Weekly Drops: Pilot Custom 845 in Prussian Blue, OnionBrand A5, and More Traveler's Notebooks!

This week’s new arrivals include our first Urushi lacquer fountain pen, the Pilot Custom 845 in the newly released Prussian Blue finish! We also have additional nib sizes of the Pilot Custom 912, including FM (fine medium) and SFM (soft fine medium), which might be my two favorite nib sizes in the Pilot lineup. Last but not least on the pen side, the new Paul Smith + Caran d’Ache collaboration has arrived, with two new 849 ballpoint pens that pair satin black and raw metal finishes with a more subtle take on Paul Smith’s signature stripes.

On the notebook side, we have additional stock of the OnionBrand A5 leather covers, as well as a small shipment of standard size Traveler’s notebooks in Brown, Camel, and Olive.

Come see these and more in-store during normal hours this week, from 1-6pm Thursday and Friday, and from 10am-5pm on Saturday.

1. Pilot Custom 845 Urushi Fountain Pen. The Custom 845 Urushi in Prussian Blue is the latest addition to Pilot’s North American “Custom” lineup. We have a limited shipment with more on the way. I love to see an option other than red and black.

2. Caran d’Ache x Paul Smith 5th Edition Ballpoint. The fifth rendition of the Paul Smith 849 ballpoint is here, with two finishes: satin black and raw silver. These pens offer a more subtle take on Paul Smith’s signature stripes.

3. TRAVELER’S Company Standard TRAVELER’S Notebooks. Yes, we have a small shipment of TRAVELER’S standard size notebooks currently in stock. These have been in high demand and sold out for some time, though we are restocking as we can.

4. OnionBrand A5 Leather Notebook Covers. These handmade leather notebook covers use a cord-based binding system and are made by a local artisan in our hometown of Nashville, Tennessee. We have Tanner’s Claret and Olde Walnut finishes currently available.

5. MD Product Dot Grid A5 Notebooks. As MD Product completes its rebrand, more notebook sizes and rulings are becoming available. The A5 notebook is now available in dot grid once again (formerly the Midori Notebook Journal).

6. Pilot Custom 912 Fountain Pens. The Pilot Custom 912 series features a classic flat-top silhouette with a sword clip, and the best part is that you can choose from Pilot’s many specialty nib sizes. We recently received my personal favorite FM (fine medium) and SFM (soft fine medium) nibs, in addition to the Waverly and PO nibs.

7. Pilot Kakuno Madoromi Restock. Kakunos have been selling like crazy in-store and online, mainly because people have been discovering how great these pens are for beginners and experienced users alike. The Madoromi (“Drowsy series”) limited edition is once again available.

8. Pilot Kakuno Standard Restock. The standard Kakuno (clear finishes) are also once again available, in addition to the Madoromi editions.

9. Life Airmail Stationery Pads. While we do not have the matching envelopes at this time, we do have stock of the Life Airmail onionskin writing pads.

10. Life Noble Note Paper. We received a shipment of Life Noble Note notebooks, including now in B6. We also continue to have stock of the Life 6-ring binder refills.

OnionBrand A5 Notebook Cover in “Olde Walnut” finish.

New Arrivals: TWSBI ECO Fluorite Purple + Bronze, and New OnionBrand A5 Leather Notebook Covers!

The new TWSBI ECO Fluorite Purple + Bronze is finally here and available for pre-order! This latest TWSBI release features a swirled purple, pink and white acrylic paired with TWSBI’s bronze trim, and is available in all nib sizes. Per TWSBI’s release schedule, pens are currently in-stock and orders will begin shipping Friday, May 29. Due to high demand and relatively small initial retailer allocations, if you are looking to pick up a pen in-store, we recommend placing an online order and selecting “in-store pickup” at checkout, as we cannot guarantee there will be pens available when the Nashville store opens on Thursday. As a reminder, please do not come to pick up your order until you have received an e-mail letting you know that it’s available.

We also have a small batch of the OnionBrand A5 leather notebook covers in the “Olde Walnut” finish. These cord-based notebook covers sold out very quickly last week, and more are in-progress. For those unfamiliar with the brand, OnionBrand is a local maker in the Nashville area, whose goods I have featured in-store but now has enough of a production setup that I can offer them for sale online. Stay tuned as additional colors and models come online.

We are open this week in the Nashville store regular hours, 1-6pm Thursday and Friday, and 10am-5pm Saturday. Please come by and see us!

New Arrivals: Zebra Sarasa Clips in ALL the Colors, Plus Pilot Frixion Waai!

I may be leaving for Japan tomorrow morning, but that doesn’t mean new arrivals aren’t still flooding into the shop. Coincidentally, we just received a massive shipment of Japanese gel pens, including the Zebra Sarasa Clips in 20 different colors and four tip sizes (.3mm, .4mm, .5mm, and .7mm), as well as the “Milk” and “Decoshine” collections in .5mm. The latter are perfect for writing on black paper, such as these Black Edition Notepads from Craft Design Technology!

We also have a restock of the erasable Pilot Frixion Waai, now available in individual colors instead of a five-pack. There are eight new pens, with the Black, Bronze, and Cherry additions being particularly legible and well-saturated for Frixions. Enjoy!

