Cool Stationery Finds: Pen Storage, Nib Wipes, Heirloom Scissors, and One Great Game

Introduction

Some finds are too good to sit on, even if they do not each warrant a full-length deep dive. This roundup brings together six items from four different makers: three storage pieces from NFP Design, handcrafted nib wipes and a glasses cleaner from Inky, a pair of artisan scissors from Ernest Wright, and one unexpected pick, a video game that pairs beautifully with a pen and paper.

Rotating Pen Display from NFP Design

NFP Design is based in Turkey and specializes in pen storage, and their rotating pen display is the most distinctive piece in the lineup. It has four trays arranged around a pivot, a flat tray at the bottom, and a spot on top for a showcase pen. The whole unit weighs a substantial 10 lbs, so it feels planted and sturdy on a desk. The trays rotate to face whichever pens you want, and each tray can be pushed out from underneath and used separately if you ever want to break the unit apart.

Capacity is solid: each tray holds six pens, so the display holds 18 pens in total across the trays, with the flat bottom tray available for more. It handled larger pens like a Visconti Homo sapiens, a Pilot Vanishing Point, a Narwhal Nautilus, a Sailor Pro Gear, a Montblanc StarWalker, and a Montegrappa Elmo without issue. One caveat: very thick pens, like a Namiki Emperor, fit the top spot well but will not fit on the lower levels, so extra-thick pens belong up top. It is available in a wide range of colors, including blue, dark green, orange, yellow, gray, beige, pink, and dark lilac, and it costs $350.

What makes it genuinely useful is that it hides pens away while keeping them accessible: some on top, others tucked below in a compact footprint that does not eat up desk space.

Solid Walnut Pen Tray from NFP Design

The solid walnut pen tray is a simpler piece at $40, with a removable tray section and a range of colors including yellow, orange, green, beige, blue, and dark lilac. It is a lay-down design, so even oversized pens like a Namiki Emperor fit comfortably.

The side section is a nice bonus: most standard ink bottles fit snugly, so it doubles as a tidy way to keep a bottle of ink from wandering around your desk.

10-Pen Tray from NFP Design

The 10-pen tray runs $32 and comes in cream, green, navy blue, and burgundy. This version is a softer, flexible design rather than a solid removeable tray, and it is thin enough to slot into tight desk spaces.

Despite its slim profile, it handled genuinely large pens with ease, including the Namiki Emperor, the Visconti Homo sapiens (described as the largest pen in the collection it was tested with), a Nakaya Dorsal Fin 2, a Mr. Cypress Eggshell, a Pilot Custom 930, a Black Robin Pens skateboard pen, and a TWSBI VAC 700 Iris. Across the range, the build quality on NFP Design pieces is consistently excellent, and the brand makes a wide variety of trays that get regular everyday use.

Inky Cannoli Nib Wipes

Inky is based in Brooklyn, New York, and run by a founder named Nat. Their cannoli-shaped wipes arrive in a biodegradable box with instructions and a sticker, and each little canoli is handmade with a soft leather exterior and a chamois interior. Chamois is made from sheep or lamb skin tanned with oxidized deep sea cod oil, which makes it soft and durable. A slight fishy smell is normal at first but typically fades after a couple of uses; on these, no smell was noticeable at all.

There are two versions: a glasses cleaner that folds right back up into its canoli shape, and a nib wipe version with three separate wipes for cleaning off nibs. It is admittedly hard to bring yourself to use something this neat, but after the first inking session the hesitation fades, and over time the ink stains turn the cloth into a bit of an art project, something like a Pollock painting. The wipes can be cleaned to remove most of the ink, though they will probably never return to fully pristine. They sell for $25 each or $45 for two.

Ernest Wright 6.5” General Purpose Scissors

Ernest Wright has been making scissors in Sheffield, England since 1902, and their 6.5” general purpose scissors cost about $80. The obvious question is why anyone would pay that when a $2 pair cuts fine, and the answer is the same as it is with fountain pens: artisanship and skill. These are meticulously handcrafted by some of the best scissor makers in the world, not mass-produced, and they are built to last a lifetime.

One distinguishing mark of a quality pair is a space between the blades: a subtle curve so the blades only make contact along the actual cutting surface when you open and shut them. These have it, and the difference shows in how they cut. They come with a little leather sheath, and the everyday joy of pulling them out of it is real. They get so much use that a second pair was purchased just to keep at a work office. Ernest Wright also offers professional products like tailor and dressmaker shears that run as much as $320.

Blueprints: A Puzzle Game Worth Your Pens

The final pick is unusual for a stationery roundup, but it earns its place. Blueprints is a roguelike puzzle game with a permanent end to each run, though you carry things over and unlock items that make future runs easier. The premise: you explore a 45-room mansion with the goal of locating room 46, drafting rooms into a grid as you go. Different rooms have different features, hidden puzzles, and surprises, and the game is full of discoveries that are best left unspoiled.

It is a wonderful co-op experience. Certain puzzles are straightforward while others are extremely complex, and small accomplishments feel like enormous victories. Notetaking is essential, so this is a game that genuinely gives your pens and stationery a job: pages and pages of notes went into solving its puzzles. The game has won many awards and suits gamers of all ages. It is available through Steam and console stores for about $30. Beating its one-day challenge, which took close to 100 attempts, is described as one of the most difficult accomplishments ever achieved in a game, and the sense of accomplishment when everything falls into place is remarkable. It is less a game you win or defeat than one where you choose when you have accomplished everything you want.

Conclusion

Each of these picks solves something real: NFP Design keeps pens organized and on display, Inky makes nib cleanup a small pleasure, Ernest Wright turns an everyday tool into a lifetime possession, and Blueprints gives your pens a reason to leave the tray. None of them are impulse buys in the usual sense, but all of them deliver everyday satisfaction that outlasts the purchase.