Journaling During These Unprecedented Times (via Inky.Rocks). Even if you’re overwhelmed by everything going on and the associated noise - which is often intentionally designed to keep you from thinking straight and reflecting - journaling can be a great way to process.
2026 Philly Pen Show (via Olive Octopus). I couldn’t break away to hit the Philly Show like I normally do, but I’ve enjoyed reading and watching all the recaps.
ALL of My TWSBI Pens (via Inkdependence). On the cusp of yet another TWSBI release, Mike shows off his TWSBI collection.
2025 Ohio Pen Show (30th Year!) (via Feed Your Creativity). The Ohio Pen Show is a vintage-heavy show that tends to get overlooked. If you’re at all interested in vintage this show should be on your radar, as it can also be a relatively inexpensive show to attend. Fun fact: Ohio was my first pen show all the way back in 2012!
How I Shopped “Around the World” at the DC Pen Show (via Pen Addict). A fun idea, and you don’t have to attend one of the larger pen shows to do something like this, given how international even the smaller shows tend to be.
Was It Six Years Ago? (via Line Variation). One thing I’ve recently realized is that I have no real system for organizing my pens, inks, and stationery, especially when I’m trying to remember when/where I bought certain pens and/or had nibs ground.
Pennonia x Stationery Universe Morpho Ink Collection Review (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). Congratulations to Tori on this new collaboration! I like this recent trend of offering inks with and without shimmer.
For Medicinal Purposes (via From The Pen Cup). Stationery has healing properties, which is why you should always have a healthy supply - with more on the way.
Sometimes the best souvenirs from trips are the most “boring”. (This thing is HUGE.)
In Case You Missed It….
Unfortunately this past week, we have mostly been closed due to Winter Storm Fern. Because our building was without power until Wednesday night, and without water until late Friday, we were only able to open one day. On the personal side, I’ve had sporadic internet access at my house and terrible cell service. Things should get back to normal this coming week, including some content from the NYNow and Shoppe Object trade shows that I will be visiting Monday and Tuesday. These “to the trade” shows are different from standard pen shows and stationery fests, in that they’re intended for distributors to show off new arrivals and upcoming product releases to retailers. I typically attend one or two true trade shows per year, and I always have fun things to share.
Because I ended up spending a few nights in a hotel - including a brief trip to Pilot USA HQ in Jacksonville - I did manage to get a bit of content out, including Episode 2 of the On The Paper Trail Podcast, in which Lisa Vanness and I sat down to talk with nib grinder Matthew Chen! Outside the episode itself, we did a livestream with Matthew in which we took reader and listener questions about nib grinds and more.
The Benu Haute line of fountain pens is one of the first designs by Benu that appealed to me enough to offer it.
This Week in the T.G.S. Curated Shop
January is typically a month for post-holiday restocking, and we’re no exception. In addition to restocks of most Pilot pens, the Lamy 2000 line, TWSBI ECOs and Diamond 580s, Diplomat Vipers, and Diamine Ink, we’ve added the Benu “Haute” line of fountain pens, new inks from Colorverse, and of course additional TRAVELERS Notebooks in the standard and passport sizes. What am most excited about? We finally received more of the Mnemosyne Hardcover A5 Journals, which is the notebook that’s serving as my current journal and was featured in my YouTube walkthrough of my 2026 notebooks setup.
Assuming the weather holds (and it looks like at least these first two weeks of February will be clear), we will plan to be open Thursday and Friday from 1pm-6pm, and on Saturday from 10am-6pm. Please note that we will be traveling a fair bit over the coming months and in-store hours may change week-to-week. We always post updated hours on our main “About” page, and on our Google profile.
How to Support T.G.S. and Our Various Projects
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. The T.G.S. Patreon includes early access and discounts on exclusive shop releases, a monthly updates newsletter, and of course our monthly meetups. As of this morning, ALL Patreon supporters (including non-paying free members) have access to one or more initial “practice” episodes of “On the Paper Trail” which have not been publicly released.
