Going to St. Louis Pen Show! (via A Gathering of Curiosities). I’ve never been to the St. Louis Pen Show, despite it only being a few hours drive. The stars didn’t align this for me this month but I hope everyone has a great time!
St. Louis Pen Show Exclusive Ink: KWZ 314 Blues (via Inkdependence). Hopefully those of you attending the St. Louis Pen Show this weekend were able to pick up a bottle of the show-exclusive ink!
Mt. Fo’rest Shop Visit (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). What a cool shop with a nicely curated, eclectic selection of goods! Put this one on a list of shops to visit.
The Lamy 2000 Multipen Just Got Better: Adding Jetstream Refills for Better Performance (via dwrdnet). I’ve successfully converted at least one person!
Comparing Different Apica Paper Weights (via Fountain Pen Love). For whatever reason, Apica notebooks have never caught on in my own rotation, partly because the ones I’ve tried all have had a relatively low page count and the style doesn’t necessarily appeal to me, but it is absolutely fountain pen friendly.
Does Stone Paper DESTROY Fountain Pens? I Tested It to Find Out (via Doodlebud). I’ve heard this as well, and have stayed away mostly because I don’t enjoy the feel of this paper.
2025 Triangle Pen Show (via Feed Your Creativity). I enjoyed watching this walkthrough of a vintage-heavy show that I’ve never attended, but it’s on my list.
Paper Republic Grand Voyager (via Inky.Rocks). I get a lot of questions about Paper Republic notebooks, most of which I can’t answer because I’m unfamiliar with the brand. I’m trying to learn more about some of these notebook brands with proprietary sizing.
Meet Your Maker: John Greco, GW Pens (via Pen Addict - Caroline). An interesting entry in this series about a maker who is new to me.
Ink Review: Esterbrook x TheCoffeeMonstersCo Forgotten Iced Coffee (via Well-Appointed Desk). Cool color! I love these offbeat grey-taupe-brown inks.
Hole punches are but one of the stationery adjacent items I’ve been playing around with this week.
In Case You Missed It….
This week, a bit of reflection where I talked about five “stationery adjacent” items that I can’t live without. This built a bit on my answer to a question in the interview I did with Derek on his YouTube Channel a few weeks back. I’ve also been hard at work refreshing some of the general informational content on the main site, so stay tuned for additional updates in the coming weeks. (This post also contained an update on August pen show plans, so check it out for details on D.C. and San Francisco.)
If I had to pick three “classic” Private Reserve Inks to start with, it would be Avocado, Supershow Blue, and Black Cherry/Burgundy Mist (depending on whether you want a red-black or more of a purplish burgundy).
This Week in the T.G.S. Curated Shop
The big new arrival this week was the TWSBI ECO Serpentine Bronze, which is selling quickly and we’re down to a few nib sizes. We’ll likely restock this one as it looks quite nice! We also restocked on many other standard TWSBI models alongside the Serpentine Bronze, including the Diamond Mini and the Irish Green/Onyx and Slate Blue/Onyx, with all nib sizes currently available once again. This week’s Thursday Drops post spotlighted all of the new arrivals!
We’re also happy to welcome Private Reserve Inks into the shop! Private Reserve as a brand has had its ups and downs over the years, but it has endured for 25+ years and is now under the ownership of Yafa Brands, so recent years have seen a return to consistency in quality, and I’m glad they kept the large-volume, jam-jar bottles. (60ml of ink for $18!) They make some of my long-time favorite colors, including Avocado and Burgundy Mist. I’m kinda sad Avocado is now spelled correctly on the bottle, as it will always be “Avacado” to me. :) Be sure to check out all of the colors, available in both 60ml bottle and cartridge formats.
NEW T.G.S. Patreon Features - We’ve started a discord community!
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. As noted above, we’ve recently started a Discord community for all paid Patreon supporters.