Sunday Reading for November 2, 2025

1. 2025 Orlando Pen Show: Bigger than Ever! (via Feed Your Creativity). The Orlando show seems to be growing, and I need to put this show on my list of ones to visit.

2. Pelikan Ink of the Year: Edelstein Apricot Achat (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). I took a pass on this year’s ink of the year and passed my bottle on to the group for a giveaway, but fans of a lighter pastel orange might be pleased with this one!

3. Comparative Overview: Pelikan M815 Metal Stripe Blue & Black (via Scrively). I think I might prefer the classic look of the black over the blue?

4. Esterbrook & Bungubox Estie Kachofugetsu Kingfisher (via Figboot on Pens). A pretty material on this Bungubox-Esterbrook collaboration.

5. Midori MD Notebook Cover A6 Goat Leather Review (via Pen Addict - Sarah). I’ve always found that natural leather covers tend to age the best, and these Midori versions are great ones to keep in mind as we enter the holiday gifting season.

6. A North Korean Fountain Pen? The Chollima 210 (via Figboot on Pens). Ok, any time you combine pens with history you have my attention. Now that’s a unique piece!

7. Ordering Overseas in the Tariff Era (via Well-Appointed Desk). Whether you are ordering to ship into or out of the U.S., give yourself more time. Lots of time…. Also, the only consistency is the inconsistency.

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If you’re curious about fountain pens but don’t know where to start, we have plenty of resources available to help. (10+ years worth on the site and more in-store!) Come see us on Fountain Pen Day!

In Case You Missed It….

This week I refreshed my personal carry for the change of seasons, with a new set of pens and inks for Fall! I also wrote a piece with advice for those looking to get into the Fountain Pens for the first time, as we are seeing so many new faces in our shop, with even more reaching out to me online.

These new Kakuno fountain pens from Pilot arrived yesterday, with a new gold tone nib and muted pastel barrels. (Yes, the smiley face is still there.)

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

So many new arrivals made their way into the shop this week that I can’t recap them all here. For that, please check out this week’s Weekly Drops post, which was actually postponed by a day because it took a while to get the inventory entered. But let’s just say we are fully stocked with the new TWSBI ECO Plum + Onyx, new Kaweco arrivals (including the AL-Sport Piston Filler in Navy and titanium “Titan” Sport), additional Diamine Inkvent Calendars (if you haven’t purchased yours yet), and the latest release from Pilot, the Kakuno Madoromi (“Drowsy” or “nap”) series.

For the week ahead, we will be open normal hours Thursday and Friday (Fountain Pen Day!) from 1-6pm, as well as 10am-6pm Saturday. Please come see us and check out the new front-facing showroom/shop in Suite 107!

Roterfaden

Kaweco

TWSBI

Stalogy B6

How You Can Further Support T.G.S.

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.

Sunday Reading for October 26, 2025

1. Inked Up for the 2025 Pelikan Hub (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). Kimberly completes her annual inking of the birds for this past Friday’s Pelikan Hub!

2. Pelikan Hub 2025 in Bremen (via Bleistift). I was also curious how the first Hub would go, given the merger and corporate upheaval at the company.

3. Pelikan Hubs 2025 and On Being a Female Collector (via Writing at Large). Not all experiences were necessarily positive, and efforts need to be made to ensure everyone’s experience is as welcoming as possible.

4. Three Months Without Wanting to Buy a Pen (via a Gathering of Curiosities). I feel this. These sorts of periodic breaks seem necessary in any sort of acquisition-driven hobby.

5. Fill ‘em Up! (via From the Pen Cup). Mary writes about an interesting idea for a journaling technique that I’ve never heard of.

6. My Ensso Bolt V2 Fountain Pen Finally Arrived! (via dwrdnet). I finally got my hands on one of these at Friday night’s Pelikan Hub and came away impressed with the mechanism and how smooth the nib wrote. I’m looking forward to a long-term review!

7. “Risou No Heya” Stationery Store in Taipei (via Inky.Rocks). What a cool visit to a stationery store specializing entirely in washi, stamps, and stickers.

8. A Pen Made from Skateboards? Black Robin Pens Skatepen (via Figboot on Pens). This sort of creativity in both materials and design is what I love about the small maker community.

9. Most Satisfying Capping Ever? Laurett’s Stealthread (via Figboot on Pens). One of the coolest capping mechanisms I’ve seen, with superbly detailed machining.

