Getting Personal: Five "Stationery Adjacent" Items I Can't Live Without

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. :)

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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.

Thursday Drops: Caran d'Ache 888 Infinite Pens, Pilot Fountain Pens, and a 2025 Planner Discount!

How about a planner promotion now that we’re a couple of weeks into 2025? All dated planners are 10% off using the discount code “25PLANNER” at checkout, including whatever remains of our current stock of dated Traveler’s Company diaries. We also have two new (to us) Pilot Vanishing Point finishes, in blue and black “Carbonesque” barrels, to add to our growing selection of Pilot writing instruments. Finally, we have a restock of select desk and reading accessories, including bookmarks and page markers, and annotation favorites such as the Caran d’Ache highlighter pencils and Infinite 888 Ballpoint Pens.

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Our brick and mortar shop is open again this week for regular hours Thursday through Saturday, and otherwise by appointment. For directions and specific hours keep an eye on this page, which will also reflect any changes each week due to inclement weather, travel, etc.

1. Pilot Vanishing Point Fountain Pen (Carbonesque Finish). Possibly my overall favorite finish of the Pilot Vanishing Point, as I’ve chosen the blue for my own personal VP. The black looks excellent as well.

2. Caran d’Ache Infinite 888 Ballpoint. This inexpensive (sub-$10) refillable ballpoint is a gem, and one of our best sellers from the past five years. The Swissride refill is also back in stock.

3. Traveler’s Notebook 2025 Dated Planner Refills. We still have a handful of certain Standard and Passport refills. Use “25PLANNER” at checkout to snag an additional 10% off your 2025 Planner setup!

4. Pilot Custom 823 Fountain Pens. All colors are now available, including the new clear! The Custom 823 is one of my favorite high-ink-capacity workhorse pens on the market. Check out our “Workhorse Pens” write-up to read more about why we love it so much.

5. Pilot E95s Fountain Pen. One of the most accessible gold-nib Japanese pens on the market, the compact and portable E95s comes in two different finishes and three different nib sizes ranging from EF to Medium.

6. Craighill “Perch” Metal Bookmarks. I didn’t make nearly as much progress as I would have liked on my reading in 2024, but I’m already ahead of the game for 2025. To that end I’ve been diving into my collection of nice bookmarks, which I use not only in books I’m reading but journals and notebooks as well.

7. Book Darts. We’ve got a full stock of made-in-the-USA Book Darts, the archivally safe page markers that you can use to annotate books and notebooks. (I like to use them as dividers to create my own multi-subject notebooks.)

8. Caran d’Ache Highlighter Pencils. Available as a set of four, and now individually, these jumbo highlighter pencils are excellent annotation tools, especially for books with thinner papers where liquid ink highlighters bleed through.

9. HMM Eraser Balls. They’re back in all colors! These desktop oddities are fully functional erasers that double as pencil holders, picture holders, fidget toys, and more. HMM is a design-focused stationery brand out of Taiwan that makes pens, pencils, and various desk and reading accessories.

10. HMM “Mugr” and “Drippr” Coffee Accessories. Hey, even if you don’t want to use the mugs for actual coffee, they look great as a pen or pencil cup, but if you’re a coffee enthusiast the combination of lacquer and wood is gorgeous to look at every morning.

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The Swiss Cross Infinite 888 (which still has the mechanical pencil available!)

Notes From the Curated Shop: Five Desk Essentials for Your Office or Dedicated Writing Space

In addition to standard pens and paper, we stock a wide range of desk and reading accessories to make your everyday work and home life more enjoyable! The reason I love this particular product category is that it’s often overlooked by many pen retailers even though it’s a natural extension of an interest in writing. At this past weekend’s D.C. Pen Show - there will be a full recap forthcoming, I promise - I brought along a range of non-pen items that included a handful of cases and desk accessories, and they sold quite well. Here are five of my favorites currently in the shop that can help you build out your ultimate desk setup.

