Thursday Drops: New Japanese Gel Pens and Highlighters, Kuru Toga Wood Pencils, and a Graphilo Restock!

Over the past year, we’ve been working to expand our selection of Japanese gel pens, low-viscosity ballpoints, and highlighters, including many not typically found outside Japan. This past week we received a shipment that included the Pilot Juice Plus, the Pilot Kire-Na double-ended highlighter, and a restock of various Uni Jetstream Lite Touch and Zento gel pens. We even have more of the SXR-600 Parker-style Jetstream refills, which I consider one of the best widely compatible ballpoint refills available. We’ve also received a restock of Uni Kuru Toga mechanical pencils, including new versions like the Kuru Toga “Wood” series.

The new Uni Kuru Toga Wood mechanical pencils, available in two colors!

On the paper side, Graphilo is restocked in most formats, including A4 and A5 looseleaf, and we also have loads of new Midori, including Soft Color notebooks in both staple-bound and spiral/wirebound formats. (You’ll see these featured in this week’s episode of On The Paper Trail!)

Update: As of Friday, April 17, we have additional stock of the Taccia “Kuniyoshi” Ukiyo-e Inks! Be sure to check these out as there are some great colors in here.

Come see these and more in-person at our Nashville location! We are open Thursday-Friday 1pm-6pm, and on Saturday from 10am-6pm.

1. Pilot Juice Plus Gel Pens. The Pilot Juice features Pilot’s new “Synergy” tip, which is a hybrid between a needle-tip and a conical tip and designed to deliver precision while maintaining flow and durability. The Juice Plus (or “Juice+”) is an excellent fine-tip writer, currently available in .4mm.

2. Pilot Kire-Na Double-Ended Highlighters. Pilot’s answer to the popular Mildliners, the Kire-Na features an innovative clear “guide” on the broad end which helps you keep your highlights all neat and clean. The fine tip is even finer than a Mildliner, allowing you to highlight smaller text with precision or even annotate. Available in 10 different colors.

3. Uni Kuru Toga Wood Mechanical Pencils. We’ve been trying to source these mechanical pencils for nearly a year, and finally managed to procure a small shipment. The Kuru Toga Wood features a contoured dark wood grip paired with a softly knurled upper metal barrel. Available in two colors, green and grey.

4. Uni Kuru Toga Alpha Gel Switch Mechanical Pencils. Looking for an all-day, every-day comfortable writer? We’re huge fans of the Kuru Toga Alpha Gel Switch, which comes in a wide array of colors, two different lead sizes, and with the ability to turn the Kuru Toga rotating mechanism on and off.

5. Pentel Tradio and PulaMan Fineliner/Fountain Pens. We recently received stock of the standard Pentel Tradio refillable fineliners, as well as the single-use/disposable PulaMan pens which feature a similar tip. Note that these are the standard versions and not the dark green Craft Design Technology versions, which are in the process of being restocked as well.

6. iiro 6-ring Refills. Kobeha, maker of Graphilo paper, also released these fun Bible-size refills which feature colorful dot-grid paper. Note that these relatively inexpensive refills are NOT made with Graphilo, but rather a more absorbent paper that’s designed to dry quickly and is better suited to ballpoints, gel, and rollerballs than especially wet fountain pens.

7. Graphilo Paper. We’ve restocked on most variants of Graphilo paper, including looseleaf, standard A5 and A5 Square notebooks, and the memo blocks. Graphilo paper is some of the most fountain pen-friendly paper available, and has rapidly become a shop favorite.

8. Belle & Union Correspondence Sets. By popular request, we’ve increased our selection of correspondence sets, including notecards and letter-size paper. We’ve even added their popular desk box, which includes both sizes.

9. Kaweco Metal Sport Fountain Pens. We have additional stock of the popular Stainless Steel Kaweco Sport fountain pens, as well as continued stock of the new Lunar Light Green and Shadow Green releases!

10. Kaweco Liliput Fountain Pens. We’ve also received additional green and brass Kaweco Liliputs, which are two of the more popular finishes of Kaweco’s most popular pocket pen.

New Arrivals: Stationery Sets from Belle & Union, Plus Washi Tapes from Papier Platz and Oeda Letterpress!

We’ve continued to build out the written correspondence section of the shop, adding additional notecard/envelope sets as well as traditional half and full-sheet letter sets. San Antonio-based Belle & Union uses 100% cotton paper printed with snail mail and analog-themed motifs, and they’ve even assembled a desk box that contains both notecards and letter paper so you have a complete correspondence set ready to go for whatever type of writing you need to do. Be sure to check out the full line of Belle & Union products both online and in-store!

