On The Paper Trail Episode 17: Journaling for Mental Health (Part II)

Episode 17 continues our discussion on Journaling for Mental Health! September is National Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Awareness month, so for these two most recent episodes we have been discussing a topic important to both of us: journaling for mental health and self-care. In Part I we discussed our own personal journaling practices that we use regularly. Part II continues the discussion by diving into less traditional journaling techniques that we have both experimented with in the past, including creative practices such as doodling and ink swatching, quote collecting, handwriting practice, sticker journaling, and more.

Disclaimer: Our discussion here is highly personal and specific to us and our own individual situations. Journaling is not a substitute for professional mental health treatment. If you need help, or feel that you need to talk to someone, we strongly encourage you to speak with a mental health treatment professional.

On The Paper Trail: Where You Can Download the Podcast

Get caught up on previous episodes, and find more information about our first On The Paper Trail Live Event, which will be held in Nashville from October 16-18, 2026! Tickets are now on sale! ⁠⁠Check out the main podcast informational page for additional details. ⁠

Show Notes and Links

1. National Suicide Prevention Month⁠

2. ⁠On The Paper Trail Live in Nashville (October 16-18)⁠

3. ⁠New Gentleman Stationer Storefront⁠

4. ⁠T.G.S. x Tono & Lims Exclusive Inks⁠

5. ⁠Pilot Frixion Waai⁠

6. ⁠Pilot Custom 845 Vermillion Urushi Fountain Pen⁠

7. ⁠Lamy 2000 Fountain Pen⁠

8. ⁠Pilot Juice Up⁠

9. ⁠Davinci Raymay 6-Ring Refills⁠

10. ⁠Wearingeul Thumbelina Ink⁠

11. ⁠Lisa's New Stickers⁠

12. ⁠Kaleidocraft Prints⁠

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 at our physical stationery store in Nashville, Tennessee.

New Arrivals: Roterfaden Taschenbegleiters in A4 and A6! Plus Sunderland mk1 Exclusives

Many of you have been writing in to ask if Roterfaden still makes the Taschenbegleiter in the smaller A6 size, and it turns out they do. While they no longer make this size available in every color and finish, I managed to secure a batch of the Taschenbegleiter BS_20 covers in this gorgeous dark brown/cognac leather, in both A4 and A6 sizes. We also have stock of the Taschenbegleiter LTD 038 in A4, which appears similar but features a beige elastic and sand felt interior as opposed to the black/grey combination.

The Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter BS_20 features a grey felt interior, shown here in A6.

You can view these and more in our newly updated online shop, which has been updated to feature a dedicated “Notebook Systems” section that includes Roterfaden. We’ve designed the new store to make it easier to search by item and brand, and we hope you enjoy the layout. Finally, we also have new stock of the T.G.S. x Sunderland Machine Works mk1 exclusive edition rollerball pen, featuring a bead-blasted matte black and dark red/burgundy finish.

The TGS x Sunderland exclusive showcases the classic TGS colors.

All products available online can be purchased in-person in our Nashville Shop, open this week from 1-6pm Thursday and Friday, and from 10am-6pm on Saturday. Online shopping is available 24/7!

Sunday Reading for September 27, 2026

1. Opus 88 Mini Fountain Pen in Baby Beluga (via Pen Addict - Sarah). Now that we carry Opus 88 I’m looking more closely at the Opus 88 Mini. I’ve tried this pen in the past but couldn’t deal with the difficulty posting for longer writing sessions. That said, many people love this particular form factor.

2. A Whole Bunch of New Inks from Papier Plume (via Inkdependence). Papier Plume has revamped their ink lineup, and I had the opportunity to see a few of them in person at this weekend’s Dallas Pen Show.

3. DC Supershow 2026 - Biggest Fountain Pen Show! (via Feed Your Creativity). An excellent video recap of last month’s DC Pen Show, which always impresses with the sheer number of vendors and products available.

4. Relay for Saint Jude 2026 (via Olive Octopus Ink). Be sure and support this good cause, which many people are participating in this September.

5. Frosted Goodness … Leonardo MZG Pura (via Figboot on Pens). I was next to the Vanness Pens table this weekend, where I had the chance to see the Puras in person. Like David, I enjoy Ruthenium trim.

