The Best Thing About Pen Shows (and My DC Haul!) (via Inky.Rocks). Totally agree that interacting with the community is the best part of attending the pen shows!
Analog Defaults 2026 Updates (via Pen Addict). Do you have “default” analog products that you reset to? An interesting concept that I think we all consider, consciously or subconsciously.
$.25 to $100!? Mechanical Pencil Roundup (via Inkdependence). You can have a lot of fun with the mechanical pencil stationery segment, across a wide range of price points.
How to Create a Handwriting Style That’s Actually Yours (via Doodlebud). Do you have your own unique handwriting style? I bet you do - even if you start with a traditional script, it will eventually be yours.
Summer Reading (via Philofaxy). Do you track your summer reading in analog or digital format? This post contains links to more printable.
Update: On Falling Sick, a Holiday and the Tools I Brought With Me (via Incredible Colours). Sometimes plans have to change, and you adapt your travel kit to your circumstances.
Mark’s Edit: My Big Book of Lists (via Well-Appointed Desk). Does anyone else take notes in list format? This is one of my own core note taking techniques.
In Case You Missed It….
We’re attending the San Francisco Pen Show this weekend! I will be teaching my notebook systems class for one more day on Sunday, and helping out at the Vanness Pens table. Be sure to check out this quick post on flying with fountain pens, which is a topic that I update every year when I hit the pen show busy season.
This Week in the T.G.S. Curated Shop
Things have not let up despite extensive travel, with new papers from NOLTY, new Uni Kuru Toga mechanical pencils, Colorverse Colorvent Calendars, and more all pouring into the shop while we are away. We’ve also added Pilot ILMILY Nuance Black Series gel pens, most Uni Zento Standard pens, and Uni Zento Flow pens. These are all being added and updated as we go. Be sure to check out each week’s Thursday Drops post for a full list of new arrivals and restocks.
The Nashville Shop will be open normal hours this coming week. Note that online orders placed Wednesday through Friday of last week have a 3-5 business day fulfillment time as opposed to our typical 2-3 business days due to pen show travel. As always, orders placed while we are away get a little something “extra” in them. Many thanks for your support!
How YOu Can Support us further: Visit Us on Patreon
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. In addition to exclusive content, Discord access, and online meetups, Patreon supporters have access to one or more initial “practice” episodes of “On the Paper Trail” which have not been publicly released.