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!

Sunday Reading for March 15, 2026

1. The Intriguing Benu Haute (via Figboot on Pens). I’m waiting for the Benu Haute to take off, because I personally think this one is a game changer for the brand. It’s an excellent pen with a unique yet more mainstream look.

2. Interview with The Pen Addict (via dwrdnet). Derek sits down with the Pen Addict himself, Brad Dowdy, for an interview!

3. Pilot Iroshizuku Yama-Budo (via Inkredible Colours). Even after all these years, one of the first two Iroshizuku inks that I bought remains a personal favorite that sees regular use.

4. 2026 Baltimore Pen Show Recap (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). I agree that the Baltimore Pen Show seemed to fly under the radar this year from a promotion perspective. I have enjoyed the show in the past but have had to miss the past couple of years due to conflicting work/family obligations on this particular weekend.

5. London Spring Pen Show 2026 (via UK Fountain Pens). I will attend one of the London shows one of these days, especially now that we have a direct flight from Nashville. I love how spaced out this show looks.

6. How Do We Create Your Ink Samples? Behind the Scenes at Vanness (via Vanness Pens). Even though I’ve personally seen this process many, many times, I always enjoy hearing about how everyone works behind the scenes.

7. Pelikan M200 Orange Delight (via Scrively). A review of the most recent Pelikan release - this time in a bright orange with a transparent barrel.

8. Hakase GW15C (via UK Fountain Pens). What, two articles from UK Fountain Pens in a week? I’ve had the opportunity to handle a Hakase (Matthew Chen’s) and the craftsmanship that goes into these functional pieces of art is exquisite.

9. Unfinished Notebooks (via Notebook Stories). What do you do with unfinished notebooks? Do you go back through them and try to finish them? I have my own archive I’m considering.

10. It’s the Little Things… (via Well-Appointed Desk). Finding stationery that you forgot you owned is indeed one of the little joys of this hobby, especially if it’s no longer made or causes you to remember a pen show or other experience.

This week’s Episode of On The Paper Trail will be our last before we record in front of a live audience at the San Francisco Stationery Fest! You can sign up here if you’ll be attending and would like to visit in person.

In Case You Missed It….

This week on the blog was a big one. First, Episode 5 of On The Paper Trail is now live, with Lisa and I discussing using vs. collecting stationery. You can watch on YouTube or listen in your favorite podcast app, and I’ve also put together a landing page where you can view/listen to past episodes as well as updates on upcoming events. Second, yesterday I published an overview of the Pilot “Custom” line of fountain pens, which is a project I’ve been considering and working on for some time. I think of the “Custom” line as Pilot’s “standard” line of fountain pens, and they play a key role in my own personal pen collection and make up a significant percentage of the pens I own.

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This year Colorverse really did pick some of the best Colorvent colors, in my opinion.

This Week in the T.G.S. Curated Shop…Colorverse!

The 2025 “Top 3” Colorvent Inks have arrived, with Polar Night, Follow the Water, and Erebus Crater available as stand-alone bottles. We’ve also restocked the Top 3 Inks from 2024, including favorites Pulsar Pulse and Milky Way. Additionally, we’ve added the “Glistening” (shimmer) series, and received more “Joy in the Ordinary”. Finally, we had a major Pilot restock arrive Friday, and are fully restocked on standard and Madoromi Kakunos, as well as Explorers, Custom 74 Fountain Pens, and the Lavender Fog release!

Please note that we will have modified Nashville store hours this week and next, since we will be traveling. This week we will be open Thursday (3/19) from 1pm-5pm, closed Friday (3/20), and open Saturday (10-6pm). Check the “About” page or our Google profile for updates.

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Colorverse Ink

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Pilot

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Craft Design Technology

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Diplomat Viper

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.