Drive your car and feel the ERP(ain)

Singapore divers be aware!!!The ERP(ain) is getting more painful. The rates at some gantries will be revised from next Monday (August 3, 2009).

A dollar more ($1.00) for motorist passing the gantry at the CTE, north of Bradell Road, between 7am to 7:30am on weekdays.

Fifity cents more ($0.50) for motorist passing gantry at the ECP Fort road and KPE slip road gantries between 7:30am to 8am.

Did I hear someone shouting ... so what? I am rich leh. Here is more pain for you.
After giving the local some sweeten to ease the pain at the begining of the month, Shell and Caltex have increased their pump price by at least 3 cents for all petrol grades.

[note: At the begining of the month, the pump price was dropped by 5 cents for 95-octane, 98-octane and premium grades]
Here is a quick view of the revised price.
95-Octane: $1.767 per litre (up 5 cents)
98-Octane: $1.88 per litre (up 6 cents)
Diesel: $1.293 per litre (up 3 cents)

ExxonMobile is no exception. They also adjusted their pump price upward.

Not all motorist are feeling the same ERP(ain) next Monday. For those motories passing through the 12 gantries at Bugis-Marina center Cordon and north bound Singapore River, they will be feeling lesssss pain as they will pay a dollar less ($1) from 2pm to 3pm and 5pm to 5:30pm.


The ERP(ain) rates at all the other gantries remain unchanged.

Alternative, you can reduce the ERP(ain) by taking the public transport which help reduce the green house effect and do our little part for mother earth. And the important, it save you some $$$. The money you saved can be use to buy one of those luxuary car:pen like Mercedes Benz, Porsche Design or Jaguar.

For motorcycle fan, we didn't left you out. Here is a few Durcati pen for you.


The next LTA review will be in November. In the meantime, wear your seat belt, drive safely, don't tail gate and ... continue to feel the ERP(ain) and enjoy the ride.

The pens mentioned is available at Fook Hing Trading and Aesthetic Bay Pte Ltd.

Cross continue to support Breast Cancer Awareness

The month before Hello Kitty has it 35 birthday is the Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Every October of the year, everything is coming up pink as manufacturers rolled out products to stress breast cancer awareness.

In 2008, Cross, the best ball point pen in the market in our option, has produced a luminescent pearl pink hue pen based on their Century series with the small iconic pink ribbon emblem on its clip and a polished chrome plated appointments.
This sophisticated pen has incorporated an inlaid rhodium-plated star pattern that creates a glimmering jewel like effect against the pearlescent pink body.


In 2007, Cross raised over USD85,000 globally to support the breast cancer causes. In 2008, they continue to support the same causes. Cross contributed ten percent of the retail sales price of this ball point to the Komen Foundation (www.komen.org), with a minimum donation of USD10,000. The global BCA program donation in 2008 is USD80,000 and Cross donated USD28,500.

In 2009, Cross will continue to support for the same causes. We will provide further details of the pen as we move closer to the month of October.

The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, a global leader in the fight against breast cancer through its programs in U.S. and oversea. The Komen Foundation was established in 1982 by Nancy G. Brinkher to honour her sister in memory, Susan G. Komen, who died from breast cancer at the age of 36. For questions about breast health or breast cancer, visit Breast Cancer Foundation (http://bcf.org.sg/) or Singapore Cancer Society (http://www.singaporecancersociety.org.sg/) or Breast Talk@KK (http://www.kkh.com.sg/BreastTalk).

Please help to support the Breast Cancer Awareness by buying this pen and give them to you mothers, daughters, sisters and colleagues and help make a different.

Sailor Colors Play, Something for Everyone

Pilot has been successful with their colors play for their capless fountain pens. Each year, they will released limited edition of special color for international and domestic markets. Sailor is following the same strategy with a twist. In our option, Sailor is trying to reach out to a wider range of customers with more colors and a slightly lower price point as compare to Pilot Capless Limited Edition.

In 2008, Sailor released 4 limited production colors under the professional gear slim series; pink, cyan, white and orange.

Fountain Pen without a cap ... Capless

In the past, fountain pen is always view as big and black cylinder shaped pen that is old fashion, out dated and uninteresting. All these has change with the introduction of the Pilot Calpless Fountain Pen. Pilot has injected live into the boring and out dated design of fountain pen. It not only introduce more lively color like Red, Green, and blue, the creative people at Pilot also removed the cap of the fountain pen... introducing the retractable nibs. This is how the pen got it names, Pilot Capless... a fountain pen without a cap. It look like the ballpoint pen with the click click button at the top, and it also give you the convenience of a ballpoint pen, which doesn't have to remove the cap before you can start writing.

