Thursday Drops: Planner Season is Upon Us, with More Planners, Notebook Systems, and Accessories!

It’s Fall planner season, when analog planner enthusiasts begin the process of plotting out their notebook and planner systems for the following year. We’re well-stocked on undated systems at the moment, including Laconic six-ring binder and A5 notebook formats, Midori MD, Stàlogy, Traveler’s Company, Lochby, Cloth & Paper, and more. Dated refills for the Traveler’s Notebook system should arrive in the coming weeks.

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I love these folded space-themed letterpress correspondence cards from Shorthand!

We also continue to have some stock of Roterfaden Taschenbegleiters in the A5 and B6 formats, which can be used with any compatible notebooks, including most bound planners. This YouTube video will walk you through how that system works. As noted on Tuesday, be sure to check out our expanded correspondence section, which features folded and flat letterpress cards and letter sets from multiple makers, most of whom are local creators here in the U.S.A.

Come see these and more in-person in our Nashville-area shop! We are open Thursday and Friday from 1pm-6pm, and Saturday from 10am-6pm. Details on our specific location and current hours can be found on our “About” page.

1. Laconic Tokyo A5 6-Ring Binders. Laconic A5 6-ring binders are back in stock, with four different colors now available, two of which are textured. These binders will accept the Laconic 6-ring inserts as well as any other standard A5 planner inserts.

2. Laconic Tokyo 6-Ring Binder Inserts. Laconic’s 6-ring binder inserts feature undated daily, weekly, and monthly planner layouts, as well as other functional layouts that include “To Do”, “Spreadsheet,” “Gantt Chart,” and some life logging/brainstorming formats.

3. Laconic Planner Stickers and Bookmarks. Laconic makes large format planner stickers that you can use to turn any standard notebook into a planner or add productivity functionality. We also have their line of specialty bookmarks that let you take notes while you annotate.

4. Iroful Planner Sheets. We have Iroful paper available pre-punched in Bible, Mini, and Mini 5 sizes, either as blank sheets or with a dot-grid ruling. Iroful paper shows off ink colors beautifully and will handle fountain pens with ease.

5. Iroful Paper Restock. We also have looseleaf Iroful paper in A4 and A5 sizes. You will be able to punch holes in the A5 version and use the paper with a similarly sized 6-ring binder.

6. Cloth & Paper “Pocket Plus” Undated Notebooks. We’ve received a shipment of additional Cloth & Paper “Pocket Plus” Notebooks in various formats that include undated daily and monthly planners, task managemet, and more. The Cloth & Paper Pocket Plus notebooks can be used as stand-alone pocket notebooks, or they will fit in the Cloth & Paper cord-style clear vinyl cover.

7. Cloth & Paper Sticky Notes and Index Tabs. This morning we uploaded a large volume of new sticky note and index tab formats, to help you build out and organize your notebooks and planners. Most of these come with a large volume of notes and tabs, and we now have dot stickers and document flags as well.

8. Midori MD Codex Day-to-a-Page A5 Format. Midori’s one-day, one-page Codex notebook can be used as a journal, planner, or simply a thick book for everyday notetaking.

9. Midori MD A4 Notebooks. The big A4 Midori MD notebooks are back in stock and once again available. I was getting worried there for a while.

10. Shorthand Press Correspondence Cards and Letter Sets. Adding to our build-out of our new written correspondence section, we’ve brought in folded and flat correspondence cards, and letter sets, from Los Angeles-based Shorthand Press, featuring 100% cotton paper that we’ve found to be ink-friendly.

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The Roterfaden SO_20 is available in both A5 and B6.

2025 San Francisco Pen Show Recap, Part III: My Pen Show Haul Video Walkthrough!

The third and final installment of my 2025 San Francisco Pen Show recaps is a walkthrough of the items I brought back with me from the show! I discussed these in a little bit of detail in Part I, but there are a few extras in this one, plus a writing sample with the glass pens. Be sure to check out the rest of the San Francisco recaps:

• Part I: General Show Impressions

• Part II: Takeaways from Workshops and Seminars

That concludes pen show season for me. See you at next year’s shows!

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 consider supporting us directly if you enjoy our content. You can also visit our brick-and-mortar store in Nashville, Tennessee, open Thursday-Saturday.

New Arrivals: Letterpress Correspondence Sets from Shorthand, Plus a Long-Awaited Midori MD Restock

We continue to build out our new “correspondence” section of our shop, in anticipation of the launch of a new dedicated store space later this fall (same building, additional suite). Yesterday we added sets of folded letterpress correspondence cards, thank you notes, and even letter sets from Shorthand. This is in addition to the Belle & Union and Anecdote Stationery we have added recently.

