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The Gentleman Stationer

Vintage Living in the Modern World.
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Getting Personal: Five "Stationery Adjacent" Items I Can't Live Without

June 25, 2025

If you’ve been listening to Derek’s interviews over on the dwrdnet stationery feed (and if you’re not, you should be), one of the questions he asks each guest is “What are your favorite ‘stationery adjacent’ items?” I sat for an interview a few weeks ago, and have been thinking on this question ever since. During the interview, our discussion focused on notebooks, but is a notebook cover or planner/binder really “stationery adjacent”? To me, that term implies an accessory: something that is stationery-related but not a writing instrument or paper, and where its true purpose is to help you better enjoy your core writing supplies. I wanted to do some follow-up and talk about a handful of items that fall more into the desk and reading accessories category, which to me is more traditionally stationery-adjacent. While I may specify a singular product, I’d recommend that you read this post as more “category recommendations” rather than product plugs.

  1. Book Darts/Bookmarks. I annotate books and notebooks extensively, whether I’m marking them up with highlighters and pencils, flagging them with post-its, or more permanently dividing notebooks into sections or marking favored passages for posterity with a more permanent Book Dart. One of my favorite stationery hacks is using folded over washi tape to mark pages, which not only offers a way to work your way through a sizeable washi stash, but adds a cool visual element to notebooks.

  2. Desktop Pen Stand or Pen Tray. I have a dozen pen stands and pen trays that I’ve accumulated over the years, and have them allocated between the various desks and workspaces that I use. I move around a lot because I find that my creativity and thinking benefits from the occasional change of scenery. I have a couple different desks and workstations that I rotate between, as well as a library-style area with armchairs in my home office. Of course, my favorite pen stand is my Dudek Modern Goods Divide, which sadly is no longer made, but I also enjoy my pen trays from Toyooka Craft and NFP Design.

  3. An Analog Timing Device. We’ve long sold the Hightide Sandglasses in our own shop (and recently added more “upscale” bicolor versions), but I’m a fan of any desktop timing device other than a cell phone. Merely having my phone on my desk when I’m trying to think or write disrupts my flow, and something that allows me to measure 15-30 minute writing or brainstorming sessions without the possibility of a text or jarring timer. I did a separate post a while back about how I use analog timers, and also included a few ideas that were suggested by other people.

  4. Rubber Stamps. I’m late to the rubber stamp game, but over the past couple of years I’ve definitely accumulated a fairly large number of custom stamps that I use for anything from decorative motifs for letters and notecards to more practical designs that can be used to organize ink swatches, write to-do lists, and more.

  5. A Magnifier/Loupe. I don’t write much about this, but I have a desktop loupe that was a gift from my father years ago. Obviously designed as a desktop magnifier for assistance with reading small print, I’ve found it equally useful for inspecting fountain pen nibs and assisting with other minor repair tasks. As a true stationery nerd, I also use it to inspect paper fibers, the quality of printed rulings on notebooks and pads, and ink feathering. :)

A few honorable mentions that didn’t make the top five: (1) Scissors - I’m a huge fan of both the Nakabayashi and Allex versions that we carry in our store, and don’t see much of a reason to look beyond these as they are quite sharp; (2) My Notsu Centre Rise Notecard stand and a generic notecard file box that I found somewhere online, because quality notecards have started to replace traditional pocket notebooks for me; and (3) My Tracy Cullen Pottery mug and pen stand, which I picked up in Atlanta and which you can see in my Atlanta Pen Show Recap.

I typically have many of the items featured in my weekly posts with me in the shop when I open over the weekend. Come in and say hello and see them for yourself! (Even if they aren’t items we sell, I often have review samples available for you to see in person). The Gentleman Stationer is supported entirely by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. We will be open this week from 1pm-6pm Thursday and Friday, and 10am-6pm on Saturday. Be sure to check the shop page for up-to-date hours.

In Editorial Tags Stationery Adjacent, Desk Accessories, Reading Accessories
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Desk Accessories: What's on My Desk, at Work and at Home?

March 1, 2025

I’ve written a lot about desk accessories this week, and I mentioned in an earlier post that as a shopkeeper, the desk and reading accessories section is probably my own favorite area of the shop since so much of myself goes into the curation. In talking to customers, I’ve found that a lot of people focus on the pens, pencils, and paper side of things but don’t put as much thought into other aspects of analog work. Today I want to talk about three categories of desk accessories that I personally recommend, and which can immediately upgrade your workflow.