1. The Penwell Desktop Pen Holder. I’ve long been a fan of the Penwell desktop pen holder, which turns any capped fountain pen or rollerball into a desk pen! Good Made Better, the maker of the Penwell, was kind enough to do a custom run for our shop in a deep “Aged Red” finish.

2. Quality Scissors. Until I started using good scissors, I didn’t appreciate how invaluable they are, whether it comes to opening mail or packages, trimming photographs or mementos to paste into a scrapbook, or craft projects. We stock several brands of high-end scissors that are both sharp and functional.

3. A Compact Ruler or Straightedge. I always find myself needing to measure something, and it’s rarely long enough to warrant pulling out the measuring tape unless I’m shipping packages. Rulers also serve as a handy straightedge for formatting plain paper, or when you want to transform a standard notebook into a planner.

4. A Book Stand. Another long-running product I’ve carried is the Hightide Folding Metal Bookstand. While you can certainly use it for reading, it’s versatility goes far beyond that - I use mine to hold notepads and notebooks as I transcribe my notes or to hold a handwritten draft of a document as I’m typing it into the computer. This particular model conveniently folds flat for easy transport in a briefcase so you can take it on the road.

5. A Pen Tray. I keep a lot on my desk, and it’s helpful to have a catch-all to hold pens, pencils, paper clips, erasers, sharpeners, bits of paper - you get the idea. These Hightide Marbled Pen Trays are made from melamine and come in either long rectangular versions or a smaller round option.

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While these five categories are fairly mainstream, other more specialized products to consider include a self-inking stamp, which can be customized to feature your letterhead, return address, or signature to add to written correspondence, or an analogue timing device like a Sandglass. We’re actively adding additional “home office” and reading accessories, so keep checking back!

The Gentleman Stationer is an authorized retailer of all brands sold.

From the Curated Shop: Favorite Pens for Reading

Whenever I go on vacation in the summer, or even when I’m just lounging around here at home, I like to read outside (weather permitting). If I’m reading nonfiction, I tend to be a relatively “active” reader, meaning that I enjoy highlighting/underlining passages, entering marginalia and jotting down notecards that I sometimes store in a library pocket before I transcribe them to a commonplace book. I generally have a specific set of pens that I use as “reading companions,” mainly lightweight ballpoints and/or pencils that I can clip to the cover or tuck between the pages unobtrusively. It’s a major category that I’ve elected to stock in the shop, and since I know so many of you are avid readers, I thought I’d share my favorites here. If there are any “bookmark-style” or other annotation-appropriate pens that you enjoy and think that we should consider stocking, please drop us a line or leave a comment below!

[UPDATE: I’ve been reviewing my stock and it’s time to do a summer clearance! Take 10% off almost everything in the store using the coupon code SUMMER - automatically applied at checkout - and some items have been placed on deep discount already. Excludes TWSBI and Lochby! Sale Ends at 11:59pm on July 5.]

The Gentleman Stationer Curated Shop is an authorized retailer of all brands shown here.

1. Traveler’s Company Brass Ballpoint Pen. My favorite pen for reading and annotation went with me to the beach this month and added to it’s patina. Lightweight and featuring a needle-tip hybrid ballpoint/gel refill, I consider this the perfect pen for marginalia and annotation. (We also sell the refills.)

2. Pokka Pens. While the tip isn’t as small as the needle-point on the Traveler’s Company Brass Ballpoint Pen, the Pokka Pen is extraordinarily light, and when paired with the optional clip, makes for an awesome pen to clip to the cover.

3. CW&T Pen-Type C. Fans of the Hi-Tec-C gel pen will want to consider this flat titanium “bookmark pen,” which gives you the CW&T writing experience at the $50 price point. Personally, I clip the pen to the front cover as opposed to using it as a true bookmark. (It’s also a useful pen to slip into the PVC pouch on a Traveler’s Notebook.)

