Ask TGS: New Notebook Systems Informational Resource Page

As part of the ongoing site refresh of the various T.G.S. informational resources, I’ve created a page specifically dedicated to notebook systems and select blog posts and YouTube videos from over the years. I regularly receive questions from readers and customers who are considering investing in a notebook system and want to be sure they are choosing the best one for their specific needs, so a resource such as this one is probably long overdue. I plan on updating it as I work on new content, some of which is specifically designed to fill the gaps in what already exists here. I hope you find it helpful.

Don’t forget that all weekend, we are running a special on planners and some notebook systems in the shop! Take an extra 10% off your order with the coupon code “FIREFLY” at checkout, and come see us in-store. We are here Saturday until 6pm.

Thursday Drops: New Inks, Notebooks, and Fourth of July Planner and Notebook Specials!

It’s July, which means that many of us are preparing to take some summer adventures (or, if you’re like me, planning for fall adventures during a less scorching travel season). This weekend we have a bunch of new arrivals, including the new Lochby Voyager Journal, all three colors of the Field Journal Mini, Stálogy Special Release Colors for 2025, and a lot more.

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Through the weekend (11:59pm U.S. Central Time on July 6), grab an extra 10% off all planner products and (planner-style refills and stickers) and certain notebook systems using the code “FIREFLY” at checkout! We still have some Laconic stock, including bookmarks and planner stickers, and we also have new Notsu products such as this desktop calendar pad, which allows you to plan out an entire week on one sheet. Use our code to get a bit more of these and more.

We’re continuing our ink swatching series over on T.G.S. YouTube, in which I’ve posted two longer videos swatching all the inks in the Anderillium Ichthyoformes (“Fish”) inks and the Lamy Crystal Series. People have requested a way in which they can visualize the differences in how fountain pen inks look when wet vs. dry, so these videos are one way I can easily demonstrate that since I have to swatch all the inks anyway!

Come see us in-store! As noted above, we have everything shown here and more. Note that we have special hours on July 3rd and 4th. Saturday hours of operation will be per the usual 10am-6pm.

1. Lochby Field Journal Mini (All Colors). The brown has been back in stock for a bit, but we now have all three colors available for purchase, including the new Charcoal with gold interior (“Bumblebee”) colorway. These are excellent smaller covers that fit standard 3.5” x 5.5” pocket notebooks (the classic “Field Notes” size, and Lochby makes their own 68gsm Tomoe River version).

2. Lochby Voyager Journal (All Colors). Lochby launched an A5 Slim version of its 68gsm Tomoe River refill last month, so it was only a matter of time before they released the matching cover. The Voyager Journal comes in the same classic colors as the rest of the Lochby lineup, including the revamped Charcoal with gold “Bumblebee” interior. The Voyager is designed to fit the Lochby refills but will also work with similarly sized notebooks from Traveler’s Company, Yamamoto (Robiki), and others.

3. Lochby Field Folio in A5 and B5. Lochby released a zippered version of its Field Notebook, with interior pockets and an interior pen slot. If you’re looking for a more portfolio-like option, the larger B5 will hold a standard composition book and even a tablet, depending on size.

4. Stálogy 365-Day and 1/2-Year Notebooks (Special Colors). The Stálogy 2025 colors have arrived, including Cacao Brown, Cloud Grey, and Lake Blue. These are the grid notebooks, which can be set up to work as a standard notebook or as an undated planner if you enjoy crafting your own layouts.

5. Stálogy Undated Calendar Stickers. We recently received a fresh shipment of the Stálogy undated planner stickers, which are now available in both weekly and monthly forms, as well as smaller “To Do” stickers.

6. Laconic Planner Stickers. Many of you have been enjoying the Laconic system, which offers an ever-growing line of notebooks and binder refills in specialized layouts that allow you to organize your notes and information in whatever way works best for you.

7. Maruman Mnemosyne Hardcover A5 Journals. These 240 page journals from Mnemosyne feature even more ink friendly 90gsm paper, in a dot grid format excellent for anything from bullet journaling to planning to standard writing. I chose one of these for my next personal journal, and they come in colors other than black!

8. Colorverse Nebula Note Casual Spiral Notebooks. I’m a fan of what Colorverse has done with their “Nebula Note” line of notebooks. Not only are all the pages perforated (HUGE WIN!) but the paper is slightly textured while remaining extremely ink friendly, making Nebula Note a paper that is excellent for both pens and pencils.

