Many thanks to everyone who read and commented on Part I of my responses to the 12 Pen Person Questions! For those who are unfamiliar with this exercise, it was developed by my friend Lisa over at Olive Octopus Ink as a set of journaling prompts for those who might be looking to delve deeper into why they engage with this hobby. I’ve been working on my responses for the past few months with the idea that I would do a multi-post series. Here goes Part II!
Question 7: What is something you are proud of doing, achieving, or overcoming?
In recent years, I’ve struggled with a fear of “putting myself out there” on the internet in a way that’s more personally identifiable. I’m an intensely private person in many ways, and for years I kept T.G.S. fairly anonymous because I enjoyed traveling to stationery stores and pen shows and browsing without anyone recognizing me, making for a quiet weekend that I often needed to recover from a stressful day job. Of course, as T.G.S. has grown, that’s become far more difficult to do, and there’s an inevitable realization that there is so much of myself in this business - on both the content and retail sides - that it would actually hold the business back for me NOT to be out front and center. I realize from my own experience as a customer that people tend to identify more with brands that have a recognizable face behind them, and to that end I’ve been proud of my effort to overcome my shyness, appear in more “people pictures” at pen shows, use my full name, and even start a new project where it won’t be possible to hide at all. (iykyk, Patreon members.) Stay tuned, as everyone will be seeing much more of me in 2026, whether you like it or not!
Question 8: You're going on a writing retreat anywhere in the world—where would you go, what would you write, and what would you write with?
I actually used to take at least one writing retreat every year, where I would spend some time not only writing but using the time to regroup and plan all of my various projects across the coming year. Given how busy everything has become, it’s not something I’ve had the opportunity to do since I opened the physical shop in Nashville. That said, if I restarted the practice, I would go to the same Atlantic-coast beach I’ve visited for most of my life, which has wide expanses of sand and plenty of time to walk and think. (I would also go when it’s relatively cold because … no people.) Most of the “writing time” involves walking and/or pacing while thinking through ideas, so I would definitely bring some sort of small pocket notebook to jot down notes, as well as a spiral notebook with perforated pages to use for drafting out ideas longhand. When I’m in “working mode,” I usually opt for low-distraction, straightforward writing tools like wood pencils or a workhorse fountain pen like the Lamy 2000 or the Pilot Custom 74, and maybe even a TWSBI ECO if I’m traveling to a place where I’ll be working in public spaces like a coffee shop and don’t want to worry about losing the pen.
Question 9: What's a current or favorite creative outlet?
While part of me wishes that I were more creative with stationery and analog tools, the reality is that I spend so much time writing and immersed in the stationery world, I need a non-stationery outlet for creativity. I play music (guitar), and have had a standing weekly lesson with the same instructor since I was 12 years old, more than 30 years ago. That said, I do score music/tablature with a dark pencil, so if the answer must have a stationery angle to it, there is that.
Question 10: What's something that causes you benign envy—the kind of admiration and desire that leads to inspiration or motivation?
Probably someone’s ability to conceptualize a product, design it, and bring it into existence, either by making it directly or finding someone to manufacture. I have many different ideas for unique stationery, and seeing so many friends and colleagues launch their own exclusive products they’ve created from scratch inspires me to make some of these ideas a reality. We’ve already done several different collaborations on existing products with existing brands, including Good Made Better, Sunderland Machine Works, Roterfaden, Newton Pens, and Hinze Pens, which has been a great first step, but I would love to release something truly original.
I currently have two Lamy 2000 Fountain Pens inked up. Both in original Makrolon.
Question 11: What's a comfort item, material, or color?
My Lamy 2000 fountain pen. It was my first highly coveted stationery item, and remains my favorite. There’s something about the feel of the Makrolon finish in hand that brings comfort and reminds me of the excitement I felt when I first became deeply engaged in this hobby, because it was one of the first really nice fountain pens that I saved up and purchased early on in my career. Whenever I feel out-of-sorts, and need to journal or just write out my thoughts in a coherent manner, picking up the Lamy 2000 puts me in the right mindset.
Question 12: What would be a dream collaboration, project, or partnership?
A dark burgundy Lamy 2000 with black plated trim. I mean, what else? We’ll see how closely Lamy reads this blog.
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