April is National Letter Writing Month

April is National Letter Writing Month. How are you honoring this tradition? My guess is that for those who write letters, it won't matter what month it is (although it's always nice to having something you enjoy be honored or nationally recognized). And for those who don't write letters, it also doesn't matter what month it is - letter writing month or not.

I think the recognition of the Letter Writing Month does a few things. It helps us become more aware of our hobby as a national pastime. And, like many pastimes and hobbies, it's not for everyone. But the ones who identify strongly as letter writers, it helps us feel a connection with others who also classify themselves among this group.

Like any hobby enthusiast, there is also a group of fans who don't actually write letters (for whatever reason) but love the concept of writing letters and want to identify themselves as belonging to the group. Maybe they can be called Latent Letter Writers. I think the same thing exists for all hobbies and passions (tea drinkers, knitters, golfers, calligraphers, people who journal or use day planner. You get the idea).

In addition to appreciating letter writing as a national hobby, Letter Writing Month also promotes the stationery stores and product lines related to the industry by helping them connect letter writing enthusiasts to their product or service. For many of us finding the perfect pen, ink and writing paper is a ritual and highly valued as part of our craft. For others, selecting any pen or pencil, some plain paper and commence writing with no thought or concern for their tools,only the end result of creating a missive to send. Along the entirety of this spectrum is everything else in between the extremes. Where do you fit in?

Finally, I think the Letter Writing Month allows letter writers a way to connect with other self-identified letter writers. Blog posts like this, discussion venues in all types of social media, articles in the mass media all create an opening to allow others to see or join, admire or dismiss this soul-enriching pastime.

Enough blogging. Time to go write a letter. You know- in honor of National Letter Writing Month.

Roatan Post Office

In February of this year we went to Roatan, Honduras for a winter getaway. I had never heard of the island of Roatan before discussing this vacation with our friends.

"Who goes to the Honduras for vacation?" I recall asking. They explained that Roatan is an island off the coast of Honduras that is renowned for its snorkeling and scuba diving. You get a general idea of its location in the map below.

Roatan is in the Caribbean and is placed along the world's second largest coral reef, Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. Here's a view from our beach on West Bay, where we could walk out or swim to the coral reef and enjoy the views of ocean life.

What's a visit to a new place without sending some postcards? The message boards all warned that it most likely wasn't worth the effort as mail (especially postcards) rarely reached their destination out of Roatan. They also warned that it was impossible to buy stamps anywhere except the post office, which was a 30-minute, one way, taxi ride to Coxen Hole from our resort at Infinity Bay.

Here is a photo of the Post Office in Coxen Hole.

 

I did ask at the hotel gift shop as well as a few other local tourist shops near our hotel about purchasing stamps. One woman who owned a t-shirt shop explained that the hotels and shops like hers had to stop selling stamps because it was discovered that employees were stealing stamps and not mailing letters. This is a very poor island and is hardly recognized or supported by the mainland (according to locals) so they rely on tourists for their livelihood.

In hindsight I should have taken a photograph of the sheet of stamps I purchased. I bought 10 postcard stamps and five letter stamps. I did take a picture of two letters I was going to mail from Roatan, but in the end I decided to wait and mail them when I returned home.

I left the Honduran stamp on the envelope, but added a US stamp.

I also mailed a postcard to myself as I always do when we travel so that I can add it to my travel scrapbook. It has been 6 weeks and I haven't seen it yet. Possibly, I never will. But I won't give up hope.

My friend went to Cuba last 4th of July and it took until Thanksgiving for me to receive the postcard she sent.

Ideas for InCoWriMo this February

Are you making plans to participate in this year's International Correspondence Writing Month, more commonly known as InCoWriMo? If you visit the official website, you'll find a list of hundreds of names and addresses from all over the world, as well as ideas on how to make the most of InCoWriMo.

If you're on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, you can search for #InCoWriMo and see who is talking about what they'll be doing for this annual, month-long, self-designed adventure. It's great to get some new ideas and find others just as interested as you in sending and receiving mail.

I came up with a list of 28 ideas of possible recipients for the writing challenge. Of course, the easiest way would be to pick a different name from the address book on the InCoWriMo website. You can state in your card, letter, postcard if you're looking for long-term correspondence, or just a one-time "How do you do".