Come see these and more in our Nashville showroom, open regular hours this week (Thursday and Friday 1-6pm and Saturday 10am-5pm).

Thursday Drops: Filling in the Gaps with Pilot and Kaweco, Plus a Major Lochby Restock and MYSTERY BOXES!

The theme from this month so far has been “filling in the gaps” with core offerings from brands like Pilot and Kaweco that we have been meaning to offer but due to availability and/or space issues, have not been able to stock until recently! This week, we received a large shipment of Pilot Metropolitan fountain pens and rollerballs/ballpoints, as well as Pilot Parallels and Kaweco Sport rollerballs, ballpoints, and mechanical pencils. You should now be able to complete fountain pen and ballpoint/pencil sets. We’ve also restocked on most of our Lochby cases - including the popular Field Sling - and have added all of the Lochby 6-ring Field Binders, which is an exciting addition to their lineup.

Last but not least, we’ve assembled a series of curated Mystery Boxes in our Clearance section! These were made available to T.G.S. Patreon Members yesterday, and we have several additional boxes left for the general readership. Please read the product description for what each box entails. It’s been a lot of fun to put these together over the past few days.

Come see these and more in person this weekend! We are open standard hours, 1-6pm Thursday and Friday, and 10am-6pm on Saturday. Be sure to check our posted shop hours for any updates.

1. Pilot Metropolitan Fountain Pens. We’ve added the excellent Pilot Metropolitan fountain pen to our general lineup. Available not just in fine and medium, but also in the unique medium stub/italic.

2. Pilot Metropolitan Ballpoints and Rollerballs. An often overlooked daily driver, the Metropolitan rollerball accepts Pilot G2 and other similarly sized refills, and the ballpoint uses the excellent Dr. Grip-style cartridge.

3. Pilot Custom 912. We now have the Pilot Custom 912 in all “soft” nib designations, including my favorite Soft Fine Medium! For an overview of Pilot’s “Custom” series and where the Custom 912 fits in, check out this post from a couple weeks ago.

4. Pilot Parallel Calligraphy Pens. One popular in-store request has been for the Pilot Parallel series of calligraphy pens, featuring Pilot’s “parallel plate” nibs in sizes ranging from 1.5mm all the way up to 6.0mm.

5. TWSBI Vac700R. We’ve restocked on TWSBI’s Vac700R, including the standard clear version as well as what looks like it may be the last run of Kyanite Blue, so don’t sleep on those if you want one.

6. Kaweco Classic Sport Ballpoints, Rollerballs, and Mechanical Pencils. Looking for a rollerball, ballpoint, or mechanical pencil to match your Kaweco fountain pen? The rollerball takes the universal Parker-style refill, and the ballpoint is a D1, so you can mix and match refill styles to create whatever type of pen you want, really.

7. Platinum Preppy Black Limited Editions. Platinum’s latest limited edition Preppy release is an all-Black version (with yellow, white, or orange writing). It’s a sharp looking update to the Preppy and I hope they make this a standard.

8. Lochby Field Binders (6-Ring). Lochby brings the popular 6-ring binder format to its line of waxed canvas covers. Available in A5, A6, and A7, you can also purchase 68g Tomoe River 6-ring refills.

9. Lochby Sidekick v.2. The Sidekick is back (in Charcoal, at least). Lochby’s A7 wallet/pocket notebook cover returns after a bit of a redesign, including the incorporation of RFID blocking technology.

10. Lochby Field Sling. Last but not least, the popular “Field Sling” A5 bag returns in all colors. We have these available to see in-person in store as well.

Our sample closet needs cleaning out!

New Arrivals (Pilot Metropolitans!) and On The Paper Trail Live Event Tickets Are Available!

Lots of fun new arrivals landed this week, for which a couple of you received a sneak preview in-store on Saturday: We now have the Pilot Metropolitan (or the MR as it’s known in certain markets). The Metropolitan is an excellent entry-level to mid-range pen from Pilot, which comes in classic colors like black and silver as well as the colorful “Retro Pop” line. We currently stock not only Metropolitan fountain pens, but also the rollerballs and ballpoints. The Metropolitan rollerball takes a Pilot G2 gel or other similarly sized refill, and the ballpoint accepts the Dr. Grip refill, which is great because that means you can use the finer-tip “Cocoon” cartridge that ships with the Pilot S20. All of these pens make great everyday workhorses.

On the Paper Trail: Live in Nashville Event Tickets Are Available!

If you’ve been following our podcast, you may have heard that we are hosting our first “On The Paper Trail Live” Event in Nashville from October 16-18. While there will of course be shopping opportunities, along with exclusive products, we are looking to host a community-oriented event focused on opportunities to connect with vendors and other people who are enthusiastic about paper, pens, and the analog lifestyle. Listen to Episode 7 of On The Paper Trail for a more in-depth discussion of what this unique weekend will entail!

The event will take place at the Hilton Garden Inn in Cool Springs (Franklin). Both weekend passes and day passes are available. Stay tuned for the full schedule of classes, workshops, and vendors. All details regarding location, accommodation, and ticketing can be found in this post.

Come see us this week in-store! We will be open 1-6pm Thursday and Friday, and from 10am-5pm on Saturday.