2025 Commonwealth Pen Show Notes (via Line Variation). A nice writeup on one of the many regional pen shows around the country. While a smaller show, Commonwealth had three nib workers and a mix of Modern and vintage.
Two Day London Pen Show This Weekend (via Dapprman). The London Autumn Pen Show moved to two days this fall! While it may be over by the time you get this due to time change, if you’re in the area remember to stop by to support your local shows, especially if they are trying to expand.
A Visit to Retro 51 (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). What’s the Dallas Pen Show without a post-show visit to Retro 51 HQ?
Papa J Studio (via Figboot on Pens). A fun video about a relatively new (to me) maker with some unique resins, including floral-infused patterns.
Little Rock Hotel Stream: Looking at My Latest Vanness Order and Some New To Me Typewriters (via dwrdnet). Now that’s a road trip!
Most Boring Pen I’ve Used - NEW Muji Pocket Fountain Pen (via Doodlebud). But isn’t boring good sometimes? It is to me.
Ink Review: Callifolio Orange Inks (via Mountain of Ink). Another excellent ink brand that tends to get lost among the dozens out there these days. Callifolio inks shade very nicely and work well in most pens.
Wonderland 222 Tomoe River Tomoegawa B6 (& Giveaway). Apparently some of their planners still use “old school” Tomoe River Paper, if you’ve been looking….
In Case You Missed It….
This week on the blog I previewed our new shop/showroom build-out, which is located at the front of our current location and should streamline things for in-person visitors, including making the entrance easier to find. I am moving over inventory this week and should be on track to open in the new location this coming weekend! I also did an especially relevant “Ask TGS” post concerning the Pilot “Soft” nibs featured in the new Custom 74 Lavender Fog, after I received a couple of concerning customer question and online inquiries about whether these should be considered flex nibs. (They’re not.)
We’ve restocked on Penco Pens and Hightide Desk Accessories, including these slim D1 Multi-Pens here.
New Arrivals in the T.G.S. Curated Shop
This was a busy week, as the pre-holiday shipments started rolling in! We have very few remaining Colorverse Colorvent Calendars, and only a handful of Custom 74 Lavender Fog pens from our initial shipment, so if you’ve had your eye on one of these please don't wait. We also have the new Pilot Prera fountain pens, and we’ve further expanded our written correspondence shop with the addition of Original Crown Mill stationery from Belgium. This excellent laid writing paper can be used for standard writing as well, but it rose to fame as a fountain pen-friendly correspondence paper that’s still relatively reasonable price-wise. Be sure to check out each week’s Thursday Drops post for a full list of new arrivals!
Nashville Event on October 17-18: T.G.S. Event with Vanness Pens and Newton Pens!
The big news is that we will be having an in-store event on Friday and Saturday, October 17th and 18th, with pen maker Shawn Newton and Lisa Vanness of Vanness Pens, who will be bringing many different items we don’t regularly stock! Be sure to stop by if you are in the area as this will be sure to be a fun weekend. We’ll also have some in-store specials such as stamps and stickers so bring your notebooks. If everything goes to plan we will also open up the new TGS retail space, which will be on the front of the building!
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. Patreon supporters also have access to the first two episodes of a new podcast experiment I’ve been working on with Lisa Vanness of Vanness Pens. More on this later, but for the time being the initial episodes are Patreon-exclusive.