  • A Book or Pad Holder. In today’s world, even if you take notes by hand, on paper, you will, in all likelihood, eventually need to either type those notes up and/or incorporate them into a longer form piece of writing. The single most used piece of office equipment (other than my pens and my computer) is the Hightide folding metal bookstand. I keep one in my home office and one at each of my work desks, and use them to hold notebooks, notepads, tablets, or anything else I want to be able to look at while I transcribe notes or review source material. Anecdotally, I’ve heard they are also very useful for those who transcribe books as part of their journaling practice. I’m not sure there are a ton of options on the market here, and in any event I’ve settled on the Hightide version because (1) they’re relatively inexpensive, making it easy for me to have duplicates pretty much everywhere I work; and (2) they fold flat, so they slip into a briefcase and I can take them with me when I travel.

  • Scissors. Don’t underestimate the utility of a quality pair of scissors. I used cheap scissors for years, but until I spent just a little bit more money on a pair of Allex desk scissors at C.W. Pencil Enterprise (R.I.P.), I didn’t realize what I was missing. Quality scissors tend to be sharper, more precise, and don’t gum up when you have to cut through things like glue and tape, especially if you buy scissors with fluorine-coated blades.

  • Page Markers. I’m a heavy annotator, meaning that I mark up documents and books as I read, and I nearly always end up tagging passages for later review. My own personal favorite is the Book Dart, but people also love Levenger Page Nibs and even Washi Tape, where you can mark a passage by folding a tiny piece over the edge of the page. If there’s one category of office supplies where I probably should try to economize but can’t, it’s on page markers, because I go through tins of these things and can’t stop. Pro tip: use them to divide your notebooks into multiple sections.

Why Do You Focus on This Stuff and Where Can I See It in Person?

I enjoy helping people assemble a workspace that’s both functional and enjoyable for them to use, which is why I like maintaining a physical shop location in addition to having an online presence because this type of product can be hard to visualize without seeing it in person. I can talk about this stuff for hours, and even though T.G.S. would probably make more money focusing on more expensive luxury goods, desk accessories provide a LOT of value to users because they tend to be “buy-it-once” items. (My Allex Scissors are now six or seven years old and work as well as they did when I bought them, and my Hightide Bookstands are the same ones I purchased for myself back in 2020.) If you can’t come see us in person in Nashville, I’ll be taking T.G.S. to the Arkansas Pen Show at the end of March 21-23, where I’ll have desk accessories as well as all the pens, pencils, and paper you can handle.

Thank you for reading! The Gentleman Stationer is supported by the T.G.S. Curated Shop and the T.G.S. Patreon Program. If you’d like to visit our in-person location, you can view directions and up-to-date hours here.

In Editorial Tags Editorial, Desk Accessories
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Introducing Nakabayashi Shredder Scissors!

New Arrivals: Nakabayashi Yu-Sari Sheets and Notebooks, Logical Prime Notebooks, Scissors and More!

December 26, 2023

Until the last year or so, Nakabayashi and Profolio were two Japanese paper brands that didn’t receive as much attention in the U.S. as their peers. Now, I count them among the top sellers in our shop. These notebooks handle fountain pen ink extremely well, and they also feature a broad selection of rulings, including multi-lined rulings similar to longtime favorite Clairefontaine Seyes.

You can read more about the Profolio Oasis in this post from last week. Today, we’re releasing a restock of the Nakabayashi Yu-Sari, Logical Prime, and Logical Air notebooks, along with Yu-Sari blank sheets in A5 and B5 sizes. Finally, don’t miss new additions to our desk and reading accessories store, including five-blade shredder scissors (perfect for those working remotely or in a smaller office), as well as new bookmarks with incorporated loupes.

The Gentleman Stationer is supported by purchases from the T.G.S Curated Shop and the T.G.S. Patreon Program. We are an authorized reseller of all brands sold.