9. Maruman Mnemosyne Softcover A5 Notebooks. Yes, Maruman has also made some of their spiral notebooks in covers that aren’t black!

10. Private Reserve Inks. One of my pet projects is to bring attention to some of the longer-standing “classic” stationery brands, like Private Reserve, which has been around for 25+ years under the ownership of various companies an individuals. The most recent iteration is currently being made by Yafa, and still includes colors such as Supershow Blue, Burgundy Mist, Avocado, and more. In addition to their signature 60oz wide mouth bottles, Private Reserve inks come in standard international cartridge form.

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Time to Pick a New Personal Journal: Maruman Mnemosyne Hardcover A5 Journal

It's time to pick a new notebook! This weekend I finished a personal journal (an Atelier Musubi bank paper A5, bound in soft fabric), and while I enjoyed my time with it, I was ready to move on. The Musubi Journal itself was an exceptionally well made book: The binding and cover held up well over the course of nearly two years, despite a fair amount of travel in my briefcase alongside laptops, pen cases, scissors, sharpened pencils, and who-knows-what-else. And while I find bank paper quite ink friendly, it's never been my favorite paper for everyday writing. Hand oil can cause problems with skipping and feathering on the lower half of a page, and for my personal journal, I don't want to worry about always having blotting paper or a calligraphy smudge-guard handy. So the next choice for an everyday notebook/journal was always going to be something more no-nonsense.

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Whenever I choose a new notebook, planner, or journal, I run the risk of paralysis-by-analysis. As expected, I found myself overthinking this decision, so (late) last night as I was leaving I walked out of my office into the main shop area and pulled a Maruman Mnemosyne A5 Hardcover journal in mint green off the shelf. I've been excited about these Mnemosyne journals since I first saw them at last year's NY Now and have been looking for a way to get one into the rotation. (We won't talk about how long it actually took Maruman to get these things to the U.S. market.)

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I love a good pre-printed Table of Contents. Especially one that is long enough to use as a true index. Which you will need on a 250-page notebook.

So why did I choose this notebook?

• Reliability. Mnemosyne paper works well with all inks + pencil, with decent dry times, no feathering, and very little bleedthrough. The paper in the journal is a step up, at 90gsm instead of the typical 80gsm in the Mnemosyne spirals and the 70gsm in the Maruman Basic notebooks. While I don't really push paper all that much in notebooks that I use as personal journals - I’m writing, not testing inks - I've had no issues with any fountain pens that I've used in my first few days of writing.

• It's "Just a Notebook." The Mnemosyne journal looks nice, but at the end of the day it will appear, to the non-stationery-addict eye, indistinguishable from your typical Moleskine, Leuchtturm, Anecdote, Endless, or other similar A5 hardcover with an elastic closure. The fact that I have a dozen just like it sitting outside the door to my office and a few more in my personal stash removes the block you sometimes feel when you have a really nice notebook that you’re hesitant to use because you don’t want to mess it up.

• Table of Contents. In the Musubi, I made the rookie mistake of not reserving pages for an index or table of contents. The Mnemosyne does that for me, with a four-page table of contents that allows for 21 entries on each page. Whenever I finish a notebook, I go back and flip through to highlight pages with ideas I want to remember and possibly develop further elsewhere. The table of contents will let me do that in real time as I work through the notebook, or during my close-out review after I finish. The pages are also pre-numbered for easy reference.

• Open Layout with Lots of Paper. This notebook contains 239 numbered pages (including the TOC) - a lot of paper for a journal in this style. The ruling is a .5mm dot grid. For bullet journalers and those who like to create their own charts and layouts, Maruman has included markers in the margins that you can use as guides. I probably won't use this particular notebook as a bullet journal or other homemade planner, but the functionality is there. You also have two ribbon bookmarks and the standard kraft paper envelope attached to the back cover.

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Takeaways and Where to Buy

I'm only a couple of days in, but so far this Mnemosyne journal is exactly what I needed, and importantly, exactly what I expected from Maruman in terms of no-nonsense quality and functionality. If you're looking for a hardbound dot grid notebook in the classic A5+elastic style, this version is fountain pen foolproof and should last you for the bulk of the year, depending on whether you're a daily journaler and how much you write each day.

