When One Nib Is Not Enough (via Pen Addict). Stacked Nibs have received a lot of attention lately, and they’re on my list of “things I need to try out at pen shows” once I have the opportunity to travel again later this summer.
The TWSBI Eco 2 Years Later (via Left Hook Pens). The Eco is an especially durable fountain pen, which is somewhat astounding at the price point. I’m glad to see that it’s caught on (and that someone else out there appreciates the transparent orange version).
Ink Institute Cat at Noon (via Fountain Pen Pharmacist). So I heard about the Ink Institute “Cat” series last night on our T.G.S. Patreon meetup, and now I’m looking to track some of these down. “Cat at Noon” is sold out nearly everywhere, and it’s one of those “double shading” inks with multiple colors and tones.
Stanford Wood Studios Impressionist Series (via Rants of the Archer). A new custom penmaker from South Africa? Count me as interested! These pens appear incredibly well-designed and well-finished.
Magna Carta Elements Water (via Dapprman). The material on this larger pen from India (with a house made nib!) is gorgeous. I just may have to pick one of these up.
Lamy 2000 Mechanical Pencil .7mm (via Scrively). The one member of the Lamy 2000 family that I have never tried! I love mechanical pencils, and I love the Lamy 2000, so I’m not sure what I’ve been waiting for.
Nuuna Flexcover Notebook (via Fountain Pen Love). Nuuna paper is extremely good quality, even for fountain pens, and they have some of the more unique designs out there as far as notebooks go. I believe Vanness Pens is the only U.S.-based retailer that stocks the brand.
Narwhal Yellow Tang Fountain Pen (via Comfortable Shoes Studio). I have the purple version of this fountain pen inked up for review, and so far I’m also liking this pen at around the $50 price point.
Pebble Stationery Cosmo Air Light x Liberty London (via Mountain of Ink). I’m really glad to see Cosmo Air Light circulating more widely in notebook form! I also love this cover collaboration by Pebble.
Musgrave Sampler Pack (via Pencil Revolution). Best stationery packaging ever. Fight me.
In Case You Missed It…
This week on the blog I looked at the new line of Esterbrook Inks, which should be hitting stores in the next couple of weeks. There are six standard colors plus three shimmer inks. I also wrote a piece that discussed stationery subscription services and their ongoing role, if any, in the current state of the stationery market.
New This Week In the Curated Shop
Check out this post for a detailed run-down of everything that’s newly arrived, but the highlights include the Field Notes “Fifty” edition, a restock on Field Notes Archival Wooden Boxes, and a new size of Life x Kleid notebooks. Many thanks for all of your support!
Visit T.G.S. on Reddit, and Consider Joining TGS Patreon for Access to Monthly Meetups and More!
I’ve been trying to expand into social media beyond Instagram, due to my dissatisfaction with the direction that platform is taking. Currently, you can also engage with me on Twitter, Facebook, and now on Reddit. (Honestly, I’m active on Twitter and Reddit moreso than Facebook, but I do read all the Facebook comments, eventually.) Mainly, I’m doing this because of Instagram’s algorithm-driven approach that buries content unless you’re endlessly posting to their various formats (“Reels,” Stories, posts, etc.) and actively monitoring your account to where you’re basically having to respond to comments and DMs in real time. This is impractical, because you end up spending all your time on their platform and not actually writing or running your business, and then most of this content is temporary (24hrs) and you have to jump on the “hamster wheel” again. Many people just want an easy way to receive updates on when I post new content to the blog. Twitter and Reddit allow me to do that reliably. If there’s one thing you can do to help support T.G.S., it’s sharing our content and spreading the word!
For some additional fun, and to help support the blog consider joining the Patreon program. You can read more about T.G.S. Patreon here. This year I’ve introduced monthly online meetups, which take place on Friday or Saturday and have been super enjoyable. We’ve discussed our thoughts on pen shows restarting, recent arrivals in our personal collections, and more. I will also continue with periodic “sample sales” of gently used review items, to which Patrons will have first access. The current sale is now live!