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Also, Midori MD Notebooks have restocked, including the Codex A5 notebooks, A5 Square, and the large blank-format A4! Some of these have been out of stock for some time, so if you’ve been waiting we have plenty.

We’re open this week from 1pm-6pm Thursday and Friday, and from 10am-6pm on Saturday in our Nashville brick-and-mortar location! Please come by and see these and more in person if you’re in the area.

Sunday Reading for September 7, 2025

1. Pen Shows Are About Friends (via Well-Appointed Desk). Ana highlights some features of the SF Pen Show, including the Thursday classes/hangout day, which if you arrived a day early gave you a great low-key decompression day prior to the craziness that followed.

2. 2025 San Francisco Pen Show Rating (via Rachel’s Reflections). Rachel’s recap did a great job of highlighting issues show promoters are starting to face with hotel space limitations as some of the larger shows outgrow their location. The pictures of the crowds are some of the best I’ve seen.

3. Hobonichi 2026 - A Read Change (via Inky.Rocks). After last year’s paper issues, will Hobonichi bounce back? They also have new covers.

4. 2800 Inks (via Mountain of Ink). Congratulations to Kelli on hitting another milestone! This site is a valuable community resource that anyone interested in ink should be aware of.

5. My First Fully Custom Maker Fountain Pen (via dwrdnet). I remember the feeling when I unboxed the first pen I had commissioned, built to my preferences. I saw this one yesterday and it was awesome. 12 facets that all line up?

6. 2025 Miami Pen Show (via Feed Your Creativity). The Miami Pen Show has a new location from the last time I considered this event. It’s a great location for a show so I hope it expands!

7. In Sight, In Mind (via From the Pen Cup). I love that when you organize or attempt to prune your collections, you always end up discovering those out-of-sight-out-of-mind items you forgot you had.

8. De Minimis Suspended: Why Imported Fountain Pens Just Got a Lot More Expensive (via Pelikan’s Perch). A thoroughly researched article on the challenges that we (consumers, retailers, distributors) are all facing in the current chaotic environment.

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In Case You Missed It…

This week on the blog I recapped the San Francisco Pen Show! I published both a general recap of the show and a more in-depth piece on the seminars I attended in San Francisco. I will have more recap content this week, probably in the form of a YouTube haul video.

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

Laconic Tokyo 6-Ring binders and refills are back in stock! People have been messaging me about these for a while now and the shipment arrived yesterday. I have plenty of the undated planner refills for those who prefer more flexibility, as well as all the fun productivity and life-logging refills.

We also have two new fountain pen arrivals: the long-awaited green Diplomat Viper, as well as the TWSBI Diamond 580 AL in Affogato + Onyx. Finally, we’ve added a selection of new notebook colors from Shorthand, and are in the process of adding new items to our “written correspondence” section of the store. Stay tuned! Be sure and check each week’s “Weekly Drops” e-mail for updates on new arrivals and more.

We will be open normal hours this week in our physical shop. Come see us from 1-6pm Thursday and Friday, as well as 10am-6pm on Saturday. Be sure to keep an eye on this page here for any shop updates.

Laconic Tokyo

Lamy

Roterfaden

TWSBI

Consider Further Supporting T.G.S.!

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, 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” and the Roterfaden TGS_25), 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.

2025 San Francisco Pen Show Recap, Part II: Panel Takeaways

In Wednesday’s general recap of the 2025 San Francisco Pen Show, I discussed how one of my favorite aspects of the San Francisco Pen Show is the content. The show offers a wide range of classes, workshops, and discussion panels on topics ranging from nib tuning to calligraphy to zentangling, and of course fountain pens, inks, and paper! Today I’ll discuss my observations and takeaways from the two I attended last weekend.

Thursday Evening Panel Discussion: Exhibitors from Singapore and Japan Discuss Their Preferred Inks, Pens, and Paper

For me, the show kicked off on Thursday night with a panel discussion moderated by Lisa Vanness of Vanness Pens. The panel featured four guests: Naoyuki Takeuchi, the head of Ink Planning and Development at Nagasawa Stationery in Kobe Japan; Daryl Lim of Atelier Musubi; Satoru of seY Pen; and renowned nib artisan Yukio Nagahara, who attended the show with his company The Nib Shaper. (I was lucky enough to snag a front row seat since I agreed to act as “Timer” and did my best to keep everyone on schedule.)

