Pelikan Hub Singapore 2016

The event that's been on the pen enthusiast's mind this past week are the Pelikan Hubs.

Pelikan Hubs is a yearly event, where pen enthusiasts meet up at a venue on a date specified by Pelikan. The meet up is organised by someone chosen by Pelikan, the Hubmaster, who will find a venue and inform participants about it. Pelikan send along some door gifts for participants who come and shares a presentation. Then everyone has fun talking and playing with pens, inks and paper!

This year's Hub was held this past Friday, 16 September at 1830 local time. It was done at Pelikan Singapore's office!

Now what's an event without photos? So here goes!

Waiting for the event to start!

Food setup!

Food setup!

Door gifts

Ink Pyramid

The M10000! <3 It's actually a lamp

The night started with a short speech from the Hubmaster, after which a slideshow that was prepared by Pelikan was shown.

Slideshow time

Slideshow time

After that, we had a break for dinner!

Nice flower layout

Food, glorious food!

Food, glorious food!

Socialising over food

Then came the star attraction of the night - the interactions!

Ink swatches done by Hubmaster

And lastly, the group photo!

Souvenirs from the night - paper pad, pen pouch, Aquamarine ink and post card

I enjoyed myself tremendously on Friday - I hope you had some fun too!

See you in 2017!

Pelikan Edelstein Aquamarine Mini Review (Ink of the Year 2016)

As promised, the new post on my favourite brand!

This one is about IotY 2016 Aquamarine.

I would call this the ink version of Lamy 2000.

What do I mean? I mean Aquamarine wasn't love at first sight, but upon the continuous use of it... it just grew on me.

Love at second sight <3 <3 <3

I've put it in the Danitrio (refer to previous post for more info on the Dani). I find Aquamarine a good match for the body!

My personal choice for Aquamarine would be something a tad brighter than what Pelikan has produced. However, having said that, I still like this ink. It pushes me to explore a different shade from my usual repertoire of rich bright blues.

Here are the pics!

Pelikan Edelstein Ruby and Sapphire Mini Review

It has been quite a journey, documenting the Edelstein series! Today I present the last pair: Ruby and Sapphire

Ruby is a typical red with little shading and a little water resistance. Could be used in marking since there is little threat or danger being conveyed (杀伤力). Good in a broad wet nib.

Contrary to what the picture shows, Sapphire is actually a blurple (purplish blue). Not my personal cup of tea, however there seems to be a market for it.

I hope you've enjoyed this series of reviews! Please leave a comment if you have any feedback. Until next time!

Pelikan Edelstein Jade and Aventurine Mini Review

Part 3 of the Edelstein series is up!


Today we talk about the two greens in the series - Jade and Aventurine.

Pelikan Edelstein Jade

Jade is a bright green, leaning towards a teal! I like that though, it brings some variety to the range of greens and spices up the life. One does not have to go for a boring and monotonous flora green, one can pick Jade!

Pelikan Edelstein Aventurine

Aventurine is a true to earth, deep rich green. A saturated colour, it does conjure up images of grass, especially that of freshly-cut grass, its smells and its richness. A traditional green that will suit a Christmas card.

Pelikan Edelstein Onyx and Mandarin Mini Review

Part 2 of the Edelstein series review is up!

Pelikan Edelstein Onyx

Onyx is a black - not the darkest black out there, but certainly not a grey either. There is a hint of grey in it, yet it still stays true to being a black. It's on the hydrophobic side though, just put water far far far away from it.

Pelikan Edelstein Mandarin

Mandarin is a cheery orange - not bright like Diamine Pumpkin, or Sailor Apricot, but it has its position in the stable for when one wants a cheerful (but not eye-searing!) orange. A broader nib will suit it though.


Look out for Part 3 and 4 - coming soon!

Pelikan Edelstein Tanzanite and Topaz Mini Review

This is the first of four posts in the Pelikan Edelstein series Mini Reviews!

Each post will be a Mini Review of a pair of Edelstein inks. Part 2 will feature Onyx and Mandarin, Part 3 will feature Jade and Aventurine, and Part 4 will feature Ruby and Sapphire.

Going first is my favourite of the eight - Tanzanite (blue black) and Topaz (bright blue).

Without further ado, the pictures!

Pelikan Edelstein Tanzanite

I like Tanzanite - it is a true blue black, unlike Pilot Blue Black which just looks blue, that doesn't fade, unlike Pelikan 4001 Blue Black which will turn grey in a matter of hours, and it dries fast enough.

Pelikan Edelstein Topaz

And Topaz? I just like bright blues! This isn't so bright that it blinds (yes Baystate Blue I'm looking at ya) and it dries relatively quick. Did I mention that it's easy to clean out too? Ticks all of the boxes!

I hope this was useful. Leave a comment if you have any questions!

Pelikan Edelstein Ink of the Year Series Review

Let's do a Edelstein Ink of the Year (IotY) series review to open October!

Essentially, what happens is Pelikan makes a colour each year and launches it around March. You'll have an entire year of this colour, then they stop making it. Each IotY is limited to one year only - if you want it after its run, you'll have to try eBay or FPN. Or if you're lucky, your local retailer might be able to get it for you. But why risk it? If you like the ink, go for it!

The IotY Series was kicked off with 2012's Turmaline (Plum), followed by Amber in 2013 (which coincided with Pelikan's 175th Anniversary), 2014's Garnet and with this year (2015)'s Amethyst.

I finally finished my IotY collection yesterday. So without further ado, here's some pictures and short reviews of them all!

BTW: Aquamarine is newly posted on the blog!

2012's Ink of the Year: Turmaline

First verse of Invictus in Turmaline

2013'S Ink of the Year: Amber

Second verse of Invictus in Amber

2014's Ink of the Year: Garnet

Third verse of Invictus in Garnet

2015's Ink of the Year: Amethyst

Last verse of Invictus in Amethyst

Full Invictus poem

Pelikan Hubs 2015 - Singapore

Tonight was the night!

It's Pelikan Hubs 2015 - Singapore!

This year's Hub was held at Pelikan Singapore.

There were door gifts to be given away for the Hub!

Some inks and pens

Door gifts

Even more door gifts

...you get the idea

The event was scheduled to start at 1830 local time, but many people were delayed and it ended up starting at around 1920. In the meantime, we had dinner!

Preparing food

Ready to eat!

Come and eat me!

After dinner, the Hubmaster gave a little speech! And then we enjoyed a presentation by Pelikan.

Some of the crowd

More people

Glass display in the conference room - yes that's the new pink M600!

Glass display in the conference room - oh look, white tortoises!

INK PYRAMID <3

Limited Edition Pelikans

Then, we broke up into small groups to talk and chit chat! There was a ink sampling station (which didn't prove too popular - I think it was due to the low profile place it was situated) and a lucky draw.

Ink Sampling Station

Chit Chat Time

Hey, nice pens!

Pretty handwriting!

I love Pelikan! <3

Pelikan's guest book

Pelikan's guest book

Group Photo!

My souvenirs! The paper cup, Pelikan brochure, Amethyst cartridges, Pelikan pen pouch 

My other souvenir - a signature sheet that shows everyone present!

I loved tonight! I hope you all loved it too! See you at the 2016 Hub!


PS. My thanks goes out to the wonderful staff at Pelikan Singapore, who stayed back after office hours to make this possible. Really, thank you so much! It would not have been possible without all of you - they're the ones with the red signatures ;)