Sunday Reading for January 4, 2025

1. 2025 Pen and Stationery Review and Trends (via Inky.Rocks). It’s review and recap season, so for the next few weeks I’m looking forward to everyone’s reflections.

2. 2026 Stationery Intentions (via A Gathering of Curiosities). I share the sentiment of not knowing exactly where I want 2026 to take me in terms of stationery, or what my “theme” will be this year. I’ve had a hard time pulling together my own intentions.

3. 2025 Fountain Pen and Stationery Highlights (via Olive Octopus). These are fun to read and I need to work my way through this set of prompts too. My trend is “not a lot of time to reflect”.

4. A Fountain Pen 2025 Year in Review, Including Some New-to-Me Pens (via Urban Adventure League). Some really nice pens in this annual recap, including a good mix of new and vintage.

5. Favorite (Stationery) Things of 2025 (via Weirdoforest Pens). A fun eclectic list, some of which are things I’ve not see before!

6. Top Fountain Pen Inks in 2025 (via Vanness Pens). What were the top fountain pen inks in 2025, as determined by the ink experts? Find out. And also learned why they had to change their ink swatch style, which is a bit sad….

7. 2026 Techo Kaiji Plotter & Laconic Setup: Why Ring Planners Won Me Over (via dwrdnet). Ring planners/notebooks have taken off again over the past few years as companies have released more streamlined versions that aren’t as bulky as the ones you may remember.

8. Graphilo A5 and Liscio-1 A5 Papers Head to Head (via dwrdnet). Graphilo has been a favorite recent discovery, as it’s yet another excellent Japanese paper option developed especially for fountain pens. Liscio was a precursor to Graphilo, as Kobeha was developing the current product.

9. My 2026 Q1 Planning and Moving to a New Planner (via Writing at Large). Since my own move to a new planner with a quarterly layout, I’ve starting thinking about breaking the year down into chunks to make it more manageable. I really enjoyed reading this piece from someone who has been doing this for a long time.

10. Stationery Things I Learned in 2025 (via Pen Addict). Sometimes we learn that what makes us happiest is what we started out with in the first place.

11. Digital Declutter: Step One The Book Report (via Well-Appointed Desk). I clipped this post for my own reading list. I’ve read a few on here and there are some excellent suggestions for those looking to scale back.

12. A Gentle Start to a Fresh Start (via From the Pen Cup). I’ve enjoyed all the takes on journaling that Mary has explored, and I’m looking forward to more!

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In Case You Missed It….

This week I spent more time on camera recording videos than at my computer writing, and it wasn’t all my choice since there were some chilly mornings in the shop/office due to the heat being out. I recorded a YouTube video on my 2025 Favorite Things, and the response was a bit overwhelming so I might do some more in this style. Lisa Vanness and I continue to work on our joint project “On the Paper Trail” which will be a podcast/video series and we did a New Years Day Livestream that you can watch on the dedicated channel for that project. Read more about it here.

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Many of the Tono & Lims inks offer unique colors and different properties including combinations of shading, shimmer, and sheen.

This Week in the T.G.S. Curated Shop

This week was a week for ink! We launched Tono & Lims in three new ink lines, and I’ve really enjoyed playing around with these inks, especially the Friendship line. We’ve also received a restock of Kakimori dip nibs and nib holders, as well as Object Index pens and desk accessories. Finally, the entire lineup of Craft Design Technology products is finally available, including their signature pens, pencils, paper products, and desk accessories and cases! Be sure to check each week’s Thursday Drops post for details on all new arrivals and restocks.

We are returning to normal Nashville store hours after the holidays, and will be open Thursdays and Fridays from 1-6pm and Saturdays from 10am-6pm. Be sure to keep an eye on the site as we are planning a special in-store event on January 23-24 with Vanness Pens and Matthew Chen of Matthew’s Nibworks!

Roterfaden

Tono & Lims

Allex

Craft Design Technology

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”.

Welcome to 2026: Stationery Resolution(s) and Plans for the Upcoming Year!

