Sims Drive Fountain Pen Shop, Test Before You Buy: Cityluxe

Cityluxe WorkRoom is a fountain pen shop on the fourth floor of an industrial building, not in a mall, and that is the point: you get a table, a chair and time to test nibs. It sits at 601 Sims Drive, Pan-I Complex, #04-05, Singapore 387382, about a 10-minute walk from Aljunied MRT. Hours are 11am to 7pm Monday to Friday and 12:30pm to 6pm on Saturday, and it is closed on Sundays and public holidays.

Cityluxe started in 2010, and its about page says it grew out of a love of travel and a habit of hunting down good stationery abroad. For years most Singapore customers knew it as a website that shipped pens, refills and engraved gifts. The move into a larger space in Pan-I Complex changed that, and the shop now calls the room its WorkRoom because, in its own words, it is where the team works and where customers create.

The building is a light-industrial block of offices and small workshops, so the lift lobby feels nothing like Funan or Raffles City. That works in your favour. There is no mall crowd drifting past, and the shop's own page invites you to sit down, sip some coffee and spend an unhurried afternoon testing fountain pens and swatching inks. Plan on staying at least half an hour rather than a quick lunchtime dash.

Start cheap. The Pilot Kakuno lists at S$16.35 online, and it is built for beginners: a hexagonal barrel that will not roll off the table, a little smiling face stamped on the nib, and a steel point that forgives a heavy hand. If you want a piston filler that holds far more ink, the clear TWSBI ECO in white is S$46.50, and you can watch the ink level slosh inside the barrel while you write.

The German classics sit nearby. A Lamy Safari in black costs S$55, with the triangular grip that tells your fingers exactly where to go, and a Kaweco Classic Sport in green is S$43.90, small enough to post in a shirt pocket once the cap is pushed onto the back. Write a few lines with each before deciding, because the Safari's grip divides people more than its price does.

For a step up, the Lamy 2000 in black lists at S$350. Its hooded nib and brushed body have stayed close to the original 1960s design, and it is the kind of pen worth handling in person rather than buying from a photograph, because the clip and the slim section suit some hands far better than others. If two nib widths are in the drawer, ask to try both side by side on the same page.

Ink is where the WorkRoom pays off. Cityluxe carries Vinta Inks from the Philippines, whose bottles are named after places and years, and the 15ml Electric Cyan (Avenida 1982) is S$15.90. A 30ml Vinta bottle such as Blue Blood (Dugong Bughaw 1521) is S$18. Swatch the shimmer and sheen colours on the paper provided, since those effects barely show on a phone screen.

If you prefer a familiar name, a 50ml Pilot Iroshizuku bottle in Sui-gyoku emerald green is S$21.80, a 50ml Kaweco bottle is S$22.90, and Lamy's T52 50ml bottle is S$20. One honest tip: skip the giant ink haul on your first visit. Buy one bottle that suits the pen you just chose, then come back once you know whether you like wet or dry writers.

Personalisation is the other reason people make the trip. The WorkRoom page says the team can now engrave pens and emboss notebooks on the spot, with a name, initials or a short message. If you order engraving through the website instead, the standard English option is S$15 and takes three to five working days, Chinese characters cost S$20, and express work adds a S$15 surcharge.

Engraved items cannot be returned, so settle on spelling and spacing before the work starts, and remember that a Parker Jotter takes a maximum of eight characters while most other pens allow twelve. The about page also asks visitors to try the ink samples and to stamp their journal before they leave, so the stamp station by the notebooks is part of the visit. Bring your own notebook if you want to test paper you already know.

The regulars here are journal keepers. On its blog, Cityluxe described the TNSG October Meet 2026, when Traveler's Notebook owners gathered at the WorkRoom to compare spreads, swap ideas and press the TNSG stamp into their pages, and the shop thanked the group for bringing their journals along. Expect people at the table who fill a notebook a month and will happily tell you which ink feathers on which paper.

If you want the table mostly to yourself, come on a weekday soon after the 11am opening. Saturday opens later, at 12:30pm, and closes at 6pm, so a slow ink session after lunch can run straight into closing time; avoid arriving after 5pm on a Saturday unless you already know what you want. If the room is busy with a meetup, browse the notebook wall first and return to the testing table once the group moves on.

Aljunied MRT on the East-West Line is the nearest station, and the shop puts the walk at about ten minutes. Drivers get an easier deal than at most Singapore pen counters: the contact page notes free parking at the building. Pan-I Complex is a working building, so look for the lift lobby and head to the fourth floor rather than searching for a street-level shopfront.

Afterwards, walk south from the station across Sims Avenue toward Geylang Road, where the numbered lorongs run off the main road and old shophouses hold coffee shops and hardware stores. It is a good place to try your new pen on a receipt over kopi. If you would rather stay in the city centre, Fook Hing at Bras Basah Complex is a family-run pen counter founded in 1960, a few MRT stops west, and it closes on Mondays.

Address: 601 Sims Drive, Pan-I Complex, #04-05, Singapore 387382. Hours: Monday to Friday 11am to 7pm, Saturday 12:30pm to 6pm, closed Sunday and public holidays. Email: cityluxe.sg@gmail.com. The online store offers free shipping on orders over S$30, which is handy if the colour you swatched is out of stock in the room. Ask Karpo in the Karpo APP to map the walk from Aljunied MRT before you set out.