Studies have consistently shown that the brain works better with paper than with screens. Recall and comprehension are higher when you write on paper, and when you're planning for the year's engagements and achievements, isn't a brain boost a good thing? Our Japanese planners feature excellent, fountain pen friendly paper, efficient page formats, and a wide range of sizes and styles.

If you know someone who's constantly busy with their latest projects, we think they'll appreciate how these planners improve their workflow. We can tell you from personal experience: it saves a lot of time and effort when you write things down.

Midori's cleverly designed MD Fountain Pen is a perfectly practical fountain pen for those prolific writers who fill notebooks, keep up on their correspondence, and scribble notes in the margins while they read.

Intended to complement Midori's iconic MD Paper collection, MD Fountain Pen is a simple and well-considered piece of industrial design. The uniquely shaped nib provides just enough feedback for comfortable writing and moves easily across the page without snags or skips.

It's not a flashy fountain pen. But anyone who spends enough time with their notebook will appreciate the outstanding functionality and unassuming grace of Midori's signature pen. So, your favorite scribe will be pleased.

At least, not if they shop in American art supply stores. We're the first U.S. retailer to import and sell the incredible Saiboku Aya pigment ink sticks from Boku-Undo, an esteemed ink manufacturer near Osaka, Japan. They work like traditional sumi ink sticks, which are ground with an ink stone and a small amount of water to produce ink. It's a wonderfully meditative process to make little circles in the water, watching as it gradually thickens and takes on the color of the ink stick. We recommend spending this time in contemplation of the centuries of history that imbue each Saiboku Aya stick with a special gravitas. (But we suppose you can ponder other matters if you wish.)

But if sumi ink is so ancient, why are Saiboku Aya sticks so exciting? Traditionally, sumi ink is made with either carbon black pigment, vermilion pigment, or colored dyes. That means there has never really been a full range of artist-grade, mixable, permanent colors available in this traditional medium. Boku-Undo worked with an art professor and materials expert in Kyoto to develop these new ink sticks with modern pigments. Eighteen colors are included in the new range, and they can be mixed and layered to create works of art the ancient painters of Japan never imagined.

Saiboku Aya sticks are the perfect gift for the artist who loves experimentation, the one who's always trying a new medium or mixing different kinds of ink and paint together. They'll be delighted to try a modern medium that comes with its own set of tools and has a character unlike any other ink or watercolor on the market.

We've curated a selection of supplies that will work perfectly with Saiboku Aya. Grab a few colors, an ink stone, and a brush to make a great starter set. Try wrapping the whole kit in a furoshiki cloth to make this gift even more special.

These special sets of Schmincke Horadam watercolor take a natural property of certain artist pigments and turn it into an incredible tool for rendering plants, animals, and landscapes. Pro watercolorists know that some pigments, like ultramarine blue and natural earth colors, form pockets of darker pigment when applied to paper. This textured look is beloved by landscape painters because it creates a complex and organic look with one brushstroke.

Horadam "Supergranulation" colors take this granulating effect to the next level. By mixing together highly granulating colors that naturally separate from one another, each Supergranulation color explodes into ripples and pools of contrasting pigment when you use it on paper. The result is the most intensely granulating watercolor we've ever seen, enabling you to paint dreamy sunsets, extraterrestrial worlds, and complex natural light with ease.

Every city is different, and the daily routine of every city dweller is different, too. A busy attorney with a packed travel schedule might need a day planner, a deposition notebook, and a pocket for plane tickets. An art student might have graph paper with sketches for sculpture class and a watercolor journal with daily paintings from winter break. Both will be thrilled with Traveler's Notebook, the original modular notebook system with millions of possible combinations.

Start with one of the boxed starter sets in Regular size, the most popular for writing, sketching, and watercolor, or Passport size, meant for jacket pockets and handbags and sized to hold a passport as one of its inserts. The hand-cut leather cover comes with a blank notebook insert and a spare elastic closure, packaged in a delicate white cotton bag to make the opening experience extra special.

Once you choose your color and size, the Traveler's Notebook gets really interesting. Choose from dozens of additional inserts and use the Connecting Bands to connect up to four kinds of paper or storage options. The customization is what makes Traveler's Notebooks such a popular gift, because you can show how well you know them with the perfect combo.

For the people on your list who seek simplicity, elegance, and order, the best gifts come in off-white packages. We love Midori MD Paper products for their incredible paper quality and their clean, minimalist look. They work very well with pen, but may we suggest pairing them with pencils for a more precious gift? The soft sound of smooth pencil on lightly textured MD Paper is pleasant and reassuring; equally so is that slight feeling of friction against the page when the pencil's just been sharpened.

