Aesthetic Bay held a Nakaya Pen Clinic from 25-27 August 2015 and I was happy to be invited to the Pen Clinic and the Thanksgiving session for the Nakaya team, which was held on the final day of the Pen Clinic. I arrived there right after work, and there was already a crowd gathered around the table where nibmeister Shinichi Yoshida was hard at work, tuning nibs for Nakaya pen owners. There were also many pens on display, and needless to say, I was tempted by a good many of them! It was fascinating to watch the nib tuning in progress. Yoshida-san was a humble man of few words, and he was very focused on the nib work. The speed at which he adjusts the nib was amazing! The way he ran the nib across a grey stone to smoothen it out was like an artist running his paint brush across canvas. I imagined that if I was the one doing this, I would have removed all the tipping from the pen nib. Yoshida-san also could do grinds for left-handed pen users, and I was told that he does it excellently too. To help you choose the right type of […]
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Happy Golden Jubilee, Singapore! 9 August 2015 marked the day Singapore turns 50 ever since gaining independence in 1965. For all my fellow Singaporeans and those living in Singapore, I hope you had a blast during the Jubilee long weekend of 7-10 August! To commemorate this exhilarating year, a task force has been set up to support the year-long celebrations, and it’s called SG50. Throughout the island, one can see the SG50 red dot printed on many places, and as you all already know, on fountain pens too. Before we all get back to work and school tomorrow, let’s have a look at which SG50 fountain pens are up and running about right now, and where to get them (if you’re still able to)! Staedtler SG50 Flora and Fauna Limited Edition Fountain Pen Staedtler was the first that I’ve heard which launched an SG50 pen. It features a Crimson sunbird and the Vanda Miss Joaquim orchid, Singapore’s national flower, imprinted on cowhide leather using Staedtler’s innovative inkjet technology. Such a colourful fountain pen, but is limited to only 98 pieces in the country. Check out my #pendelight article about this pen written here. Where to get it (if it’s still […]
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What is Patreon? I first stumbled upon Patreon a few months ago and felt that it was an excellent concept. Patreon comes from the word “patron”, which in turn simply refers to a person who provides support to an individual, group, or a cause. On Patreon, you can provide support via financial aid to an artist or a creator that you like. If you’re familiar with Kickstarter, you would be able to understand this concept a little better, except where Patreon is different. Like Kickstarter, you fund a creator so that the creator is able to create a specific, usually tangible product to be sold for the amount that the public individual has pledged. The end goal is a product, and there are different tiers for different product types. Patreon has this tiered concept as well, but the end goal may not necessarily be a tangible, physical product. As a Patron, you fund to support creative works being made. OFP On Patreon Yes, of course OFP is on Patreon! The reason why I started doing this was, of course, to earn a bit of extra income, as blogging during my non-working hours is really not an easy task. After a day at my […]
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After weeks of renovation and revamping its boutique in Singapore, Faber-Castell relaunched the boutique last Friday, 24 July 2015. More than 60 guests turned up at the reopening event, and I was very honoured to be one of those invited to it! I rushed down from work to the event at Ion Orchard, and very unfortunately missed the opening speeches. I arrived in time, though, to the beating of drums and clashing of cymbals, as the lion dance troupe danced in celebration of the reopening ceremony. Lion dancing is a traditional Chinese dance, very popular among the Chinese community to celebrate special occasions, business openings, and other ceremonies. The sound was deafeningly happy. It was indeed a joyous occasion! There was a registration booth where you could drop your namecards and write well-wishes in a guestbook provided. There were also goodie bags for the attendees. On another table, a local calligrapher, Susan Lui, wowed everyone with her elegant swirly calligraphy on cards holding meaningful quotes. You could get a personalized card, for example getting your name written, in the ink of your choice. Faber-Castell inks were featured and you could choose one or more inks for the writing. Congratulatory flower stands […]
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Time flies and we have had another pen meet yesterday. Even during the pen meet, time flew and in the blink of an eye, it was time to go home. Good times pass really quickly but memories are well-kept in photographs: We had Fook Hing Trading Co sponsor our event, and they provided us with Franklin Christoph products. What wonderful products they are! So far, I have been impressed with Franklin Christoph products especially the Penvelope 6 that I’ve made my first video review of. We held a lucky draw and the prizes were as follows: 1st Prize Model 66 Pearl Red with Masuyama Customized 18k Needlepoint Nib 2nd Prize Model 66 Pearl Red with HPSteel 1.9 Christoph Nib 3rd Prize Penvelope 6 Saddleboot Pen Case 4th Prize Classic 3 Saddleboot Pen Case 5th Prize Classic 2 Saddleboot Pen Case 6th Prize Classic 1 Saddleboot Pen Case They also sponsored Franklin Christoph inks, and the members had a blast testing them out at the ink testing station. The 8 inks sponsored were Blue 72, Brown 732, Classic Black, Dark Chocolate, Emerald 357, Midnight Emerald, Noir et Bleu and Red 187. Personally I love the Noir et Bleu the best, as despite being […]