6. A Pelikan Hub Recap, London UK, 2026 (via Fountain Pen Blog). 130 people for a Pelikan Hub! Setting aside all the logistical “challenges” with this year’s event, that’s a great turnout for the community.

7. I Blew Up My Planner Set-Up for October (via Well-Appointed Desk). I’m getting ready to embark on my 2027 Planner Setup when all the new planners start arriving next week.

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Our paper testing setup in Dallas!

In Case You Missed It…

I visited the Dallas Pen Show this weekend, and as always it’s fun to meet readers and customers in-person! This has been a busy past few months between travel and launching the new TGS storefront (more on that below). I did find time this week to finally update one of my “Top 5 Ink” recommendation lists - Top 5 Red Inks, in conjunction with our release of the T.G.S. Tono & Lims Exclusives.

This Week in the T.G.S. Curated Shop - EXCLUSIVES!

Many thanks to everyone who has passed along kind words as we update our online store! Amazingly, there have been minimal hiccups and the transition has gone smoothly. Our main goal was to make navigation easier and to give us additional flexibility to add and organize products on the back-end, which we are continuing to do. This week we launched two exclusive inks in collaboration with Tono & Lims: Classic Burgundy and Black Shimmer. Based on the feedback from Dallas, Black Shimmer is a surprise early leader, though the Burgundy is running a close second. We also have additional stock of the T.G.S. x Sunderland Machine Works mk1 machined pens, along with additional pens from the standard Sunderland line.

Be sure and check out each week’s Thursday Drops post for a full list of new arrivals and restocks. We are open online 24/7 and our Nashville storefront is open from 1-6pm Thursday and Friday, and 10am-5pm on Saturday.

Pilot

Uni

Uni &Knot

Sunderland

Visit Us on Patreon

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. In addition to exclusive content, Discord access, and online meetups, Patreon supporters have access to one or more initial “practice” episodes of “On the Paper Trail” which have not been publicly released.

Thursday Drops: So All the Exclusives Landed at Once! The T.G.S. Sunderland MK1 Returns!

It’s been quite the week here at T.G.S.! We launched our updated storefront on Sunday, and we’ve been overwhelmed by the positive reception. Thanks for all the kind comments, and know that we appreciate them even if we haven’t been able to respond to each one. The best part about updating the website? We’re no longer limited by the number of products we can offer at any single time, so we’ve been listing new arrivals all week. Of course, the headliners are our exclusive inks with Tono & Lims: Classic Burgundy and Black Shimmer, but we also have a fresh shipment of T.G.S. x Sunderland Machine Works mk1 rollerball pens that hit the site today. Many of you have been asking about this restock, so we’re excited to announce it’s here!

In addition to the Sunderland pens, we have some quirky new additions like the Uni “&Knot” carabiner pen, the Jetstream Edge Multipen, and more.

You can see all of these in our Nashville Shop, in addition to the online storefront. We are open from 1-6pm Thursday and Friday and from 10am-5pm on Saturday.

1. TGS x Sunderland Machine Works mk1 Rollerball Pen. We’ve received a fresh shipment of our exclusive collaboration with Sunderland Machine Works - a matte black Sunderland mk1 rollerball pen with a dark red section.

2. Sunderland Machine Works mk1 Rollerball General Restock. We also received additional stock of the standard Sunderland mk1 rollerballs, including new colors including Gold, Turquoise, and a Dark Green that’s almost, but not quite, black.

3. TGS “Classic Burgundy” and “Black Shimmer” Exclusive Fountain Pen Inks (by Tono & Lims). Check out yesterday’s post explaining the story behind these inks if you haven’t already! We’re thrilled to have our own dark burgundy black exclusive, plus a cool black ink with red shimmer.

4. Uni Jetstream Edge Multi Pen. The Jetstream Edge line features a
   ballpoint writing tip as fine as .28mm, and now there’s a multi-pen version! Each pen ships with black, blue, and red multi pen refills.

5. Uni &Knot Carabiner Ballpoint. This latest quirky Jetstream release has been trending! It’s a go-anywhere ballpoint that can clip to a bag, belt, or basically anywhere you can use a carabiner. Accepts the SXR-80-05 Jetstream multi pen refill.

6. Opus 88 Harmony Fountain Pens. This new-to-me model from Opus 88 sits between the smaller Koloro line and the larger demonstrators. All Opus 88 Pens are Japanese-style eyedroppers, and you can read more about how they work in our prior reviews.

