At the beginning of every year, I take stock of all of my “productivity tools,” whether that be my planners, notebooks, pens, pencils, computers, tablets, apps, etc., and review what was useful over the past year and what was not. I’ve mentioned before that I’m going on ten years of serious involvement in this community and this “hobby,” and while for the first five or so I did what many people do and cycled through various brands, formats, and paper types, I’ve largely settled on what I like and my setup doesn’t change much from year to year. You can read more about that here. Today I wanted to take a moment to discuss the philosophy behind the small curated retail shop we’ve built, which focuses on well-made products that aren’t fancy, but will serve you reliably and offer something to keep coming back to over the long haul. Case-in-point: Brands such as Midori, Clairefontaine, Rhodia, Maruman, Life and Write Notepads may not be trendy, but they all contain quality paper at a reasonable price point. Similarly, TWSBI fountain pens may strike some as “boring,” but in my opinion it’s hard to find better value out there, whether you’re a fountain pen newbie or an experienced user.
If you have the time, and are looking to restock your stationery supplies this New Year’s season, please consider supporting us by visiting the T.G.S. Curated Shop. Every week we highlight new arrivals and featured products, in addition to the regular T.G.S. reviews and editorial content. Curated Shop “Best Sellers” can be viewed here, and we recently restocked on the following:
Write Notepads Dot Grid Notebooks. This is my favorite spiral notebook currently on the market. I love the absorbent, bright white paper that allows ink to dry quickly while still showing off the color and special properties. The covers now come in a wide array of colors including pistachio (my fave), black, kraft, blue, and red. Also available in lined ruling.
Maruman Mnemosyne Spiral Notebooks. An oft-overlooked workhorse brand, Maruman makes the “Mnemosyne” spiral notebooks with their classy black plastic covers. Their graph/grid notebooks are set up to be used in landscape format (more on this below).
Write Notepads Landscape Notebook. I sometimes like to work with a notebook or notepad underneath my keyboard, and it helps to have that notebook be in landscape format. Write Notepads makes a landscape version of their lined spiral notebook.
Clairefontaine French-Ruled Notebooks. The paper that started it all for me is still a favorite. I find Clairefontaine’s Seyes-ruled paper to be incredibly versatile in that it allows you to do to anything from practicing cursive or calligraphy (using the ruling as guides), to writing really small.
Rhodia Webnotebooks. Want to upgrade your big-box leatherette notebook to something that better handles fountain pen ink? The Rhodia “Webbie”, in dot grid or lined ruling, is hard to beat. (The orange and silver covers look great.)
Rhodia Writing Pads. For the absolute best combination of quality and value, it’s hard to beat Rhodia. Their legal-style writing pads are a staple of my work desk.
Write Notepads Classic Hardcover Notebook. Featuring quality Write Notepads paper, these hardback notebooks are now available with dot grid paper.
Kokuyo PERPANEP Zara-Zara Notebooks. Don’t let the crazy name turn you off from these excellent Japanese softcover notebooks. The “Zara-Zara” paper handles fountain pens well, and comes in a wide range of rulings, including a .6mm “Steno” layout as well as graph and dot grid rulings in various widths.
Traveler’s Notebooks and Accessories. These have been flying off the shelves recently, as people move into new notebook systems for the new year! We are fully stocked on all colors, sizes, refills and accessories!
TWSBI Fountain Pens and Inks. Whether you’re looking for the Diamond 580 with interchangeable nibs, the colorful ECO demonstrators, or the recently released cartridge-converter Swipe, you can’t go wrong with a TWSBI.
All links to the T.G.S. Curated Shop, unless otherwise noted. By shopping with us directly, you are supporting original content, pen reviews, pen show events, etc. from The Gentleman Stationer. If you would like to support us even further, please consider checking out the T.G.S. Patreon Program, which offers access to online meetups, exclusive discounts and pre-orders, and more!