New Arrivals: Roterfaden Taschenbegleiters in A5, B5, and A4!

On the heels of our restock shipment of the TGS_25 Roterfadens, we also received additional Taschenbegleiters in A5, B5, and A4, which were made available for purchase at the Arkansas Pen Show and are now available online. Most stock will be going with us to the San Francisco Stationery Fest on Thursday, where we will be set up with Vanness Pens, so if you would like to order one online and have it shipped before then, please be sure to get your order in by close of business on Wednesday.

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A size comparison of the A4, B5, and A5 Taschenbegleiters, from largest to smallest.

Please note that we will have slightly modified store hours this week due to show attendance. The Nashville shop will be open from 1pm-6pm Thursday through Saturday, with the change in hours being the later Saturday opening time. For those attending the San Francisco Stationery Fest, we look forward to seeing you there!

Sunday Reading for March 22, 2026

1. Spilling the Ink with Derek Deweese Live from the 2026 Arkansas Pen Show (via dwrdnet). This was a great idea - on day one of the 2026 Arkansas Pen Show, Derek set up brief livestream interviews with vendors. It was fun to sit for this one, and also to listen to it after the fact!

2. Can a Steel Flex Nib Rival Gold? NEW Magna Carta 650 Review (via Doodlebud). Magna Carta continues their nib experimentation with flex. I have not yet been able to check out this nib.

3. California Pen Show Recap (via Figboot on Pens). David brought back some fun stuff from Los Angeles, including a new Galen Leather Sketch Box.

4. Dupes or Oops? (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). When you’ve been in this hobby for years, you definitely accumulate duplicates (inadvertently or not), and running across these lets you know when it’s time to start using stationery.

5. Reengagement (via Line Variation). This post resonated with me because I’m also looking to reengage with my own personal collection a bit, including many custom and vintage pens I haven’t used recently.

6. My Parker 51 Aerometric Collection (via Fountain Pen Blog). Probably my own favorite vintage pen.

7. Scariest Pen Ever? The Little Hollow Customs Monster Finger (via Figboot on Pens). I couldn’t help linking to this one, though I doubt it will ever make its way into my personal collection.

8. CONID-Style Filling Systems: An Overview (via SBRE Brown). The syringe-filling system (or “pump piston” or “bulkfiller”) remains popular due to its high ink capacity and relative ease of cleaning. There are now several different versions on the market.

9. Stationery for a Writing Weekend (via Pen Addict - Sarah). I love seeing what people pack for a writing retreat, especially novelists who write initial drafts by hand.

10. Praying in Color (via From the Pen Cup). Another great post from Mary on how writing and actually using our things can help, and a reminder that all of this can be used positively not just for accumulation.

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In Case You Missed It… and Weekly Updates!

This week we’ve been attending the Arkansas Pen Show in Little Rock, and have been on the road since Thursday. Many thanks to everyone who’s come out to support us! You can get a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes of my packing in Wednesday’s post, and you can also hear more about the show in the “Spilling the Ink” feature linked above.

Please note that we will be attending the San Francisco Stationery Fest next weekend (March 26-30), and we will NOT be attending the Atlanta Pen Show. Maybe next year!

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New favorites from Yamamoto have arrived, including more Ro-Biki as well as the Yamamoto Bank Paper.

Highlights from the T.G.S. Curated Shop

This was a huge week for long-awaited new arrivals, which made for a somewhat tricky logistical launch given that we’re also prepping for two shows in two weeks! We received a shipment of the new Kaweco Lunar Sport fountain pens in Lunar Light Green and Lunar Shadow Green, the Kaweco Iridescent Pearl Perkeos (which sold out nearly immediately), and the new TWSBI ECO in Bahama Yellow! We also have more Traveler’s Notebooks and refills, as well as a full restock from Yamamoto Paper. Be sure to check each week’s Drops post for a full list of new arrivals and restocks.

Kaweco

Colorverse

Pilot

TWSBI

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.

Weekly Drops: Arkansas Pen Show Edition! New TWSBI Bahama Yellow, Kaweco Lunar Sports, Yamamoto Paper, and More!

We’re attending the Arkansas Pen Show this weekend, so I wanted to get as many reminders out there as possible that the Nashville Shop is going to be closed on Friday but open on Saturday normal hours. (Thanks, Nick!) We do have plenty of the new TWSBI ECO Bahama Yellow fountain pens and the Kaweco Lunar Sport available for purchase in-store and online, in addition to restocks of favorite papers from Yamamoto and more TRAVELER’S Notebooks.

If you’re in the Little Rock area, be sure to check out the Arkansas Pen Show that runs Friday through Sunday. We hope to see you there!

1. Kaweco Lunar Sport Fountain Pens. The Iridescent Pearl Perkeos didn’t last very long, but we have the new Lunar Sport fountain pens available in both Light and Shadow Green.