1.  Movie Star
2. Sport Figure
3. Newscaster
4. Television star
5. Author
6. Politician (local or national)
7. Penpal (current or previous)
8. Someone from incowrimo
9. Someone from sendsomething,net
10. Valentine to someone
11. Someone you admire
12. Family member
13. Old friend or co-worker
14. Musician/band
15. Someone from armed services
16. Someone who lost a spouse/child
17. Someone you've never met
18. Nursing home resident
19. Stationery enthusiast
20. Public figure you admire
21. TV show writer or producer
22. Favorite product/company
23. Local animal shelter or cause
24. Letter to south pole
25. Someone in another country
26. Sympathy card
27. New homeowner
28. Someone pursuing a dream

Of course, you can always write to Yours Truly! I'll be glad to write back.

What are your plans for InCoWriMo? In my next blog post, I'll show how I've begun my special preparations so that I'm ready to roll on February 1.

Letters & Journals Magazine Update

I didn't want you to think that I have forgotten the vision and plans for Letters & Journals! It has been a long road, but I haven't given up. Even though my current job keeps me working more hours than my previous job, it only means I can't blog as much as before, not that the dream has died.

I'm continually on the look out for potential articles, advertisers, features, images, web design, contests, etc. You would not believe the file I have! Not to mention the mailing list of almost 5,000 names. I am starting to research the possibility of running Kickstarter campaign to fund the initial launch. Oh, the possibilities!

It lights up my heart to see ads like these promoting the products and services that we are endeared to- don't you think? What are some advertisements that you think should be in Letters & Journals?

Thank you for your patience, support and helping to keep the dream alive!

Lovely Mail to Brighten My Day

I have been fortunate to receive some unique and unexpected mail in the last few weeks. Back in December I received this lovely piece of mail from Pamela at Cappuccino & Art Journal. Pamela is such a talented and dedicated mail artist and I just love looking at her blog and seeing all of the mail eye candy that she posts. I will save for another post just what was in this artfully created envelope.

This unique Christmas card came in an envelope made of vellum. I received this in early December and plan to reuse the front of the holiday card next year as a holiday postcard.

Last, but not least, the most unique mail item of all. This letter has a unique postmark from St. George's School and was sent by Ilona, aka, the Missive Maven. Ilona explained that the school had one day to use this commemorative postmark which was created in honor of the school's 100 anniversary.

And there you have it. Some recent highlights of my mail box. Naturally each of these senders should be on the look out for something in return.

Letter Links Nov 25

For those of you enjoying a lazy day after Thanksgiving- sitting at your computer- might I suggest the following links?

Hosting Your Own Letter Writing Social by Letter Writer's Alliance
Writing Letters...it's not just fun...it's good for you by 365 Letters
12 Days of Letter Writing by The World Needs More Love Letters
Need a Gift Idea for the Holidays? by Julie at Whatever

Letter Links Oct. 9

You know how I love to share fun and relevant links on writing, letter writing and whatnot. Enjoy!

365 Things To Write About Giveaway from Julie at Whatever
Two Calls for Entries - Fun in the Mail by Cappuccino and Art Journal
Stationery in the Bookstores by Strikethru
Save the Postal Service Postcard by Missive Maven
You Never Write Anymore by Wall Street Journal

Letter Links for Oct 1

Finding joy by surfing the internet and encountering interesting blog posts on endearing subjects.

Handwritten Letters are Nostalgic Yet Rare by Amy Abbot at Courier Press
Snail Mail Social by Annie at Curbside Treasure
Stacks by Cappucino and Art Journal
What Five Living People Should be on the New Postage Stamps by the New York Times
Send the Love: Show Support for Postal Workers by Missive Maven

Letter Links

Since there was such a positive response to the first blog with Letter Links, I've decided to do this regularly. It keeps me on my toes looking for links to share. Enjoy!

 Paper Party in Lincoln, NE at Porridge Papers
Futurebird's Notebook Collection
CappuccinoandArt Journal You Want Mail?
Julie at Whatever reviews her blank book from Book Journals
Lost Art of Postcard Writing by the Benevolent Postcard Society
Journal Addict's Journaling Challenge: A Week in Your Life (starts 8/22)
Missive Maven tells us about the Stamp a Day Program which highlights the 2012 stamps

I call this Letter Links even though they are not all about letters. Seems to have a nice ring to it. Maybe I will think of something better later. Or you will.

Letter Writing Super Hero

Letters are powerful things.  Possibly this is because we don’t hold high expectations for them and so anything they offer is pure bonus.  When you find a handwritten letter in your mailbox, you don’t care about spelling or punctuation or the type of pen or paper used. You are just glad to hold it in your hand, to examine it and know it came directly from the person you care about. What a grand gesture, a noble task, a simple thing to make one's heart go pitter-patter.

