Monde des Stylos

2025, a year of collection and journaling in review... This year, I have moderated both my collection and journaling habits. Collection-wise, I have stopped buying a pen just because the price was right. Instead, my pen purchases were more on what I really like as long as the prices were reasonable enough for my budget. From January to December, I had added three Sailor King of Pens (KOP) to my collection. These are two Pro Gear KOP limited editions ; the Sailor X Satelite Crayon Project Eleuthera Island and Teatime Around the World "Matcha" as well as a 1911 (a.k.a. Pro Fit) regular edition. I bought all three of these KOPs at discounted prices and really enjoyed using them.  SAILOR King of Pens (KOP) Pro Gear X SATELLITE CRAYON PROJECT, Fountain Pen  of the Seas, Eleuthera Island, 10-9691-448, (21K), M Nib A Platinum 3776 Century Kanazawa Gold Leaf "Matsu-Tora" with fine nib and a Platinum 3776 Century "Hong Kong - 香港限定" special edition  with medium nib...

This was only my second time attending a pen show. And because it was the inaugural  Malaysia International Pen Show and it was also held in a venue relatively close to my home city, I decided to travel to attend the show; also taking the opportunity to meet up with friends whom I have not met for some time. The Malaysia International Pen Show (MIPS) was held in Petaling Jaya , next to bustling Kuala Lumpur on the weekend of 27th and 28th of September 2025 at the One World Hotel which is adjacent to the One Utama Mall. On the first day of the show, I arrived at the One World Hotel around 10.30am. However, I was unable to find the event space that MIPS was held. This despite enquiring with then hotel staff. Eventually, I mamboed to locate MIPS after searching around with some locals who were also attending the event. Presenting the pre-purchased entry tickets' QR codes for my friends and myself, we were each given a goodie bag and allowed to enter the venue. This process was...

Pelikan Hub 2025 was on 24th October, a Friday. Compared to the two previous years, this year's was held in October instead of September. In line with the Ink of the Year, Apricot Achat , each participant who had registered with Pelikan for the event, was gifted a bottle of Edelstein ink as well as a Hub-even themed notepad and postcard, all. nicely packaged in a Hub-event themed gift box painted in the colours of the ink of the year i.e. Apricot Achat.  However, unlike in the past two years, some participants were given different colours of Edelstien ink including Tanzanite , Rose Quartz and Golden Lapis , according to many who posted their experiences on social media after the Hub event. Thus, not all participants in this year's event got the Edelstein Apricot Achat ink as expected, based on their experiences from the prior Hub events of previous years.  I got the Edelstein Apricot Achat in my Hub gift set. But I would not complain even if I get a bottle of ink of differ...

While I have not been updating this blog much recently due to a heavier than expected workload in my day job, much has been happening in my journaling activities as well as in the wider community. For a start, Pelikan Hub 2025 was on 24th October 2025, a little over two weeks ago. In the South East Asia region where I live, we had the inaugural Malaysia International Pen Show (MIPS) held on 27th and 28th September in Petaling Jaya , just next to Kuala Lumpur . The first ever Singapore Pen Show will be happening on the last weekend of November, but I will have to skip this event in my home city because I will be overseas during that weekend. In addition, the Tokyo International Pen Show (TIPS) is currently happening this weekend, 1st to 3rd November 2025. I attended last year's edition of TIPS and it was my first time attending a pen show. What an eye opener! On a personal note, despite a promise to myself to buy less and instead spend more time enjoying the writing instruments t...

Pelikan's recent releases include the new special edition Souverän® M815 Metal Striped Blue. Also announced recently is the Souverän® M600 Art Collection Rudi Rother. The one that particularly interest me is the M815 Metal Striped Blue. The design of this pen is simply gorgeous. In particular, the silverish stripes contrasted beautifully with the blue barrel , bringing both style and finesse to one's hands as this pen glides gracefully across the paper when writing.  Internal to the pen is a brass base which adds extra weight to the instrument, for those who like their writing tool to be a bit on the heftier side. The pen's rings and clip are palladium-plated and it comes with a 18K rhodium-coated gold nib . Overall, this pen is a beauty. Product photo of the  Souverän® M815 Metal Striped Blue  from Pelikan Next up is the M600 Rudi Rother , the second pen from the Art Collection Series. This pen comes with a bi-colour 14K gold nib . The story behind the pen is engr...

Being a relative "newbie" in the world of Fountain Pens, I had previously only attended a Pen Show once. This was the Tool Internal Pen Show in November 2024. This year, I have two Pen Shows in my calendar schedule. The first will be the Malaysia International Pen Show to be held in Kuala Lumpur on the last weekend of September while the second will be the Singapore International Pen Show to be held in my home city on the last weekend of November. In-between these two Pen Shows, Pelikan Hub is scheduled for the last friday of October. While I will need to give this year's Pelikan Hub a miss due to my work schedule, I will be attending both the Malaysia and Singapore Pen Shows. My air tickets and accommodation for the Malaysia Pen Show have been booked and I am all ready! TWSBI Eco