Once again, I bring you news from the world of mail!
You may have known (or perhaps you didn’t) that April is National Letterwriting Month — time to break out the special stationery, peculiar perforations, and unusual envelopes. Of course, I shouldn’t really have to provide a reason (excuse?) for you to assemble the tools of happiness in one place, but I understand: once in awhile, it helps to have a little -ahem- validation, a bit of the “no really, I think it’s quite alright that you have A4 envelopes in every size/paper weight/color known to man” .
So I’m here to be your cheerleader.
Explains the USPS: “To mark this special time of creative correspondence and the friendly exchange of passionate, poignant prose, the Postal Service is extending this popular campaign by carrying it over into May, culminating with the writing and sending of cards and letters for Mother’s Day, May 11.” Says Postmaster General John E. Potter: “National Card and Letter Writing Month is an opportunity for all Americans to rediscover the timeless and very personal art of letter writing; since the beginning of recorded history, famous people, from Moses to Martin Luther King Jr., have written letters that helped shape the destinies of entire nations.”
Three cheers for that! Missive makers and mail artists, gather your tools of choice!
How will you celebrate? Who will you send mail to? Perhaps you establish a specific goal for yourself (“I’ll write a postcard a day!”) or get in touch with someone you’ve fallen out of contact with (college roommate/best friend from high school/treasured auntie)? If you’re a regular reader of this blog, then I’ll assume we share some common traits: you love sending things through the mail, as well as receiving them. It’s that notion of “give/receive” that is crucial to mail art and writing letters, the sentiment that one can build a feeling of community via the mailbox.
Often, when mailing something away to someone, I spend just as much time considering their reaction. Perhaps my letter will somehow make a bad day better. A silly joke or gag written on the front of a postcard might invoke a fit of giggles; perhaps a zany, “object de mail art” inspires a conversation around the work water-cooler. That’s the truly amazing thing about mail: people respond to it, in one way or another. When you send something to somebody, it lets them know you were thinking of them. Often, we can write things on the back of a postcard that we would have a hard time telling another person out loud.
Funny, right?
Here then, are a few tidbits to get you jump-started, to start April off with a –bang!–. Whether you’re interested in getting a new pen-pal (and who isn’t, really?) or looking for a bit of inspiration (from Crane’s, of course!), I have hand-picked a few of my favorites, and share them with you.
— Crane’s “Letters You Keep” contest from 2008; an amazing look at the letters people cherish and save, through thick and thin…
— purveyors of postal delights: the Letter Writers Alliance. Need I say more?
— Becky and Chris of “Going Postal” will be more than happy to help you find a pen-pal…
— my friends Ward and Linnea over at Atelier Gargoyle provided the incredible sealing wax you see in the photos above. It has a bit of rubber in it, so that it won’t crumble or break going thru the mails! (PS: they’ll custom-design a wax seal for you…don’t say I didn’t warn you!)
— last but not least: the “Unwritten Letters” project; don’t let this happen to you!
In all things postal,
I remain —
–JH
Ack, “sealing wax”; this letter writing love is quickly becoming an addiction of all things associated. Right now I’m longing for a tiny desk letter holder for outgoing mail, I’ve still not received a letter opener from my very busy husband, and now wax. I will restrain myself, I will, I will!
Hmm…you know, I keep running across letter holders at estate sales and such — should I keep my eye out for you? Usually, the ones I run across are from the fifties or sixties, say something like “letters” in italic script across the face of the box/cubby, and are in colors such as brown/beige/blue with gold writing.
Let me know — I love to have something to look for! 🙂
–JH
Miss Jennie!
I have a little something special for you, for those hand-written letters. Must package it up and mail off to you in time for the WHOLE month of April!
See you in the mail!
Carroll
Miss Carroll —
Boy howdy, have I been thinking of you lately! Your wonderful deep sea fish postcard adorns my front door — a welcome sight to see upon my arrival home. Have you been in the City lately? Any plans to come up? If the answer is in the affirmative, you absolutely must send me an email, so that we can have coffee at the very least…
–JH
Great blog post! I loved your sealing wax photo. Tools of happiness indeed. Keep spreading the joy of letters and correspondence!
Thank you!
Jackie
http://www.lettersandjournals.blogspot.com
[…] If you are cardmaker like I am, it’s a good time to send them out to friends and family. RedLetterDayZine has a great post all about this April month of National Letterwriting. There are great links for more information at […]
[…] stationery set and it’s also part of my attempts this month to write more by hand. It’s National Letter Writing month after […]
Great site
[…] If you are cardmaker like I am, it’s a good time to send them out to friends and family. RedLetterDayZine has a great post all about this April month of National Letterwriting. There are great links for more information at […]