We kicked off 2026 with a New Year’s Day livestream in the new On the Paper Trail YouTube Channel! Lisa Vanness and I will be launching our podcast as well as periodic video content through that channel, though I will also link to this new collaboration project here wherever possible. In this most recent video, we discuss our goals for 2026, including a common intention to use more of what we already have from our rather extensive personal ink and paper collections, and discuss our joint goals of doing more in-person events and continuing to grow the stationery community.

Mark Your Calendars for a January Joint T.G.S./Vanness Pens Event with Matthew Chen in Nashville!

Save the date for Friday, January 23 and Saturday, January 24, when Lisa Vanness and Matthew Chen of Matthew’s Nibworks will be joining us for an in-store event. Matthew will be tuning and grinding fountain pen nibs all day Friday and Saturday, and Lisa will be bringing her shop exclusive pens and inks, special editions, Galen Leather, and more. Stay tuned for additional details, including possible after-hours gatherings with the Middle Tennessee Fountain Pen Club and a possible On the Paper Trail Special event.

The Gentleman Stationer is supported by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. You can always come talk pens in person at our physical stationery store in Nashville, Tennessee, open from 1-6pm Thursdays and Fridays and from 10am-6pm Saturdays.

Weekly Drops: Tono & Lims Inks, Kakimori Restock, and More!

We’re happy to announce that we’ve received three new lines of ink from Tono & Lims, which is now available for purchase both in shop and online! Those familiar with Tono & Lims know that the brand is the result of a Japanese-South Korean collaboration between Japanese fountain pen enthusiasts and the South Korean ink producer Lim’s Lab. Tono & Lims loves to experiment with color, sheen, shimmer, and inside jokes, so the inks end up being a lot of fun (especially the names). We’ve swatched these inks on multiple papers to showcase how they can look different depending on which specific paper you use!

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My personal favorite. A shimmer red with black sheen and a great name.

As noted in Tuesday’s post, we have also restocked products from Kakimori and Object Index, including the Kakimori dip nibs and a new line of miniature nib holders that are slightly smaller than the traditional calligraphy nib holder.

Our Nashville shop will be open from 1-6pm on Friday January 2, and from 10-6pm on Saturday January 3 (normal hours). We’re looking forward to getting back into the swing of things after a busy holiday season!

1. Tono & Lims Standard Line Inks. The standard line of Tono & Lims inks, with the numbered colors. To start I’ve picked a handful and we will be bringing in more as we get a sense of what people like.

2. Tono & Lims “Friendship” Line Inks. Ok, so I added some shimmer inks to the T.G.S. curation! This particular ink series is inspired by friends of the Tono & Lims brand, whether that’s collaborators or partner shops or others. There are some particularly interesting color combinations, and shimmer and other special properties are not overwhelming.

3. Tono & Lims “Adult Night” Inks. No, there’s nothing inappropriate going on here. This line of inks - mostly lightly scented - is themed around coffee, tea, and chocolate, with a touch of insomnia thrown in. (And Dynamite?)

4. Kakimori Dip Nibs. We’ve received a restock of the Kakimori conical metal nibs, as well as the standard writing nib which functions much like a fountain pen only there is no feed and is intended more for writing.

5. Kakimori Nib Holders. The standard Kakimori nib holders are available again in the Sakura wood finish. This is the longer nib holder in the classic shape.

6. Kakimori Mini Nib Holders. These “mini” nib holders are slightly smaller and more compact than a traditional nib holder, making it perfect for travel, portability, and those with smaller hands. It’s also a fun range of colors!

7. Object Index Modular Marker. We’ve brought back a selection of Kakimori’s popular “Object Index” line of high-end office supplies, including these “Modular Markers” that allow you to build a set of customizable fineliners and highlighters that stack in a way that lets you easily cycle through different tip sizes.

8. Kakimori Colour Liners Fineliner Markers. Kakimori first popularized fineliners that you can fill with your own inks to create a truly custom set. Several different tip sizes are available, ranging from standard writing points to chisel-tip markers for highlighting or drawing.

9. Pilot Prera Fountain Pens. The popular solid-color Pilot Prera fountain pens are back in stock, including the coveted Honey Yellow in both nib sizes.