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Available from most Maruman retailers, including our own shop, the Mnemosyne Hardcover Journal comes in black, navy blue, grey, and mint, and is currently priced at $39. While the price would seem higher than similar notebooks, this notebook has a noticeably higher page count (240 pages vs. the usual 190-200), and of course you get the Mnemosyne quality. The most remarkable aspect of this entire release is Maruman's decision to release Mnemosyne products in colors other than black. For me, the mint is clearly the winner, and I'd love to see a darker green, like they used in the Kleid x Mnemosyne collaboration. The newer A5 flex cover notebooks included a white version, but I could see that getting pretty dirty over the course of a year.

Come see us in-store! As noted above, we have the journals shown here, the rest of the Mnemosyne lineup, and more. Note that we have special hours on July 3rd and 4th. Saturday hours of operation will be per the usual 10am-6pm.

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The Mnemosyne (bottom) is a thick notebook with lots of paper!

New Arrivals: Classic Inks from Private Reserve (Bottles and Cartridges!)

I’m a fan of underappreciated brands, especially those that have been around for a long time, and so along those lines, for the past few months we’ve been working to bring in Private Reserve Inks. As of this weekend, they are available for purchase in both bottle and cartridge form! The 60ml Private Reserve bottle is something of an icon, because it holds a ton of ink and has a wide “jam jar” mouth that makes it easier to fill pens with larger nibs. Private Reserve cartridges use the short international format, which means that they will work with any brand that does not have its own proprietary cartridge (Pilot, Lamy, Sailor, etc.). The best thing about Private Reserve cartridges is that they are available in nearly every color, and we’ve instantly been able to nearly double the range of ink cartridges we carry.

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Private Reserve was originally a family-owned brand based in Indiana, and has passed through the hands of multiple owners during its 25 years in existence. The current owner is Yafa Brands, which also distributes Diplomat, Monteverde, and more, and the current version of the ink is very good. Private Reserve tends to be more saturated than other brands, and is known for it’s bold colors such as D.C. Supershow Blue - an attempted clone of the long-discontinued Parker Penman Sapphire that is so coveted by ink collectors. Other personal favorites from this line include Burgundy Mist (which was my first favorite burgundy ink), and “Avocado” (famous for years because the name was misspelled “Avacado” on the label). I’ve had some fun exploring some of these, especially the black-infused “Ebony” line of colors.

Private Reserve Ink is priced at $18 for a 60ml bottle, and $7 for a pack of 12 cartridges. Swatches of all the colors are available to browse online and in-store. Come see us this week, and note that we have special hours on July 3rd and 4th. Saturday hours of operation will be per the usual 10am-6pm.

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Updated Site Resources: Updated FAQ Page and Summer Pen Show Schedules

I’m trying to be more consistent in updating site resources such as the FAQ (“Ask TGS”) page, the Review Archive, the “Workhorse Pens” Series, and more. As of this morning, our FAQ Page has been updated with some additional information and to incorporate recent reviews from the “Ask TGS” series. With more than a decade’s worth of T.G.S. content, I’ve spend a considerable amount of time lately trying to curate it for those new to the site, with a focus on topics that will be of interest to those just starting to explore the world of good stationery. I enjoy writing this sort of content, and am always looking for suggestions on topics of interest, so please feel free to leave a comment or reach out with questions you’d like me to answer!

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At some point at every pen show - and especially the large ones, you will want to escape this.

The T.G.S. Summer Pen Show Schedule: D.C. and San Francisco!

I’ve also had a few questions about the summer pen show schedule. I’m currently planning to attend both the D.C. Pen Show (July 31-August 3) and the San Francisco Pen Show (August 29-September 1). While I may have some limited items for sale in D.C., I’ll mainly be camped out in the Vanness Pen Lounge downstairs holding workshops. The idea of a pen lounge was in response to attendee requests for a place to escape the crowds, especially on Saturdays (see above), with round tables for people to socialize with friends in a quieter environment and periodic workshops on pens, inks, notebook systems and more. We’re going to run this back with the team from Vanness Pens this year, so be sure to check out the details. You may have to scroll down a bit due to “unique” nature of the D.C. Pen Show website,

San Francisco is going to be a content-based trip for me, as I’ve not attended a pen show “for fun” in quite some time and also feel like I need to spend a little bit of time exploring new makers, helping friends out with their workshops and panels, and more.

We will be open this weekend in our physical shop from 10am-6pm on Saturday, and most weeks Thursday and Friday from 1pm-6pm leading up to the D.C. Pen Show. Be sure to check the shop page for up-to-date hours.