2. TWSBI ECO Bahama Yellow Fountain Pens. The latest release from TWSBI is a mustard yellow - a shade that I think is vastly underrepresented in fountain pens.

3. Yamamoto Canopus A5 Notebooks. Canopus paper was designed to replace the now-discontinued Cosmo Air Light, with a similarly soft feel and vivid color with most fountain pen inks.

4. Yamamoto Ro-Biki Notebooks and Canvas Covers. The Yamamoto Ro-Biki system is lesser known, but a favorite notebook system of many. The Soliste paper used in the refills comes in a variety of different rulings such as graph, reticle, and reticle+grid.

5. Colorverse Colorvent "2025 “Top 3” Inks and Glistening Series. We’ve re-upped on Colorverse inks, with new releases and old favorites back in stock! Be sure to check these out especially if you’ve been looking for shimmer.

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Behind the Scenes: Getting Ready for a Pen Show (or Maybe Two...)

Given the level of response to the On the Paper Trail Pre-Pen Show Livestream and Episode 4: Recapping the California Pen Show, I thought it might be fun to offer a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes of our prep for this week’s Arkansas Pen Show, held at the Wyndham Riverfront in Little Rock Friday through Sunday. We have plenty of new stuff that arrived this week, which we’ll be taking with us! Follow along as I sort through it.

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A few of these have been out of stock for a while, and I was pushing to get them back in stock prior to Arkansas. Yes, Yamamoto Bank Paper is still with us and will be making an appearance.

My Pen Show Strategy - Lots of Paper and Accessories

I try to make the T.G.S. tables stand out at any show I attend, and that mostly means focusing on items that other vendors at the show are less likely to have, including store exclusives and other merchandise that customers want to see in person. For me, notebook systems and pen cases like Roterfaden, Yamamoto Ro-biki, and Lochby have been perennial hits at pen shows because it can be difficult to get a sense of how they work online and they demonstrate well in person. I also always try to bring fun items like the Hightide Sandglasses and Toyo Steel Boxes, as well as mechanical and woodcase pencils, which tend to be grossly underrepresented. Arkansas has always been a great show to shop accessories, as there are usually several vendors selling handmade leather notebook covers, journals and more. People ask me why I tend not to bring a broad range of fountain pens to pen shows, and the simple answer is that you can buy those elsewhere and I want my contribution to the show to be unique and additive.

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Yes, we have a LOT of new Roterfadens in stock, coming to a pen show near you! We have A5 and A4, so be sure to check them all out.

Arkansas Isn’t a Suitcase Show, WHich Means The Table Will Look Different!

Later this month T.G.S. will be attending the San Francisco Stationery Fest, where we will be largely limited to what we can pack into two suitcases. Being able to load displays and collapsible crates into a car before driving a few hours is much more convenient and makes for a different show setup, so don’t be surprised if you see a different look to the T.G.S tables in Arkansas as opposed to San Francisco. For the Arkansas show I’m able to bring things like spinner displays and racks, which is better for displaying heavier paper and larger notebooks. Obviously, you can’t lug that stuff onto an airplane, so while I’ll likely have Roterfaden with me the San Francisco Stationery Fest is definitely going to be heavier on things like pencils, multipens and washi tape!

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Yes, Canopus notebooks will make an appearance, freshly arrived from Japan!

Look for livestreams, videos, and more from this weekend’s festivities. While we’re out the store will be closed on Friday but open on Saturday! Be sure to check the Shop Hours page or the Google Profile for updates.

New Arrivals: New Kaweco Sports and Perkeos, Silver Diplomat Vipers, and the Colorverse Colorvent 2025 "Top 3" Inks

New Diplomat Viper fountain pens have arrived! The latest release is Silver, featuring the same textured guilloché pattern that makes the Viper such a pleasant pen to use. The texture on the silver even gives the pen a blue cast in certain lights! The Viper fountain pen is available in a single fine/medium (FM) nib size, as well as a rollerball.

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And as of this morning, we also have the Colorverse Colorvent 2025 “Top 3” Ink Releases! Colorverse has chosen Follow the Water, Polar Night, and Erebus Crater, which are a bit more adventurous than 2024’s Pulsar Pulse, Milky Way, and Christmas Star. Finally, we’ve also received the Glistening series, including the stunning Mystic Mountain pictured below.

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UPDATE: New Kaweco Perkeos and Sports are In Stock!

Just arrived today: We have the new Kaweco Perkeo in Iridescent Pearl, as well as the Kaweco Sport in Pink with the Skyline trim, and the Lunar Light Green and Lunar Shadow Green, both of which are available for purchase and will ship starting tomorrow (3/18).

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Come see us in our Nashville Shop! Our store is open this week on Thursday from 1pm-6pm and Saturday from 12pm to 6pm), so please swing by and see these and more! Note that these are special hours due to attendance at the Arkansas Pen Show, so you can also come see us there!