthand, though I also like their task pads and simple lined notepads.

6. Notsu Weekly Planning Pad. Along with the Shorthand Calendar Pad, the Notsu Weekly Planning Pad is a good replacement for the now-discontinued Write Notepads undated weekly planner. This letter-sized pad allows you to easily view your entire week at a glance.

7. Anecdote Goods “The Journal” and “The Journal Pocket”. Anecdote notebooks feature a tactile buckram cover and either dot grid or lined paper. We recently added the "Mini” pocket journals as well.

8. Anecdote Goods Correspondence Cards. One of the most requested items for the shop has been folded correspondence cards to use for thank-you notes and letters. This simple series from Anecdote features 300g cardstock and a series of tasteful motifs.

9. Colorverse Nebula Note “Casual” Spiral Notebooks. Nebula note paper is both tactile and ink friendly, meaning it’s excellent for both ink and pencil. Perforated pages allow you to also remove individual sheets and file them away in your binder system or other means of storage/organization.

10. Stálogy 365-Day and Half-Year Special Colors. Stálogy recently dropped their 2025 special release colors, which are a dark Cacao Brown, Lake Blue, and a lighter Cloud Grey. All of these feature the grey rulings which can be used as an undated planner or a standard notebook!

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Oh, yes, and I forgot that we added the entire line of Kuru-Toga KS Mechanical Pencils, including some limited pastel releases!