This week, we are adding Tombow 707 to our collection. This pen was designed in 1987 by Tombow, originally a pencil company. Their pencils and MONO erasers are probably one of the most recognizable products growing up in Asia. Few decades ago, they started branching out to different stationery categories, and today in America, they are more well known for their brush pens. Tombow 707 is symbolic of that transition started a few decades ago. The pen is metallic with a nice weight. It’s also really slim but has a rubber grip that balances the weight towards your hand. The...

This is one stationery that takes a complete different life than its original design. The twist crayon is designed with a twist up barrel — it works exactly like a lipstick to prevent your hands from getting messy. It’s designed for little kids, but in Taiwan, students love using them as highlighters. Typical highlighters take time to dry, but crayons don’t. They are inexpensive, and they come with a wider range of colors. More importantly, they are long and the weight is well balanced — which is great for pen spinning. Next time when you are here, ask Neil to...

The Pentel P200 series has gone through a few different modifications, but the main design hasn’t really changed since the seventies. It’s pretty classic. Lots of memories for us and to many who’ve recognized them in the store. The pencil is light and clean. The lead advancing is consistent and it holds the lead really tight. It’s overall a great pencil. Just like many other classics, when someone rediscover the pencil after a long time, the nostalgia and the facial expression are priceless. (Most metallic colors in the photos are either in 0.5mm or 0.7mm)

Two weeks ago, we added new notebooks, clips, pencils and post cards from Gekkoso @ginza_gekkoso the first art supply store in Japan. The store opened more than 100 years ago, and has been influential to many famous artists in Japan. The notebooks are perhaps the most iconic and classic from their store. Over the years, they made a complete range of art supplies, but this notebook started very early — almost 80 years ago. It’s simple, colorful, and equipped with different types of paper inside. Today, the two-story charming store is still standing in Ginza, a modern shopping area that endured some...

Three new books for browsing in the store — left is Pen Magazine 11/1 edition that interviewed and showed 20 hand written letters from Japanese architects, writers, poets, illustrators and creators. They share how they create with pen and paper and how their inspirations are different when creating with hands. Middle is a compilation of interviews from 12 professionals (accountant, designer, doctor, paper maker etc) and the book walks through the way and how they use their daily stationery. On the right is a book from Gekkoso that talks about the origin and the history of their 100 year old...

Happy fountain pen day : ) It couldn’t be a better day to announce our new fountain pen with Sen Handmade. This is a special edition that we worked with Sen to came up for our store. Each pen is hand crafted by Sen. Sen works with pen stores to design a special version for each store, and we are honored to be one of them. This Yoseka edition fountain pen is finished with silver splashing that is different on each body. The aluminum body is light and doesn't add too much stress to your writing, and it just looks cool...

New arrivals this week.
 Hightide is relatively a new stationery company comparing to other hundred year old brands, but Hightide does stationery in a far more interesting way. When you think about stationery, it’s typically pen, paper, ink and notebook. But when you look at your desk, the tools on the table top is more than just pen and paper — you might need a pen holder, an organizer and other accessories on the table. Those accessories are part of your writing routine as well, and Hightide wants you to feel happiness even when you use the most ordinary accessory...

Traveler’s notebook corner at the store. When we opened our store earlier in August, Saori from Traveler’s company stopped by for a visit. Saori is really sweet and kind. She gave us a few pointers and suggestions, and we have added a lot more into our Traveler’s collection since then. Traveler’s notebook allows you to customize the way for your own journey. And that visit from Saori, for us and for the store, is always going to be on a special page of our journey.

This week we had lots of great conversations with you all. Really appreciate when you stop by to share your life and chat with us at the store. These moments are definitely the highlights for us at the store. Yesterday we met Lichen, who decided to do a zero-technology day and to explore the city without electronics.For her journey, she picked Yoseka as the destination. She explored and found her way to us before we closed. She shared her interesting day with us - where she went, what she saw and the routes she picked that made her journey special....

Special addition to our 2.0mm mechanical pencil collection is Fixpencil by Caran D’Ache. One thing we love about 2.0 lead pencil is how easy it is to carry around. Once you hide the lead, the tip would never accidentally poke through your pocket or pencil case. Sometimes, 0.5mm mechanical pencil has that problem because the tip is so pointy. I like to carry Fixpencil around in my bag where the few pen holders are. Sounds a little specific : ) but Fixpencil is strong to handle all the collisions. Those spots are reserved for either my every pens/pencils or under...