Sunday Reading for June 14, 2026

1. Pilot Custom 74 - Ranking the Nibs (via Pen Addict - Kimberly). The Custom 74 is one of the more unfairly overlooked and underrated pens out there. In my book, soft fine-medium for the win.

2. Travelogue Part 1: Choosing the Tools (via Line Variation). It’s officially the summer travel season, so expect to see a lot of travelogue and EDC-related posts in the coming month!

3. Triangle Pen Show Report! (via Inkdependence). The Triangle Pen Show is one of the few that I’ve never attended.

4. Feed Your Creativity and River City Pen Company Live at the Triangle Pen Show (via Feed Your Creativity). More pen show streams! June is becoming an active pen show month.

5. How to Decorate Your Journal with Gemstones and Crystals (via Inky.Rocks). A cool way to decorate your notebooks, but also it’s fun to hear about how different interests and hobbies intersect.

6. I Don’t Understand (via Line Variation). Sometime this happens with specific pens and, sometimes, specific materials which are prone to failure.

7. Hakase Dark Sepia Ink (via UK Fountain Pens). Don’t get me started on the Japanese exclusive sepia inks - those ended up among my favorite inks I was able to obtain.

8. Don’t Toss It! Mail It! (via From the Pen Cup). As always, Mary has some of the most creative correspondence ideas out there.

9. Pen Show and Stationery Fest Calendar UPDATED! (via Well-Appointed Desk). Ana maintains one of the most comprehensive pen show calendar pages on the ‘net. If you’re looking for a pen or stationery show in your area, this is where I would start.

In Case You Missed It…

This week on the blog I reviewed a new product: The Tom’s Studio “Ori” refillable highlighters. Building on their series of “Lumos” and “Wren” refillable fineliners, Tom’s Studio has introduced three nice highlighters that you can use with six different fluorescent inks (all of which have worked really well so far). I also provided my updated thoughts on the Pilot Frixion line of erasable pens, and how I use these in my own everyday carry. Finally, those of you curious about what I brought back from Japan should check out our latest YouTube video, in which I discuss 5 cool things I brought home with me!

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

New Lamy AL-Stars are here! This year’s second AL-Star Release includes two new colorways: “Disco” and “Roller Skate,” in colors that we find more reminiscent of the 1980s than the 1970s! (Either way, these look good.) We also have a full restock of Tom’s Studio pens, including the new Ori Highlighters, Lumos refillable fineliners, and Wren pocket pens, as well as the full line of Tom’s Studio fountain pen inks.

Finally, Anterique pens and Toyo Steel Boxes are back in an array of new colors! Be sure to check out each week’s Thursday Drops post for a full list of each week’s new arrivals and restocks!

We are open this week from 1-6pm Thursday and Friday, and from 10am-5pm on Saturday. You can find details and directions to our Nashville showroom here.

Anterique

Tom's Studio

Toyo Steel

Pilot

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Thursday Drops: TGS x Sunderland mk1 Pens in Stock, TWSBI ECO Irish Green Onyx Pre-orders, and More

They’re here! I picked up a shipment of the T.G.S. x Sunderland Machine Works mk1 special edition machined pens yesterday, and shipped the first third of them out the door immediately. A huge thank you to everyone who’s has supported this project and helped convince me to bring these popular pens back (hopefully permanently).

It will be interesting to see how dark the green is. I'm excited for this one!

We also have opened pre-orders for the TWSBI ECO Irish Green Onyx edition, which was a bit of a sleeper as it came out in the middle of pen show season but may be one of the more unique releases in a fairly crowded calendar. Finally, as noted on Tuesday, we have a wide range of new arrivals from iLootPaperie, including favorite designs that have been out of stock for a while.

The Gentleman Stationer is supported by purchases from the T.G.S. Curated Shop and pledges from the T.G.S. Patreon Program. Note that our physical location will be closed this weekend, as we are traveling for a couple of days. Online orders will not be affected and will ship within the typical timeframe. Many thanks!

1. T.G.S. x Sunderland Machine Works mk1 Special Editions. Dare I say that this batch looks even better than the last? The pens are now in stock, with the first wave of orders out the door yesterday. You can read more on this pen here.

2. TWSBI ECO Irish Green with Onyx Trim Fountain Pen. The first TWSBI fountain pen with black-plated trim, at least as far as I’m aware. This particular release is going to be a “must have” for me.

3. TWSBI ECO-T Eggplant Purple Fountain Pen. We still have some limited remaining stock of this translucent purple ECO-T, a summer-y edition with the softly molded triangular grip and cap.

4. Lamy Studio Piano Red Fountain Pens. Lamy recently updated one of the best sub-$200 fountain pens with a 14k nib. The Piano Red Lamy Studio features a deep red lacquer and the signature “propeller clip”.

5. Lamy Studio Royal Red Matte Fountain Pens. My new replacement for the old Wild Rubin special edition, this dark matte red fountain pen is absolutely gorgeous. One of the more underrated fountain pens on the market.

6. Tom’s Studio Lumos Refillable Fineliners. Currently our best-selling pen of any kind! The Lumos series of refillable fineliners use interchangeable tips and fountain pen ink, making for an extremely versatile and travel-friendly pen. You can read more about how these work here.

7. Hightide Co. Sandglasses. We’ve recently received a restock of most colors in the 30 minute, 15 minute, and 15 minute slim models! Analog timers have definitely improved my focus at work, as it’s nice to not have your phone in front of you all the time. Read more about how I use analog timers here.

8. New Washi Tapes from iLootPaperie. Pasadena, California-based iLootPaperie makes some of our favorite washi tapes, featuring all sorts of fun original designs. (Warning, some of these are only for grown-ups.)

9. Laconic Tokyo Notebook and Planner Inserts. We are restocked on most formats of Laconic’s diverse array of undated planners and structured notebooks. These slim A5 notebooks allow you to customize your own planners, whether using one of Laconic’s own 2-refill covers or a higher-capacity cover like the Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter or the Lochby Field Journal.

10. Lochby A5 Notebooks. We recently purchased as many of the 68gsm Tomoe River dot grid notebooks as we could get our hands on. While I don’t think the 68gsm paper is going away anytime soon, it’s insanely popular and we sell through it quickly.

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