The Pilot capless has brilliant design and ingenious technology, and refined elegant style. Featuring a larger size, durable metal body and attractive gold or chrome accents.

Since it first introduction, it has evloved. It must has a range of slimmer size, and ligther body, Capless Decimo. The available color has also expand from the initial blue and black carbonesque, to yellow, silver, red, green, black, grey, blue, chrome, white, pearl white, harvest gold, etc.

The Pilot Capless not only give the goodness and characteristic of a fountain pen, it also convenience and style of a ballpoint pen. In a lot of occassion, it is always one of the talking point.

Besdie the usual colors that Pilot released for the international market, pilot sometime does release special colors for Japan domestic market. Here is a Japan only Limited Edition of the pens (limited to 1000 pieces).

Hello Kitty ... not the ordinary kitty next door

Hello Kitty will be 35 this year. The the heat has not cool down looking at the depth and breadth of events that are going on in Japan and some parts of the world, except Singapore; we can't feel it. As a Sailor pen fan, we have helped some Kitty fan, like our sister and company, to order the Kitty special limited edition (picture available on our blog on dated July 1, 2009 "Pink is in...").

End of the Road ... Namiki Yukari Series Yozakuara Raden [螺細 桜花]

Yozakura Raden of the Namiki Yukari series is the first pen of the three to reach the end of road. It is the most beautiful pen of among the three. If you have the opportunity to view more than one pieces of the these pens togather, you might got this feeling that the bright and colorful cherry blossom seems to be smiling at you, giving you that happy and comfort feeling, where as some of the darker raden might give you a gloomy feeling. Don't believe us. You can always check it out at Aesthetic Bay or Fook Hing yourself. If you found one that smile at you, do consider to bring it home for luck. And don't forget to give us your feedback after you checked them out.

Rumours, Rumours ... Aesthetic Bay and Nakaya Pen Clinic

The biggest pens retailer Aesthetic Bay, in our option, is relocating itself to the latest, hotest and coolest mall in Singapore, The ION@Orchard. The new store is bigger and wider range of pens.

On the store opening day, Mr. Tan has specially invited Mr. Shinichi Yoshida from Nakaya Japan to hold a 3-days Pen Clinic (July 21 - 23, 2009, 12noon - 7pm).

First of it kind and a very rare opportunity for Singapore and our neighbouring countries pen collectors, and lovers to witness live; how Yoshida-san adjust the nibs for better ink flows and also the alignment of the nibs and feeders.

Finally, we would like to congratulate Mr. Tan, founder of Aesthetic Bay, for reaching another big milestone and providing our local and neighbouring coutries pen collectors an opportunity to view Master Yoshida at work.

End of the Road ... Namiki Carp on Waterfall 「鯉の瀧登り」

Next in line after Namiki model Early Autumn to reach the end of live is Carp on Waterfall. Namiki announced it will stop releasing the pen. The pen is currently still available locally and a few oversea shops. With the official announcement, we foresee speculator will be rushing to buy up the available stock and dry up the market soon.


Among the 5 emporer size pens, this is the pen that used the most gold dust. The layout and form is nice and uniform. The necessary details of the carp is good as compare to the Sailor newly released pen. Unlike the other pens, the clip of the pen is also cover with maki-e gold dust, and not gold plated. The artisan 村田 百川 has done a excellent job is bringing out the liveliness of the carp. The art expressed the liveliness and the dynamics of the Murata river carp climbing the Taki.

The price is also right if you compare it against the Namiki CatFish, which is a Yukari Royal. Hence, no other pen give you more value than this Namiki Carp on Waterfall.

End of the Road ... Namiki Early Autumn 「初秋」

After months of speculation, it is now official. Namiki has finally pull the plug last month (June 2009). It will not be creating the widely loved Early Autumn pen. Currently, the demand for this pen is already high, and with Namiki pull the plug officially, it deminished the collector's hope of owning one. We except the demand for this pen will be go up, hence, driving up it value.

This pen was painted by Hisashi Yoshida [吉田久斎], who is the natural treasure of Japan. He painted pumpkin, mantis, and homoeogryllus japonicus's designs are very beautiful. The balance of color of the lacqering made are excellent.

End of the Road ... Namiki Nippon Art Ukiyo-e [浮世絵]

The Namiki Nippon Art Ukiyo-e series, which consist of 4 pens, has finally reached the end of their road. Last month, we were informed that Namiki has decided to stop manufacturing them. These beautiful maki-e pens are not signed by the aritsan. It is likely to be still available for the next 12 months before the market dry up.