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I spotted this beauty of a pen the other day and decided to set up a #pendelight article on it. This is the Caran d’Ache Year of the Goat Limited Edition fountain pen, which I should have talked about during the Chinese New Year, but did not get a chance to. The pen is designed for the Year of the Goat, which is the 7th animal in the Chinese zodiac sign, and also the sign representing this year. Those of you who like (or were born in) the Goat Year, and like Caran d’Ache, you are in for a treat with this pen! On the pen barrel, you see the outline of a goat being carved onto it. The metallic material inside the carvings is rhodium-plated. It gives off a lively and vibrant feel to the pen. There are also carvings on the section, which I thought was interesting as sections are not often places penmakers would put an artwork on. Caran d’Ache is a Swiss pen brand from Geneva, Switzerland, so you see the words “Swiss made” engraved on the trim. This pen also makes use of black Chinese lacquer for the body. We often hear of Japanese […]
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This year is a milestone year for Singapore. 2015 marks the 50th birthday of Singapore ever since it became independent in 1965. Over 50 years, the country/island/city has evolved at top speed from a developing nation to a first-world country today! Since the Golden Jubilee is an important event, a nationwide celebration effort has taken place, known as SG50. To join in this effort, Staedtler has launched the SG50 Flora and Fauna Limited Edition fountain pen on 6 June 2015. I was at Fook Hing Trading Co. right on this very date and had the chance to experience the pen for myself! This pen is based on the Intium Corum Urbes range of premium writing instruments by Staedtler. The first thing you’ll notice is the colourful design on the barrel of the fountain pen. The barrel has a roll of fine quality cowhide leather around it, with the design of a bird and a flower on it. The bird is known as the Crimson Sunbird, the unofficial national bird of Singapore. I have never seen this bird myself in real life, but seeing it in pictures, I can tell it looks really pretty! The flower is Singapore national flower, a […]
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I’ve been rather busy and still ill, so I’m going to just put up a short post! The Singapore Fountain Pen Lovers have just had a pen meet on Saturday, May 30, 2015. The turnout had been excellent, and there has been a lucky draw as well! Everyone was eyeing the prizes as they are Montblanc products sponsored by Fook Hing Trading Co. The meet was held at the Tea Party Cafe again, which seems to be our usual haunt for official pen meets. It’s a spacious cafe with a nice concept, and serves good food! Despite the abundance of space in the cafe, it was almost literally overflowing with fountain pen enthusiasts. There was an ink testing station set up at a corner of the cafe, where we could go and have a look at the 8 Montblanc fountain pen inks in beautiful slipper glass bottles. As admin, I helped to prepare ink swab samples for ease of colour referencing. I also brought two glass pens for the members to dip into the bottles of inks to test out the colours. It was so crowded that, being the introvert that I am, I didn’t know really who to talk […]
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Being a blogger is being lucky sometimes, especially when you meet people who willingly lend you their pens to blog about! SH Wong has kindly lent me his TWSBI Vac 700 to play with, and I’ve decided to write a #pendelight article on it. The TWSBI Vac 700 is a large and long pen. TWSBI has been making faceted pens since their Diamond range which I have reviewed here before. The Vac 700 has a cylindrical barrel, though. The cap has diamond-shaped facets running the length of it, and the plunger knob at the back has triangular shaped facets in a decagon. As the name of the pen suggests, it is a vacuum filler which makes use of air suction to draw ink up into the pen. There is a knob at the end of the pen that you can unscrew to pull up the plunger inside. The plunger slides up smoothly, but when closing it, the cylindrical internal part opens up into a wider chamber, so the plunger snaps through it as you push the knob. While the TWSBI Vac 700 generally has glossy metallic trims around the pen, the clip stands out in that the metal is […]
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I recently met a fountain pen buddy during a dinner gathering for fountain pen lovers over the Chinese New Year. I knew he owns some beautiful limited edition fountain pens and found out that he owns a couple of Montblancs. Requesting to have a look at his pen pouch, which was a nice black leather case with two pen slots, I found the delightful-looking Montblanc George Bernard Shaw inside! I didn’t manage to find a white background to place the pen on while taking this photograph, so we’ll have to make do with this view for now. The black background does not complement the pen design well. But you can still see the green marbled pen barrel interspersed with rings of metal. What a beauty! George Bernard Shaw was an Irish writer who has contributed literature of various forms, such as plays, novels, essays and critiques. One of his most notable works is Pygmalion, the story of Eliza Doolittle, which may be better known in popular culture as My Fair Lady. This fountain pen was designed with Pygmalion in mind, representing the development of Eliza Doolittle from a poor flower girl into a well-refined lady. This development is portrayed on the pen design as […]
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