7. Opus 88 Koloro Ebonite and Koloro Acrylic Fountain Pens. The Koloro pens are slightly smaller than most of the Opus 88 lineup while also remaining a full-sized pen. Opus 88 recently released a series of colorful acrylic Koloro pens in addition to the classic ebonite versions.

8. Retro 51 Tornado Rollerballs and Twist Pencils. We’re happy to introduce Retro 51 to our lineup of brands, with three different Tornado Rollerball collections and a few of the 1.15mm twist pencils. We look forward to building out our selection of Retros as we move forward.

9. Uni Signo DX New Colors. We’ve added several new colors of the Capped Signo DX gel pens, including some of my personal favorites like the Green-Black and Golden Yellow.

10. Uni Signo RT Retractable Gel Pens. Uni Signo RT gel pens are restocked, including favorite colors such as Violet and Blue-Black! Love how the DX writes but prefer a retractable format? Be sure to check out the Signo RT.

My Favorite Red Inks in 2026 (and Why I Still Decided to Make My Own)

As a red ink aficionado, I often get asked for a “Top 5” list of my favorites. I’ve deferred publishing any sort of definitive list because there are simply so many good ones out there. But since we’ve launched our own ink collaborations this week, I thought it made sense to revisit this question and offer up a “best of” list based on the red inks I find myself using the most.

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Top 5 Red Inks, in order they appear on the list below. Inks are swatched on dot grid Tomoe River 68g paper.

Joe’s Top 5 Red Inks

1. Tono & Lims Superstar T. The ink that started me thinking on my own collaboration with Tono & Lims. Superstar T is a dark red/almost burgundy ink from the Tono & Lims “Friendship” Line, which are inks designed in collaboration with influencers and other friends of the brand. On certain papers, it reminds me very much of my all-time favorite Montblanc Alfred Hitchcock (unfortunately discontinued).

2. Teranishi Modern Red. Another darker red that definitely leans more red than burgundy, Teranishi inks flow exceptionally well and features a richness of color that I enjoy. This particular ink has been in one of our shop tester pens for the past year, and people always ask what it is.

3. Laban Greek Mythology Ares Red. My substitute for old-school Sheaffer Skrip Red, and probably the brightest red I use regularly. It’s saturated without causing issues with dry times or smearing. (This goes for all of the Laban Greek Mythology Inks.)

4. Private Reserve Burgundy Mist. The first burgundy ink I ever bought, and the one that caused me to really dive deep into the broader red color family. Is it the best ink out there? No. It doesn’t have much subtlety, it can be wet, and the wide-mouth bottle is messy to use, but it’s still one of the best “pure burgundies” on the market. For nostalgia’s sake, I keep it on hand and use it fairly frequently.

5. Pilot Iroshizuku Syun-Gyo. Is it a red? Is it a red black? Is it a brown? While it leans a bit too brown to be my perfect ink, I still enjoy these dark murky shades with burgundy and red undertones. I find myself using Syun-Gyo quite a bit, if for no other reason than it’s an unusual, somewhat adventurous color for the Iroshizuku line.

Introducing Two New TGS-Exclusive Inks from Tono & Lims

So what is missing from the list above? A true “Red-Black” or “Burgundy-Black”. For the 12th Anniversary of The Gentleman Stationer, we wanted to formulate some special inks, and are happy to introduce our first two releases "Classic Burgundy" and "Black Shimmer". I strongly prefer dark red inks, and have never been able to find a red-black without overly predominant brown, purple, or pink undertones. While all those are components of most reds or burgundies, I wanted an ink with more black.

T.G.S. 12th Anniversary Classic Burgundy

Classic Burgundy is formulated to match the background dark burgundy on the classic TGS website, with the darker red-black hue I've been looking for, especially when used in a wet pen. Black Shimmer is my attempt at a subtly playful shimmer ink that can still be used as an everyday writer. It's a black that has purple and blue undertones on certain papers, and if you write with a wet pen that can lay down the shimmer, the red shimmer particles make the ink look like an actual standard red-black.

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TGS 12th Anniversary Black Shimmer

Both of these inks are now available in our shop, priced at the same price point as the rest of the Tono & Lims inks. Come see them in person this weekend in our Nashville shop, open normal hours from 1-6pm Thursday and Friday and from 10am-5pm on Saturday.