We’ve also expanded our washi tape offerings to include new designs from Papier Platz and Oeda Letterpress, two Japanese brands specializing in stationery and calligraphy-themed tapes and other accessories. Papier Platz has collaborated with Japanese artist Eric Small Things on a line of washi tapes that includes fountain pen ink, bookshelves, and desk art - these are among my favorite of the new washi tapes, particularly the “My Desk” and “Writing Utensils” designs.

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We will be open normal hours this week in our Nashville shop, from 1-6pm Thursday and Friday, and from 10am-6pm Saturday. Stop by to see these and more in-person!

Thursday Drops: Jetstream Prime, Kuru Toga Pencils, Zento Flow and More!

Four huge boxes arrived from Japan after making their way through customs, allowing us to finally restock on Kuru Toga and Tombow Mono “Shaker” mechanical pencils, Uni Zento Flow pens, new Jetstream Prime Pens, and, yes, more ink from Teranishi and Herbin! My favorite of these new arrivals are the all-matte-black Jetstream Prime (clip included) with a .7mm refill, and the Zento Flow “Birch”, which features a half-white, half etched aluminum barrel and a .38mm refill. Uni Jetstream ink is among the smoothest of the low-viscosity ballpoints, and the Zento gel ink has a matte texture that writes with little friction and dries extremely fast.

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The latest Uni Zento Flow arrival is this “Birch” version which features a combination white and etched aluminum barrel.

If you come visit us in store, we have testers of all these pens and more at the back of the shop to try out in person. We’re open this week Thursday and Friday from 1-6pm, and on Saturday from 10am-6pm. We hope to see you soon!

1. Kuru Toga Alpha Gel Switch Mechanical Pencil. Available in seven different colors and two tip sizes (.5mm and .3mm), the Switch features a comfortable gel grip and a switch that allows you to turn the Kuru Toga engine on and off, depending on whether you want the lead to rotate.

2. Tombow Mono Graph “Tune” Mechanical Pencil. The Tombow Mono “Shaker” style pencil now comes in four dark matte colors replete with matching matte trim.

3. Kuru Toga KS Mechanical Pencils. These entry-level Kuru Toga pencils are available again in muted pastel shades, as well as “Iron Blue” and Olive Green.

4. Uni Zento Flow Gel Pen. The Uni Zento Flow is the “mid-range” Zento, with a metal barrel that adds a touch of heft while maintaining a reasonable price point. As I mentioned above, we’ve recently added two new colors: Hematite (a dark grey) and “Birch” (a white barrel with etched aluminum finish).

5. Uni Jetstream Prime Ballpoints (including the new All Matte-Black). The Jetstream Prime is a go-to recommendation of mine for those looking for a standard “professional” ballpoint, and the new all matte-black finish with a .7mm refill might be my standard gift recommendation for graduation and holiday season.

6. Uni Jetstream Prime Lite Touch 3 Multi Pen. We have all four colors of the excellent Jetstream Prime Lite Touch 3, including the yellow and “Ivy Green” (which is definitely more like a blue). The Prime Lite Touch 3 is a three-slot multi pen that holds three Jetstream Lite Touch refills (black, blue and red). No mechanical pencil.

7. Uni Jetstream 4+1 Lite Touch Multi Pens. For those who want a mechanical pencil option, we stock the Jetstream 4+1 as well (black, blue, red, and green + .5mm mechanical pencil).

8. Uni Pure Malt “Oakwood” 4+1 Multi Pen. The “Oakwood” multi pen features a matte black barrel with a grip made from reclaimed whiskey barrels. We’re happy to have more of these unique pieces.

9. Herbin “Couleurs de Paris” Fountain Pen Inks. Colors inspired by scenes from Paris, France. Go figure that “Tour Eiffel” is the winner so far in terms of in-store popularity!

10. Teranishi Guitar Fountain Pen Inks. One of our top-selling ink line has been restocked, including favorite colors like Gentle Green, Lady Emerald, and Traveling Sepia.

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The latest addition to the Uni Jetstream Prime lineup - an all-matte-black version that includes a matte black clip similar to that found on the Prime Lite Touch 3 Multi Pen.

New Arrivals: Midori Spring Soft Colors and 1-Year Journals You Can Start Anytime!

