Tag: Gentleman Stationer

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A Guy With A Typewriter Walks Into A Bar

So this week I had the honor to be a guest on the Pen Addict Podcast. Normally the PA podcast is recorded live with Brad and Myke, but when someone is going to be out on vacation, there are occasionally pre-recorded episodes, and this week I was the lucky guest.

It was my first time being on the other side of the podcast so to speak, and I enjoyed that aspect. I have a much greater appreciation of what is involved ever since starting up the DWRDNET Stationery Feed, so I loved to see what the guest side of the podcast experience is like. The PenAddict is an audio only podcast, but we did record on Zoom, so in all reality, if felt like chatting with a friend more than a recording.

Brad asked about how I got into the hobby and more all the way up to how the podcast got started, and then we also talked about other stationery interests as a whole. I got to touch on my first ever trip to Vanness, as well as being fortunate to have some local stores like The Gentleman Stationer or Butler Stationery in town, which were not around when I first got into the hobby in 2013.

As the title of this post and the podcast reference, we did get into the latest adventure into typewriters. That is a part of the stationery world that has really clicked with me lately, and I liked to be able to talk through some of that. We talk about how I have started to take some of the typewriters out of a new local bookstore (The Raven Book Lounge), and use them for letters or journaling while sitting at the bar. We talked about my interview with Richard Polt of the Typewriter Revolution as well as gave the shout out of the week to Michelle Geffken of Paperblogging.com. Both of these podcast episodes were linked in the show notes, and since both Richard and Michelle are also fountain pen users, it really shows how we all approach the hobby from different paths, but there are many common things that are there if you take some time to inquire about them.

We touched on my journey into pen making as well, and I was able to give some proper shoutouts and credit to people like Nic of Pens By Pasquale, who really helped me get started down that aspect of the stationery hobby.

So let me know what you think of the episode in the comments, and if there is anything that we talked about that you would like to see a post about or more information, please leave that below as well.

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I Am Really Loving Curated Mystery Boxes

Ever since Joe from The Gentleman Stationer announced his first ever Patron mystery box, or as he describes it, Curated box, I knew that was something that I wanted to try out. I am a terrible person to try to get gifts for, as my wife can attest to, as if I see something that I want to get, I will research all of the options and get whatever version I feel like will be the right fit for me. The idea of receiving a box and having no idea what is in it, that is a way to bring back some of that mystery associated with opening up a gift.

I have now been a part of almost every box that Joe has offered aside from one on this last round, as he added it after I had already picked up the couple that I talked about in this latest video and I really can’t think of a single item that I have either not given an honest try, or in some cases, they have become staple items that I use all of the time. I have also found that items from past boxes really come to be useful for future boxes. A great example of that is the NJK long reach pencil sharpener from the very first box, I have used that to sharpen future wood case pencils that have come in later boxes.

These boxes are normally offered to Patrons first, so you might consider signing up for the Gentleman Stationer Patreon if you want to be able to get one of these when they next come available, but for the last few, there have been some left over that have been released to the general public as well.

Here are some of the past curated box videos to check out as well.

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Interviewing The Gentleman Stationer

So when I decided to start doing interviews on the Youtube channel, I was lucky to have quite a few local people who I was able to get on the list, and as it would have it, it took a bit for our schedules to align, but Joe and I finally got a chance to record an episode. I go to the Gentleman Stationer shop an on almost weekly cadence, but it is different to be in looking around vs getting a chance to talk about some of the stationery between other customers etc.

Getting a chance to sit down and ask questions and learn the history of a website and now store that I visit all of the time was great. I love hearing how these people get started and how they have been able to grow their passion for the hobby into a thriving online store, and in this case, actually be able to open up a new physical store. Nashville has needed this type of store, and Joe talks about in the video about he saw that and decided why not me?

It was great to see a hinted new collaboration item that is in the works as well, but it was just a visual hint in the video, so I can’t really give more details here, so definitely watch to see that tease, as I have a feeling that product will sell quite well. So I do hope you enjoy watching this one as well as all of the other episodes, as I really enjoy getting a chance to showcase all of these staples in the stationery hobby.

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A First Look at The Gentleman Stationer First Ever Patron Blind Box

As soon as I saw that Joe from The Gentleman Stationer was going to be releasing a mystery stationery box to Patron members, I immediately ordered one. There were only 10 made for this first release, and I was able to be one of the lucky people to order in time. This is the first time that I have done any sort of blind unboxing in years, and definitely the first one that I did while recording a video.

I did not anticipate the extra challenges added in when doing one of these type of openings on video, as Murphy introduced extra hurdles. I had to re shoot parts of the contents a few times, as I had audio that was not syncing to video, but I was able to get everything edited to cover the topic at hand well enough.

As for the box and its contents, this was a more pencil centric box, and I actually love that fact. Joe has always been a proponent of using a variety of writing tools, and while my main focus has been fountain pens, it was nice to have a change of pace by adding in some pencils, especially some wooden pencils. I said it in the video, and I still think this to be accurate, that I probably hadn’t used a manual pencil sharpener in 15 years. I can now reset that clock, and I look forward to putting those pencils into my writing rotation.

When I first filmed the video, I was looking at the TGS website for what some of these items were, and I couldn’t find the Midori A7 notebook. It turns out that was such a new item at TGS, that it went into the Patron boxes before it was even added to the website, so to me, that reenforces that the box is curated of new items and not things that have been sitting around on the shelves.

Along with the pencils, I also got my first bottle of TWSBI ink, so that is another brand to add to the ever growing ink collection. While I have not put this into a pen yet, the swatch that I did on the video looks to be a very nice green. I am not sure if all 10 boxes had the same color, so I look forward to seeing what others ended up with when talking to some of the other Patrons on the Patron discord that Gentleman Stationer recently launched.

Another item that I am really excited for is the Pentel Kerry mechanical pencil and the Uni smudge resistant lead. Having recently started to do watercolor, I currently had one of my multi pens in with my painting supplies, but I think this is going to be a better fit for that use case. I like that the pencil has a different look, and that it has a pull cap that protects the end of the pencil, which is great to keep it from pushing through the Lochby Tool Roll that carries my watercolor supplies.

To round out the box, aside from some TGS swag of a sticker and some coasters, Joe included one of the low viscosity Anterique Ballpoint pens, and to add to the great pen, he did some mix and match to have it be in the Gentleman Stationer colors of black and red. I already own a couple of these pens that are in places like my Jeep or gym bag, so now I have another one to keep around on my desk.

Overall, this was a fun unboxing experience, and I will definitely do my best to try to get any more of these that are released in the future. It was nice to be truly surprised by what was in the box, and now have some new items to add into my normal stationery use. Be sure to check out Gentleman Stationer on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/gentlemanstationer

Another thing that happened to line up with this video release, is that I am able to announce that the DWRDNET YouTube channel now has a discount code that can be used when shopping at The Gentleman Stationer. Use code DWRDNET at checkout to save 10% on your purchase. Some exclusions apply. I really do appreciate Joe offering this to YouTube viewers. Any chance to save, much less on items that might be more hobby related these days, is a very pleasant surprise.

Be sure to Subscribe to the Youtube channel, as there should be an episode of the DWRDNET Stationery Feed in the near future.