4. Caran d’Ache Bicolor Annotation Pencils. The perfect companion for those of us who like to highlight or annotate in colored pencil. The standard graphite is relatively firm, so you don’t need to sharpen often, and it’s still dark enough to remain legible.

5. Mazzuoli Nobile ITALIA. A unique writing instrument that I haven’t written about in a whlle, this ergonomic ballpoint from Mazzuoli ships with three different ballpoint refills and a .7mm mechanical pencil insert. I have the “Aviation Blue” version with the mechanical pencil, and it makes for a great portable writing companion.

Thursday Drops: New Reading Accessories from WMS + Co.!

This past week we updated the T.G.S. Curated Shop’s main page in a way that I hope makes it easier to navigate while also creating room to grow our various categories, including our selection of curated desk and reading accessories! This week we’re pleased to offer a selection of high-end bookmarks from WMS + Co., in your choice of sterling silver, bronze, and copper. All of these make exceptional gifts, whether it’s a mid-winter pick-me-up for yourself or a gift for someone else. In addition to the official “Reading and Desk Accessories”, many of our writing instruments and notebook systems offer products that pull double duty,

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In my humble opinion, everybody needs their own “ex libris” stamp.

Editor’s Note: Reading Accessories strike me as a neglected product category across the board. I’m not aware of many stores that stock items of interest to readers of physical books, and it’s one of the areas of the shop I’d like to grow. If you have favorite products that are hard for you to find and would like me to look into, I’d appreciate it if you’d drop me a comment or an e-mail through the Contact link.

The T.G.S. Curated Shop is an authorized retailer of WMS + Co. and other brands we stock. 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!

1. WMS + Co. Corner Page Markers. These bronze and copper corner bookmarks are surprisingly light, slipping easily over the corner of your page to mark your spot in your novel or journal. Currently available in both bronze and copper, with sterling silver on the way.

2. WMS + Co. Sterling Silver Page Points. We personally use all of the products that we stock in our Desk and Reading Accessories section (it’s how we curate, after all), and this set of three Sterling Silver Page Points is one of a handful of products that sees use every day. I keep two of them in the devotional books I read every morning, and a third in my current book-in-progress.

3. WMS + Co. Sterling Silver Page Markers. Looking for a slightly larger, more traditional bookmark? These Sterling Page Markers ship as a set of two.

4. WMS + Co. Bronze Octagonal Rubber Stamp. All of WMS + Co’s high-end rubber stamps come with a voucher that allows you to order your customization for no additional charge. While many people might opt for a letterhead stamp or professional credential, I chose a custom personal library stamp. (Because who actually gets rid of their books, right?) This heavy bronze stamp is cast from an antique version.

5. WMS + Co. “Philosophical” Hand Stamps. Jazz up your journals and written correspondence with your favorite quote. (Some are more work-friendly than others.) We also sell re-inkable stamp pads, which are not included.

6. Hightide Co. Folding Metal Book Stand. One of the original products that started the Curated Shop, and still a best seller. (Seriously, some people order like four of these at a time, and I get it, because you can use these in various places around your home, whether on your desk as a book, notebook, or pad holder, in the kitchen as a cookbook holder, or even as a stand to display larger artwork or photographs.

7. Caran d’Ache Editing Pencils in Red/Graphite and Highlighter/Graphite. A personal favorite that’s never far from my side when I’m working or reading, these Caran d’Ache double-ended pencils are infinitely practical. Sold individually or by the dozen.

8. Traveler’s Company Brass Ruler and Brass Template Bookmarks. The Traveler’s Company Brass Ruler and template bookmarks are best sellers, whether you use them as a straightedge or just a handy bookmark that can pull double-duty when necessary.

9. Traveler’s Company Brass Number Clips. Mark multiple places in your research volume, or turn your notebook into a multi-subject by creating sections with these brass clips from Traveler’s Company.

10. Traveler’s Company Brass Clip. Another “daily user” for me, which can serve double duty as a clip to hold open your Traveler’s Notebook or other journal while you write, or a book while you read.