10. The Roterfaden Shop at T.G.S. We are restocked on most versions of the Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter, including many different A5 designs and a handful of remaining TGS_25 in Grey. While we want to keep this special release in stock, there is no scheduled restock date at the moment on either the grey or green A5-Slim, and we are unable to take pre-orders or deposits.

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Allex Desk Scissors from Japan are now available in four different formats. Black Fluorine version is restocked, and we also have Jagged Blade (for cutting vinyl, etc.) and Thin Blade (for fine detail work) versions available.

Happy New Year: Here's My 2025 Year-End "Favorite Things" Video!

So the heat was out at the shop/office yesterday, and frozen fingers early in the morning don’t necessarily lend themselves to typing long recap posts, so I decided to do a video instead! In this YouTube installment I talk about five favorite things that I acquired in 2025, across several different categories including fountain pens, non-fountain pens, paper, and desk accessories. I actually picked up far fewer fountain pens in 2025, and focused instead on more practical "work" stationery, including nicer notebooks and planners. This year was also notable because I dove even further into my fineliner obsession, and discovered the Pentel Tradio, a pen that's been around for seemingly forever but which I've never used until discovering it as part of the Craft Design Technology lineup. Here are the five items I chose to feature in the video:

• Pilot Decimo Nagasawa Kobe Harbor Gradient Special Edition. The one fountain pen is a favorite that I acquired from Vanness Pens. It has a fine-medium nib, and while I believe this particular special edition finish is sold out, Vanness regularly stocks other Nagasawa special editions including the annual Decimo release.

• Craft Design Technology Pentel Tradio. The Tradio is a classic piece of Japanese stationery, and while it’s marketed as a “plastic fountain pen,” it’s really a fineliner. And a good one at that. I’ve been using it to lay out my 2026 Wonderland 222 Planner and I must say that it’s an exceptionally good planner pen.

• Brelio A5 6-Ring Binder. Lisa Vanness brought back some Brelio leather products from Japan and I’m enjoying the slightly larger size and multiple pockets stitched into the cover. I still use my Plotters for individual projects but Brelio’s layout is a bit more practical for everyday work carry.

• Craft Design Technology Memo Rolls. I love these rolled sticky notes, also from CDT, which you can cut to size and move around since they are reusable. They work especially well on coated papers.

• Zenith Staplers. Perhaps I’m a bit peculiar here, but I’ve become enamored with these Italian plier-style staplers. They take next to no pressure to use and I love how easy it is to angle the staple in a practical (and yes, aesthetically pleasing, way). I did an entire video on this product and it did about as well as one could hope a video on staplers would do. :)

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The Pentel Tradio (blue ink!) and Pilot Decimo Nagasawa Kobe Harbor Gradient edition have been my constant companions.

Please Note that Our Nashville Shop is Closed Today and We Will Open Normal Hours Tomorrow

We are doing an inventory count in-store today, finishing up listing new arrivals, and trying to take maybe half a day off, so the Nashville location is closed today for New Years. We will reopen tomorrow (Friday, January 2) for normal hours 1pm-6pm, and on Saturday, January 3 from 10pm-6pm.

The Gentleman Stationer is supported by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges via the T.G.S. Patreon Program. You can also come visit us and see any products we sell directly at our physical stationery store in Nashville, Tennessee!

New Arrivals: Kakimori Mini Nib Holders, Dip Nibs, and Colour Liners!

If you enjoy ink, you’ve probably heard of Kakimori and their conical metal nibs, which many love for drawing, writing, and ink swatching. We recently received a restock of the Kakimori dip nibs, including the new copper finish and the standard “pen nib”. We’ve also added the Kakimori Mini Nib Holders to our lineup, which are a shorter version of Kakimori’s standard dip nib holder (also back in stock).

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Finally, we’ve brought back the Kakimori “Colour Liner” refillable fineliners, in four different tip sizes. You essentially create your own marker by filling the included wick with your ink of choice. While technically disposable, these markers last a long time - I have several going for well over a year. Check out these and other Kakimori and Object Index products in our shop!

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For those who want to use their nib holder strictly for writing, Kakimori also makes a standard pen nib!

Please note that we are not open on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day this week, as we are finishing up shipping and counting inventory at year-end. We will be open normal hours Friday (1-6pm) and Saturday (10am-6pm).