We know that a pencil is a simple object, but we specialize in simple things of the highest quality. Any of these curated pencil and paper choices will delight your most discerning friends.

Blockx (pronounced "blocks") is one of the finest traditional manufacturers of artist colors in the world. The Blockx legacy begins in 1865 with Jacques Blockx I, a Belgian chemist who developed his own formulas for permanent paints. His pioneering work was quickly noticed by prominent painters, who had largely been producing their own paints by hand and were eager to explore a broader, more consistent range of colors. Salvador Dalí wrote about Jacques Blockx I: "This man who never painted, will contribute more to the painters of tomorrow than what we will have accomplished, all the modern painters together."

Five generations of Blockx family chemists have continued in the tradition of the company's founder, producing only the highest quality paints using traditional stone mills, small batches, and low speeds. This labor-intensive process allows the individual qualities of each pigment to shine through, and you will notice that each Blockx watercolor is different in texture, flow, intensity, and finish.

Blockx Giant Watercolors are the purest expression of this great manufacturer's skill and sensibility. Hand-poured into custom 3" x 2" porcelain pans, a Giant Pan is about eight times the size of a standard half pan. That means your recipient can paint freely, applying artisan-made color with wild abandon, knowing they aren't going to run out anytime soon.

When we're far from someone we love, it's nice to see what they're seeing. Watercolor postcards are a lovely way to share travel stories, architectural sketches, and subway portraits. With the right set of travel supplies, you and your favorite correspondent can make and send evocative sketches from anywhere you find yourselves.

When you give a gift to the one you love, you're trying to show how much you value them, how well you understand their strengths and passions, and how much promise you see in your future together. If your partner is a creative person, few gifts are more potent than a set of fine paints. Too often, we hear talented artists say they don't buy good colors for themselves because they're still learning. But the learning process is accelerated by better materials, and using a really special set is a confidence booster.

So why not get your sweetheart the paint upgrade they deserve? We think this limited-edition holiday set from Schmincke is the ideal choice, with professional-grade colors and a gorgeous, soft leather case that will patina and soften further with age. Inside is an enameled metal Schmincke tin with twelve specially selected colors and enough extra space to add twelve more. The selection includes, in our opinion, some of the most romantic colors in Schmincke's 140-color lineup, with a deep perylene green and violet, warm quinacridone gold, and French ultramarine.

Have they been really, really good this year? Add one of these gifts.

Acrylics get all the attention, but oil colors are just better. We know the value of quick drying and less setup, so of course we carry acrylics. But whenever we get the chance, we whisper in our customers' ears about the enduring superiority of oil colors. One of our owners is an oil painter, and she'll tell you (even if you didn't ask) that acrylics change color as they dry, that they never get as glossy or transparent, and that they just lack the subtle mystery and magic of oils. We know it's more work to use oil colors, but you simply can't duplicate the results with any other medium.

For the person in your life who does things the hard, "outdated" way, a set of oil colors with 19th century heritage and a handsome wood box will make the perfect gift. We are proud to offer Schmincke Mussini oil colors for the first time this holiday season, and each of our three gift sets are a wonderful introduction to the line. Even among professional oils, Mussini is in a class of its own, with a special formulation that uses natural resin to produce otherworldly transparent colors and incredible luminance.

We've selected a few essential surfaces and accessories to get your favorite artist started with a superb new set of oils.

Aqua Drop is a new liquid watercolor that offers brilliant, transparent color in a fluid format that unlocks novel creative possibilities. You can use Aqua Drop with a brush, of course, but you can also use it with your dip pens and in the Aqua Liner brush pen (included with this set). You can even use the dropper top to draw and drip directly on your paper, which is a great technique for urban sketching and quick color studies.

Unlike many liquid watercolors, Aqua Drop is made with the same permanent pigments as pan and tube watercolor. That means you can use it to create work for long-term display without worrying that it will fade.

Aqua Drop can be used straight (which is a lot of fun, because it's so intense and so easy to apply), diluted with water for pale washes, and mixed with any of your other watercolors. You can easily mix bright secondary colors with Aqua Drop primaries. We also like using this watercolor in thin, overlapping layers, relying on optical blending to create a range of tones and values.

The art materials industry is centuries old, but our partner manufacturers around the world are always surprising us with new ideas. Here are a few new releases to delight your favorite mad scientist.