Midori paper is among our favorite, and we’ve recently restocked on the Soft Color line just in time for Spring! We’ve previously carried the staplebound Soft Color notebooks, and have now added the wirebound spiral notebooks in five colors. Midori Soft Color paper is unique among colored paper in that it comes with a light dot grid ruling and works well with fountain pens. (Note that the notebook paper is comparable to MD Paper in thickness and is heavier stock than the Soft Color A5 notepads.) Check out these and other notebooks from the Midori and MD Product lineup, as new shipments have been arriving daily.

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We’ve also added new Midori One-Day, One-Page hardcover journals, in addition to restocking on the 5-Year Diaries. These books are all undated, meaning that you can start anytime. The 1-year journal even has an index function that lets you categorize your diary entries by subject.

We have normal shop hours in our Nashville store this week, from 1-6pm Thursday and Friday, and from 10am-6pm Saturday. Come by and see these and more!

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The Midori One-Day, One-Page interior layout with index in the bottom right-hand corner.

Thursday Drops: New Taccia Ukiyo-e Kuniyoshi Inks, Plus Midori and MD Products Restocks

They’re finally here! The latest releases in the Taccia Ukiyo-e line include eight new ink colors, many of which are darker shades infused with black. The Utagawa Kuniyoshi series features gorgeous box and bottle artwork, in addition to Taccia’s beautifully flowing ink. As noted on Tuesday, we also received a shipment of the rebranded Midori MD line notebooks (now “MD Product”), which includes new dot grid A6, B6 slim, and A7 notebooks. Finally, all Roterfaden from the SF Stationery Fest is back in inventory, and don’t forget that you can listen to the live recording of the event we co-hosted there in Episode 6 of On the Paper Trail!

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Taccia’s Kuromidori Kuniyoshi is going to be a favorite - all those multishading and color-shifting greens with sheen tend to do well. (Unfortunately Sabimidori is still backordered).

The Nashville shop will be open normal hours this week, from 1-6pm on Thursday and Friday, and from 10am-6pm on Saturday. Please come by and see all of these and more in person!

1. Taccia Ukiyo-e Kuniyoshi Inks. The third series of Taccia Ukiyo-e inks are now available, with some gorgeous dark black-infused colors added to the line. A few are sheeners for lovers of sheen and multi-shading, and as always, the Taccia artwork is beautifully incorporated into the packaging. We’ve also received a restock of the first two series of Ukiyo-e inks, with favorites such as Ainezu, Ruri, and Nakamurasaki returning.

2. Taccia Standard Line Restock. We’ve restocked on many of the standard Taccia ink colors as well, including Tsuchi (“Wheat”), Midori (Dark Green), and Uguisu (Lighter Green).

3. MD Product Dot Grid Notebooks. MD Product has rebranded and released more sizes of notebooks in dot grid layout as well as the standard lined, blank, and graph. Now you can enjoy B6 Slim, A6, and A7 in dot ruling as well as the A5!

4. MD Product A5 Codex Restock. The day-to-a-page MD Notebooks (the Codex series) are back, with both dot grid and plain papers. Intended for use as an undated daily planner or journal, the Codex can also serve as a thick notebook with excellent MD Paper.

5. TRAVELER’S Company Notebooks and Refills. The Standard notebooks sold out again quickly, but we have Passport-size TRAVELER’S Notebooks, as well as the full range of refills and accessories in all size.

6. Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter A4. All Roterfaden products that made it back from San Francisco and Arkansas are now listed on the site, including the large A4 Roterfadens that can hold most A4 notebooks and A4 pads.

7. Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter B5. The B5 Taschenbegleiter features a red leather that ages beautifully, and is large enough to hold both B5 notebooks and standard composition books. The clips slide up and down slightly to accommodate minor variations in sizing.

8. TRAVELER’S Company Brass Ballpoint and Rollerball Pens. The two most popular pens in the TRAVELER’S “Brass” series have been the ballpoint and the Rollerball (which takes fountain pen ink cartridges). We have both back in stock at the moment.

9. Yamamoto Ro-Biki Canvas Covers. Ro-Biki notebook covers are Yamamoto’s unique take on an A5 slim system, crafted from soft cotton canvas with an integrated zipper pouch. Ro-biki refills are a popular option to use with our TGS_25 Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter.

10. Yamamoto Ro-Biki Refills. We’re fully stocked on Ro-Biki refills, which feature lined, grid, and reticle rulings on Yamamoto’s Soliste Paper, as well as several unique cover designs. The new waxed paper “Texture” series has also arrived, in both grey and orange covers.

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Yes, another dark green, this one a darker take on Uguisu.