Our story
Nikkah pens, made by hand in Lahore
Qalam Nigar makes the pen you will sign your Nikkah Nama with. Every one is finished by hand in our Lahore workshop, personalised with your names, and packed to survive the journey to your ceremony.
01 — Beginnings
Why we started
Hammad Shahid, who runs Qalam Nigar with Mian Zain, spent more than ten years photographing weddings across Pakistan. Photographing a Nikkah means waiting for one particular moment: the signing. It is the picture every couple asks for.
He kept noticing the same thing through the viewfinder. Families spent months choosing the decor, the clothes and the food, and then the pen that appeared for the signing was whatever someone had grabbed on the way. A plastic ballpoint, often borrowed, sometimes one that had to be shaken to write.
That pen is in the photographs forever, and in many families it is kept with the Nikkah Nama.
It seemed worth more care than it was getting. So in March 2025 we started Qalam Nigar to make pens for that one signature.
02 — The people
Who makes your pen
Hammad Shahid
Co-founder
Ten years behind a camera at weddings taught Hammad how an object behaves in real conditions: how a gem catches a hall light, how a white feather reads against a white Nikkah Nama, and which finishes disappear under a photographer's flash. That is why our pens are chosen and built the way they are.
Mian Zain
Co-founder
Mian Zain runs the design side. Lettering, spacing and proportion are his work, which is what makes the difference between a name tag that looks considered and one that looks printed. Every custom tag we make passes through his team before anything is cut.
Behind them is the rest of our team of seven, at the workbench. They wrap the ribbon, trim and set the feathers, tie the bows, prepare the tags and pack each pen. The same hands do this every day, which is why a pen you order today looks like the one in the photograph.
03 — The making
How a pen is made
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1
You choose a design
73 designs across four styles: handmade feather, metal, dip and jute.
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2
We send a preview
You see how your tag or engraving will look and approve the spelling. Nothing is cut until you say yes.
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3
We build it at the bench
Barrels wrapped in double-sided satin ribbon. Goose feathers trimmed and set by hand. Roses, pearls and bows attached one at a time.
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4
It is boxed and sent
Packed in a box that protects the feathers and flowers, so it arrives the shape it left in.
04 — Materials
What we use, plainly
It is easy to call everything premium. These are the actual materials.
- Real goose feathers on the handmade pens, cleaned and trimmed by hand. One design uses a peacock feather.
- Real dried baby's breath on several metal pens, preserved so it will not wilt or fade.
- Fabric roses and foliage on the jute pens, which hold up better against the texture of the twine than real flowers would.
- Metal pen bodies bought in and decorated here. The imported touchscreen pen is the one item we sell ready-made.
- Gold or silver lettering on tags, up to 20 characters, or laser engraving on metal and dip pens.
- No ink with dip pens. Any regular ink works, and we would rather say so than let you find out on your wedding day.
05 — How we work
Four things we hold to
You approve it first
No personalised pen is made until you have seen a preview and checked the spelling yourself.
We answer on WhatsApp
Most questions reach us there, and that is where we are quickest. Ask before you order, not after.
We tell you if we cannot
If your date is too close for us to deliver in time, we will say so rather than take the order and hope.
Made here, not imported
Everything except the touchscreen pen is finished at our own bench in Lahore, by people we work with daily.
06 — Find us
Come and see them
Our workshop is at Naya Pull, Canal Road, Ghazi Pul, Muslimabad Tajpura, Lahore. If you are in the city, you are welcome to collect your pen instead of waiting for the courier, or to come and look at the designs in person before deciding. Message us on WhatsApp first so we know when to expect you.
Outside Lahore, Leopard Courier takes 2 to 4 working days to major cities and 3 to 5 to smaller towns. We also ship abroad on request.