10. Uni-Ball Zento Gel Pen (.38mm): Comparing the Standard and Flow Models (via Well-Appointed Desk). The Zento continues its crazy rise in popularity. We had to restock again long before I thought we would. The Flow is probably my favorite, as I don’t get the secondary market craze on the Signature.

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In Case You Missed It…

After finishing the move to the new shop space and taking a breather after last weekend’s event, I finally got around to reviewing one of the last “standard” pens I’ve never really used or reviewed, the Pilot Prera. I also wrote a piece on my favorite pens for long writing sessions, which is a topic I’ve been thinking about this week in response to both customer questions and my own efforts to restart a languishing journaling habit.

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The interior of the new Roterfaden TGS_25 Cover!

This Week in the T.G.S. Curated Shop: Roterfaden TGS_25 Covers Return in a new colorway

Wow, we had a ton of new stuff hit the shop this week! The big news is that our Roterfaden exclusive, the TGS_25 in an A5-slim size, is back in stock. We now offer this cover in both dark green and light grey leather exteriors, with dark grey and light green suede interiors, respectively. We also now carry one of my favorite journals, the Bindewerk Flex Linen A5, soft and hardcover Tomoe River notebooks in 52gsm and 68gsm paper weights, and a major Kaweco restock with nearly all of our Sports and AL-Sports restocked, in addition to some new releases and colors! Be sure to check out each week’s Thursday Drops post for details on recent new arrivals and releases.

Our brick-and-mortar shop will be open this week normal hours, from 1-6pm Thursday and Friday, and from 10am-6pm Saturday. Please note that our shop/showroom is in a new space on the front of the building in Suite 107.

Kaweco

Tomoe River

Carl Pencil Sharpeners

New Anterique!

How You Can Further Support T.G.S.

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.

Sunday Reading for October 19, 2025

1. 2025 Empire State Pen Show - Recap and Report Card (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). Kimberly reports in from the inaugural Empire State Pen Show in NYC. Her recap is similar to what I’ve heard from others who were there - that it was a good “first show” in a new location.

2. The London Autumn Pen Show 2025: My Haul (via Fountain Pen Blog). This year’s London Pen Show was a two-day show, and the recaps are starting to roll in!

3. London Pen Show October 2025 (via Dapprman). Another review/recap with lots of great vendor pictures. This would be a great show to attend and see some vendors who don’t typically attend U.S. shows.

4. London Pen Show Autumn 2025 (via UK Fountain Pens). I love seeing the wide range of different purchases that people came home with, including this Onoto Heritage.

5. How the Book of Alchemy Jumpstarted My Morning Journaling (via From the Pen Cup). I’ve never used journaling prompts either, but lately I’ve felt uninspired. Maybe I should check out this book as it seems interesting. I also love Mary’s shelf of completed journals!

6. Larger Rings: The Notebook Cover Upgrade You Didn’t Know You Needed (via dwrdnet). The MeePlus binders resemble Plotters but feature a few tweaks that make them different and potentially more suitable to certain users’ needs, including larger rings and rounded edges on the metal spine.

7. Unboxing the Latest Gentleman Stationer Mystery Box: The Adjacent Edition (via dwrdnet). For the past year I’ve been assembling quarterly stationery boxes for my Patreon members, and Derek unboxes the latest release which was a smaller run. Occasionally I can do enough of these for a public release.

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In Case You Missed It…

This past week was spent moving our brick-and-mortar shop to a new location on the front of our existing building, and getting ready for our in-store event with Newton Pens and Vanness Pens. You can read more about my decision to expand the shop and how/why we’ve organized things the way they are in the third installment of my “State of the Shop” series. I also did a short recap of this weekend’s event, including our after-hours Middle Tennessee Pen Club meetup. Look for more of these events as we continue to build out our shop and meetup space. A special thanks to everyone who came out to support us and our guests this weekend!

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Oh, and in addition to the new products, the existing Lochby Field Journal Mini is now available in a Black Multi-Cam pattern!

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

Given all the chaos of the move, I’ve been somewhat slow to get new arrivals listed, but lots of stuff arrived this week, including a restock of Penco Pens (including the Perfection Pocket Ballpoint) and a new D1 Multi Pen, as well as the full range of Hightide Sandglasses. We also have new the new Lochby Mini Venture Pouch and an A6-sized Field Folio, just in time for Hobonichi season!