Side track ... Campanola for your Super Hero

For the urushi fan out there, do you know that Campanola released a Kokiake (red-brown) urushi grand complication watch in 2002? The red urushi dial is back. In Basel 2009, Campanola show off a new GMT model using the latest Citizen Eco-Dive. Save the earth!! With Eco-Drive, what you need to do is charge the watch with light ... any type of light, and that include sunlight. The second time zone is represented using a sub-dial at 8 o'clock and a day/night indicator using a little dot. The steel case is 46mm x 50mm.

The new model is still not good enough for your super hero dad. How about a custom make version? Campanola offer a 'build-to-order' service for your very special person, which you can customize dial, hour and minutes hand, etc. As the dial is hand painted, it take 3 - 6 months to complete your special order. Hmmm...

The Campanola watch is available at Fook Hing Trading and selected outlet of City Chain Singapore. For other retailers, please check with Citizen Singapore.

Help! Help! I am going into extinction

This is the second part to the 10 parts of Sailor "The Creatures of the Deep" collection. We wrote about the Nemo back in May 28, 2009. We recently read a few articles in a few major newspapers, including local Strait Times article dated June 25 2009, about Hammerhead Shark going into extinction. We would like to take this opportunity to reach out to pen lovers help to save the shark, and introduce the next pen from the "Creatures of the Deep" collection - Hammerhead Shark.

Which shark shares its names with a tool used to pound nailes into the woods?

Nothing is impossible for French

In 2008, S.T. Dupont released limited edition pens, lighter and ashtray encouraged by Place Vendome.

This square received its name from the fact that the Duke of Vendome had his residence here. It is located very near to the famous Louvre museum and the Church of la Madeleine, by foot about 5 minutes. It was built between 1687 and 1720 to surround an equestria statue by Girardon dedicated to Louis XIV, later destroyed during the Revolution. Jules Hardouin-Mansart built it as an octagonal square flanked by colossal facades displaying the Corinthian order and harmonious Classical proportions. They have tall basement with cross wall pierced with semi-circular windows and above this column or pilaster stretching up past two storey or more, and crowned, on the roofs, by numerous dormer-windows.

There are important buildings in this square today: Hotel Ritz (No. 15), the house where Chopin died in 1849 (No. 12) and the residence of Eugenia de Montijo, wife of Napoleon III.

During the Empire, Napoleon followed the footsteps of Roman emperors by having a commemorative column erected (1806 – 1810) in the style of the Trajan Column. It took the bronze from 1,200 enemy cannon to clad the 44 meters column. The column was elected by Gondouin and Lepere in honor of Napoleon. On top of the column, Antoine-Denis Chaudet erected a statue of the emporer which was destroyed in 1814 and replaced by that of Henry IV. However, later in 1863, a statue of Napoleon was put back in place, but eight years later again, at the time of Gommune, the status was taken down once more, only to be replaced once and for all by another replica of Nepolean in 1873. On the column itself is the low relief carved by Etienne Bergeret representing the 1806 campaign.

In order to simulate the square, Dupont created 3 items; lighter, pens and ashtray. The design of the lighter was created to look like the building with semi-circular windows and above them are columns stretching up past two storey. The pen suppose to represent the famous Colossian column, without the low relief carving of the 1806 campaign. It was replaced by Napoleon’s famous quotation “Impossible n’est pas francais”, which mean “Nothing is impossible for French” … I guess the Quote help us to explain a lot of things that we don't really understand …

The pens and lighters are limited to 1810, which is the date the Vendome column was erected. The ashtrays are limited to 810 pieces. Each pen featured eight hematite stones hand placed into the cap. The pen is not of resin, steel or sterling silver, but palladium. If you have a deeper pocket, S.T. Dupont has another version of the set (pen and lighter) just for you. It is set with white diamonds on pink solid gold. The Ligne 2 lighter is setting with 192 diamonds, and the pen is setting with 160 diamonds. Both the lighter and pens are limited to 35 pieces each.

There was an article in PenCraft issue 6 on the same pen.

Pink is in ... Hello Kitty

Who on earth is Hello Kitty?

The little Kitty is a fictional character created by Ikuko Shimizu of Sanrio Japan. This year is Hello Kitty’s 35th anniversary. The whole world, especially Japan, is preparing for the Hello Kitty big day. There are many new products released recently, like application for the iPhone, guitar, rice cooker, games, as we march toward November 1. Sailor also catches onto this fever and released a Hello Kitty special edition. It is a sweet berry professional gear slim Mini Sapporo fountain pen. The pink barrel is short and light. The nib and cap is engraved with Hello Kitty. It comes in 14K fine and medium nib.


This is a must have for all the Hello-Kitty fans out there. Below is the profile of Hello Kitty, for all daddies and mummies out there, to help you to show off to your little ones that you are not out of date.