In TGS Curated Shop Tags TGS Curated Shop, Nakabayashi, Desk Accessories, New Arrivals
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Checking in at Year-End: My Five Most-Used Non-Pen Stationery Items

December 9, 2023

I’ve been doing a lot of “checking in and thinning out” lately, with the goal of reducing both physical and mental clutter by keeping tidier workspaces and focusing on having close at hand those specific items that I use the most. The reason for this is twofold: (1) Towards the end of the year, I always take stock and try to figure out what might be eliminated, replaced, or improved; and (2) It’s been a busy holiday season - possibly the busiest I’ve ever had - and I’ve needed whatever edge I can to make it through the past several weeks, even if that’s just a few extra seconds in the morning of not having to sort through a jumble of junk on my desk. For this morning’s post, I asked myself: What are the five stationery items - other than pen/pencil and paper - that I touch every day?

  1. My 30-Minute Hourglass. The first thing I interact with after I wake up. Every morning I try to read for 30 minutes and then write in my journal for 30 minutes. Two flips of the hourglass. Later in the day, when I’m doing periods of focused work, I try to maintain 30 uninterrupted minutes of effort between short breaks. While I currently only have one hourglass in rotation, I will likely add another to avoid tempting fate by repeatedly moving the hourglass across the room from my desk to my reading chair over hardwood floors with three (yes, three) dogs underfoot. For more ways on how to use analogue timing devices - of which I’m a big proponent - check out this post.

  2. A Cutting Tool. Whether it’s breaking down boxes and packaging, cutting tape, snipping loose threads, or opening mail, a good pair of scissors or a small penknife is essential. Personally, I have four items I use regularly: My Allex fluorine-coated desk scissors that I’ve owned for years and which we now carry in the shop, a pair of discontinued Write Notepads Pocket Scissors, smaller Allex “Mini Scissors” that fit into a stationery pouch, and a pocketknife (rotating brands, depending on whether I’m at a desk or in the warehouse that day).

  3. A Bookmark. My accumulation of bookmarks is somewhat embarrassing, second only to pens (and maybe notebooks), but I have a wide range of paper, metal, leather, and even cloth bookmarks that I use regularly, ranging from cheap bookstore and promotional freebies to quality, slightly overengineered metal ones. For some reason I hate dog-earing pages in books. I’d much rather use a bookmark while I’m actively reading, with sticky notes and Book Darts marking those passages I want to flag for long-term reference and/or archiving in my commonplace system.

  4. My Classroom Friendly (Carl Angel-5) Pencil Sharpener. When I read, I annotate and take notes in pencil. At home, this relatively inexpensive hand-cranker remains my long-point sharpener of choice. The blades leave as sharp a point as ever, five+ years into its lifespan.

  5. Toyooka Craft Pen Trays. I have two Toyooka Craft six-pen trays. One on my personal desk at home, and one at work. Both sit next to my keyboard and hold the pens/pencils that I’m working with at any given time. Typically, this will include 2-3 fountain pens, a ballpoint, a rollerball, and a mechanical pencil. Once I have this rotation set for the day, I don’t go rooting around in my bag or pen case for something “new” and instead just focus on the work at hand.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s that you can’t use “all the things” all of the time - at least not if you want to get anything done during the day because you’re spending all of your time and effort picking out your tools. Set your core workhorse lineup and run with it. Periodically evaluate and make changes. If you like to rotate stuff, do it regularly (or at least semi-regularly, just not on a whim). And if you don’t use something, pass it along!

The Gentleman Stationer is supported by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. We don’t just write about and sell pens! Lately we’ve been expanding more into non-pen (but still stationery-related) content and goods. You can read more about our “stationery philosophy” here.

In Editorial, EDC Tags Editorial, Desk Accessories
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Curated Shop Update: More HMM Desk Accessories!

September 26, 2023

This morning we have more fun arrivals from Taiwan-based HMM, and it’s a whole bunch of unique items that (I hope) you won’t find elsewhere! Included in this week’s shipment are some sleek standing scissors that can be stored vertically using the included magnetic base, wacky “Eraser Balls” that pull triple duty as pencil holders and fidget toys, and a new gift-set option for the dodecagonal matte black ballpoint, which includes a leather pen sleeve. Happy shopping!

The Gentleman Stationer is an authorized retailer of all brands sold, including the full range of HMM goods.

In TGS Curated Shop Tags HMM, Desk Accessories, TGS Curated Shop
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