Finally, the dated Traveler’s Refills have arrived in Standard and Passport, along with the 2026 Sticker Sets, Pencil Boards, and Transparent Plastic Folders. We have a good number of these available to ship immediately, along with Diamine Inkvent Calendars, 2026 Teal Edition!

Diamine Inkvent

Lochby Cases

Lochby Notebooks

Lamy

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.

Sunday Reading for October 12, 2025

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. A Visit to Retro 51 (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). What’s the Dallas Pen Show without a post-show visit to Retro 51 HQ?

4. 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.

5. Little Rock Hotel Stream: Looking at My Latest Vanness Order and Some New To Me Typewriters (via dwrdnet). Now that’s a road trip!

6. Most Boring Pen I’ve Used - NEW Muji Pocket Fountain Pen (via Doodlebud). But isn’t boring good sometimes? It is to me.

7. 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.

8. Wonderland 222 Tomoe River Tomoegawa B6 (& Giveaway). Apparently some of their planners still use “old school” Tomoe River Paper, if you’ve been looking….

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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.)

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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!

Original Crown Mill

Pilot Iroshizuku

Penco

Pilot Pens

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.

Sunday Reading for October 5, 2025

1. QWERTYbound Safari (via Writing Ball). Did you know there’s a typewriter show, in addition to the pen show circuit? Typewriters are also apparently easier to source in antique stores than reasonably priced vintage fountain pens.

2. 2025 Dallas Pen Show Recap (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). Be sure you read all the way to the end for the pics of the Texas State Fair.

3. Recap of MIPS2025 (via Inkredible Colours). A great recap of the inaugural Malaysian International Pen Show!

4. Checking Out a Blind Box from The Gentleman Stationer (via Inkdependence). I do these blind boxes for my Patreon members, and occasionally if I have extras they will go live. I may look to expand them in the future but it’s a big endeavor for a small operation like ours.

5. #12PenPersonQuestions (via Line Variation). Congrats to Lisa at Olive Octopus for coming up with this wildly successful trend. I enjoy reading all of these entries and learning more about our community.

6. Rupert Answers the #12PenPersonQuestions List (via Fountain Pen Blog). Another set of thoughtful answers!

7. Weirdoforest Travels 2025 (via Weirdoforest Pens). Great travel photos and a great collection of travel sketches with ink!

8. The New Paper Republic Le Trifold Leather Journal (via Inky.Rocks). Paper Republic seems to be all over the place these days! I’ve heard mixed reviews on their paper but the trifold design is interesting.

9. My Travel Writing System (via SBRE Brown). I love hearing about what people take with them on their travels, and coming up with some new techniques because I find myself forgetting to write much when traveling.

10. Uniball Jetstream Prime 3 Color Lite Touch Ballpoint Multi Pen Review (via Pen Addict). I’m in agreement with Brad that this is one of the best multi pens for the money currently on the market. The Lite Touch refill is outstanding.

11. Underappreciated Ink Brands: Vinta Inks (via Well-Appointed Desk). Yes, be sure not to forget the solid standbys that sometimes get outshined by the constant stream of new arrivals!

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In Case You Missed It…

I had a bit of an inky theme this week! I reviewed the Pilot Iro-Utsushi Dip Pen, which is one of the best low-cost dip pen options on the market and it’s not even close, IMHO. It’s somewhat rare to find dip pens that use fountain pen nibs, though more brands are releasing them given the popularity of ink sampling and doodling. I also answered a new “Ask TGS” question related to ink safety, since this is something I was asked three or four times this weekend alone.

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This Week in the T.G.S. Curated Shop, and Save the Date for October 17-18th in Nashville!

We’ve had several new arrivals in the shop, including the Brass Wren from Tom’s Studio, which is a great accompaniment to the new Lumos finishes, as well as the latest Lamy Studio “Orion” release in a gorgeous matte burgundy. We also have the TWSBI ECO Carrara + Onyx, additional stock of the Lamy AL-Star in Dark Dusk, Lochby Voyager A5 Slim Notebook Cover, and more! Be sure to check out each weeks Thursday Drops post for all of the new releases and arrivals.

TWSBI

Lamy

Laconic

Correspondence

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!

Thank You For Supporting TGS - Consider our 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. 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.