Katy, the Non-Consumer Advocate has offered a challenge to any who are willing to send a letter a week in her 52 Weeks, 52 Letters Challenge. I heard about Katy's challenge through the aptly named 'My Stationery Addiction Now Has a Support Group'. So I'm signing up and doing my part to promote letter writing wherever I go. I'm like a letter writing Super Hero, at least in my own mind. Won't you be a Super Hero too? Even if you don't take Katy's challenge, you can still write a letter. Whose heart will you make go pitter-patter?

Letters & Journals Magazine Update

The launch of the print version of Letters & Journals is scheduled for 2011. It's been a long time in research and planning and the challenge in 2010 has been to build a following of potential subscribers.

To date we have a list of 2,300 names of possible subscribers/buyers. Our goal is to get 5,000 names. Once we have a list of 5,000 names then we will begin approaching advertisers and following up with the ones who have already expressed interest (thank you!).

If you know some people or groups who would be interested, please encourage them to sign up for the website, the e-newsletter or just let me know to add them to my Magazine Updates Only list. None of the lists are being sold or shared and there is no obligation.

Thanks to the many loyal followers who offer their encouragement and share in the excitement of all the things that Letters & Journals represents; pens, paper, ink, pencils, notebooks, diaries, journals, note cards, stationery, mail art, pen pals, postcards, mail, stamps, letters, ephemera, etc.

My New Writing Desk

In my garage sale and flea market travels, I sometimes come across an item that fits just right in my stationery filled world. Such a one is this writing desk that I bought for $15. I wasted no time filling those cubbyholes with recently received letters, set out my ink bottles and a glass pen I had been experimenting with (not successfully).

The drawers I filled with stationery, stamps and other ephemera. Oh the joy of it all! I experimented with adding some blank books and journals in the corner as you can see below. I liked how they looked and decided to keep them there.

The unfortunate part is that I have no room in my office, so the new desk sits in the living room. That will work for now. Maybe at some point I will make changes to my office/craft room and incorporate the writing desk at the expense of something else. And, of course, it will need a special chair. Maybe on my next outing.

Urgent 2nd Class

I'm in a mail art kind of mood these days after being inspired by all of the comments on the post over at Good Mail Day. I wrote one article after receiving my first piece of mail and now I have received four more original and very cool pieces of mail art (photos to come in my next blog).

Looking for ideas and inspiration, I turned to Nick Bantock's book, Urgent 2nd Class. The book is about 'creating curious collage, dubious documents and other art form ephemera.' Some of you may be familiar with Bantock through his Griffin and Sabine stories, which were also about mystery and romance of the epistolary form.

As much as I love mail art and the romance of mail art, I am not very talented, but spending time this weekend on it, I found that I wasn't as hopeless as previously thought. I used a combination of newspaper images, old letters/postcards, calendar pages, used stamps, advertisements and favorite quotes. Now I have four postcards ready to send to those generous souls who sent to me, plus I plan to make some more (now that I'm on a roll) and send some to others.

Stormy Letters

Earlier this week we had an eerily lit yellow sky that turned pink and then black. No rain came but there was a lot of humidity and also tornado touchdowns in northern Minnesota. What better way to spend the night than catching up on personal letters? Exactly!

Besides writing letters I also found some new websites that discuss letter writing, pen pals and mail art. Check these out if you're so inclined. You don't have to wait for a stormy night when you're tucked safely inside, but you could!

Vieux Fleur
Prone to Wander
Mommy Coddle
I Love Letters
All This is Mine
All Five Horizons
Good Mail Day

It's in the Mail

Part of the charm of letters, postcards and packages is the surprise that is waiting for you in your mailbox. What will come today? Maybe nothing comes for weeks, but then, one day, you find a hand addressed envelope with a Mickey Mouse stamp. That is a good mail day.

A lot of of you follow some mail blogs such as Missive Maven, 365 Letters, Letters, She Wrote, Postmuse, Everyday Correspondence and what's great about each of these is all of the photos they post of all the mail they receive and send.

Other mail stories I have recently found in my internet wanderings:
Top 10 Reasons to Use Snail Mail

Pens & the Post: Collect, Correspond, Celebrate! 
Social Letter Writing Revived

Letter writing and mail may not be the same as it was 10, 50, 100 years ago, but it is certainly not dead. It just continues to evolve as does life.