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Takeuchi-san discusses his favorite fountain pen while his translator Anastasia looks on. Photo credit to Matthew Chen / Vanness Pens.

The discussion (and the follow-on Q&A) continued for well over an hour, so a complete recap of all the topics that were discussed is impossible. That said, here are my top three takeaways that I found the most interesting/insightful:

1. How does Nagasawa come up with ideas for hundreds of inks? More on this below, but Takeuchi-san provided some insight into how he comes up with ideas for the nearly 200 inks in the “Kobe Inks” collection. Interestingly enough, he described being able to “see things in color,” meaning that when he sees a landscape or building or natural wonder, he sees the color, as opposed to the shape. All of the Kobe Inks are inspired by landmarks and scenery around Kobe Japan, and the colors they evoke.

2. Do different regions/countries have different paper preferences? Apparently, the answer is yes, and I found this part of the discussion fascinating. According to Daryl Lim of Atelier Musubi, the North American fountain pen market strongly prefers ultra smooth, coated papers such as Tomoe River and Cosmo Air Light, whereas the Asian and European markets prefer more absorbent/textured paper such as Midori MD Cotton and similar European products with higher cotton content. My personal observation is that the North American market (and particularly the U.S. market), is heavily influenced by the belief that unless paper has absolutely zero bleedthrough/showthrough/feathering, it cannot be considered “fountain pen friendly” and should not be used or sold as suitable for fountain pens. Other markets are apparently much more tolerant of different ink behaviors on different paper, and will even accept slight feathering on certain paper in exchange for the shorter dry times and more cushiony writing feel.

3. How was the Naginata/Kodachi nib developed? Another of my favorite answers, in which Yukio Nagahara was asked about the story behind the development of his father’s “Naginata” nib that was created for Sailor and now has taken on a life of its own, with Nagahara-san having named his particular version of the nib the “Kodachi”, and also having taught other nib workers such as Matthew Chen the grind so that they can add to the wealth of nib options out there. The metaphor he used was “water falling on a stone,” as the nib grinds evolve over time as each maker perfects their technique.

Saturday Ink Seminar with Nagasawa Bungu Center

On Saturday, Nagasawa representatives held their own seminar in which Takeuchi-san and his translator Anastasia discussed the history behind the Sailor Kobe inks and explained in-depth how the inks were created in the years following the Great Hanshin Earthquake that occurred in 1995 to raise the community’s morale by celebrating the city following the devastation that occurred. The inks are numbered in the order they were created, and according to Nagasawa, the first three remain among the most popular: No. 1 (Rokko Green), No. 2 (Hatoba Blue), and No. 3 (Old City Sepia). Seminar attendees were given an ink sample card with the opportunity to test dozens of different Kobe inks that Nagasawa had loaded into tester pens and passed around the tables.

The Nagasawa Team presenting on Saturday.

The seminar concluded with a Q&A session. While there were some insightful questions posed, and the Nagasawa team did a great job attempting to respond thoroughly to everybody, this session reinforced a personal frustration I have with the degree to which some fountain pen users get very wrapped up in the technical details of what is a strongly analog, inexact, and artistic product. The focus of the Nagasawa Seminar was the history behind the Kobe Ink Series, its strong ties to Kobe, Japan, and the artistry and creativity necessary to create 150 different inks inspired by specific places around a single city. Yet I was a little dismayed at the extent to which the initial questions focused on things like ink formulation, “ink safety,” color variation in bottles purchased years apart, etc. Even though the questions themselves were genuine and honest, they felt misplaced. The story being told focused on the history of a classic product that’s sincerely rooted in its community with a strong sense of place - something rare in today’s market and certainly a story you wouldn’t hear in another venue. It’s not how I personally would have chosen to pick the brain of the creator of one of the most famous ink lines in the world. Again, I was extremely impressed with how the Nagasawa representatives quite graciously answered all the questions posed, speaking through a translator and in light of the fact that the inks themselves are manufactured by Sailor, who handles things like ink formulation.

Takeaways from One of the Best Pen Shows I Have Attended in Years

The San Francisco Pen Show remains one of the best shows on the circuit in terms of content and variety of exhibitors. If you appreciate Japanese stationery, there is no better show in the United States. I’m not going to do a full discussion of show logistics, crowds, etc., as you can find that elsewhere. There certainly were issues with crowds, navigation, and the fact that the show has likely outgrown its current venue, but I still wouldn’t miss this one for the world. See you all next year!

Many thanks to everyone who made this trip to the San Francisco Pen Show possible, especially Vanness Pens for hosting us at their table! I definitely plan to return next year.