The Power of a Letter

I enjoy writing letters. It's my favorite way to communicate. One thing I've made a special effort to do with letters is send support to someone I hear or read about to whom I want to send thanks or offer support.

In early May I read a Time magazine article about Ron Rubin, CEO of the Republic of Tea, who made it his mission to improve the benefits and working atmosphere at his company in spite of a downward spiraling economy.

I sent a letter to Mr. Rubin thanking him for taking the initiative to be caring and proactive regarding his employees' well- being. In my brief note, I explained that he is inspiring as a leader and is also, hopefully, setting standards for other CEOs to follow suit.

To my delight and surprise I received a package from Republic of Tea with the 3 canisters of tea (pictured in this post) as well as a thank you note written by Mr. Rubin. How nice is that? While a response is not expected, it is always welcomed. In addition to the recognition of receipt of my letter, his response also inspires me to send more goodwill.

This is the sixth letter I've sent this year, and the first to which I received a response. I recently started to keep a folder with a note on who/why/what/when.  This helps me recall who I actually sent a letter to rather than who I thought I sent a letter to.

I'd like to hear who you have sent a letter/note/card to and any response you received.

Preparing for the National Stationery Show

The National Stationery Show (NSS) starts this Sunday! I'm so excited to be going again this year. My main objectives are to find story ideas and new products to share, find potential advertisers as well as stationery stores who would like to carry the magazine, and meet others in the industry and share their enthusiasm for our collective passion- pen, ink, paper, cards, mail, notebooks, journals and more. I have a checklist of items that I am bringing which includes:

• Business Cards
• Magazine Prototype
• Postcards featuring the prototype cover
• Stamps for mailing postcards
• Extra suitcase for all of the goodies (information packets, samples, catalogs)
• Camera
• Good walking shoes
• List of fun tourist things to do
• Notebook for ideas and business cards 
• Appointment calendar to make sure I keep the appointments I have set up

Wish me luck! Hopefully, I will see some of you there!
(Photo: Paper Patisserie in St. Paul, MN)

National Card and Letter Writing Month (April)

April is National Card and Letter Writing Month! Let the fun begin! Well, actually, I've already begun when I picked up this new stationery last Saturday at a local stationery store called Paper Patisserie. The store is located in a lovely St. Paul neighborhood that also houses Garrison Keillor's Common Good Books and Nina's Coffee Cafe.

April is the perfect time to recognize this time honored tradition because sending a card or letter is like planting a seed - sending forth something in the world from your hands to the hands and heart of another. I'm not sure if anyone who doesn't normally write letters gets inspired by hearing about National Card and Letter Writing Month. Possibly some do.

I also recently got these colorful note cards with matching envelopes from Levenger. Aren't they lovely? Their colors are vibrant definitely spring-like.

 Here are some blogs I've visited that tell what they're doing this month in honor of NCALWM:
Missive Maven
Red Letter Day Zine
Letter Lover
Apron Thrift Girl
Naked Thanks
LLH Designs

How about you? What are you doing?

"As Time Goes By"

I have recently begun watching this British sitcom starring Judi Dench and Geoffrey Palmer. As Time Goes By is about these two characters who met and fell in love in the 1950s. They're separated after he is sent to fight in Korea and the letter he wrote to her never arrived. They meet again 38 years later, she is a widow and he is divorced.

So the plot of the sitcom, which ran from 1992 to 2005, is based on the letter that never arrived and the lives that were potentially changed because of it.

I was introduced to this series by pen pal, Christi, who mentioned it in one of her letters. Finding a new television series is always fun, but finding one that was on the air for 13 years is like hitting the jackpot! I go online and order the seasons as they are available at my local library. I've also recently discovered Monk, so between these two shows, I should be good to go for awhile.

The Love Letter Squad

I found the Love Letter Squad while searching twitter to find any recent tweets on #letter and came across this fantastic site. These two ladies in San Francisco have a weekly radio show where listeners can call in and get help writing a love letter. As they explain on their website, the love letters can be to anyone- parent, sibling, spouse, friend, etc.

Janet Gallin and Tresa Eyres reach out by offering workshops, a blog and contact through their website in addition to their weekly radio show which you can listen to by visiting their website. I also watched a five minute television appearance they recently had for Valentine's Day on a local news channel which was linked from their website. They gave some great advice and it made me want to learn more about them and hear more of their listener's stories.

These two ladies met in 2005 and started their radio show in 2006. I will definitely be visiting their website and blog to keep up with these interesting ladies and how they are improving the world one love letter at a time.