A Letter Writing Kit, 3 Ways

We all have our own letter writing habits and styles, but one thing we've learned is that having the right tools you want when you want them is KEY to creating a lasting letter writing habit. The Write_On Team is excited to share a few of our own with you today. What's in your own letter writing kit? 

LALENA’s kit:

“I love traveling light. My lean kit contains just enough tools to inspire engagement with the places I find myself traveling through. I can clip a roadside wildflower, draw it, and express a simple sentiment of love in a card to a friend. Found and vintage tools are prominent in my kit — just imagine all the letters written and illustrations sketched by a smooth handled pencil, or all the words wiped away by a worn down eraser. Their stories live on and evolve through continued use.”

• Vintage Zion National Park Pencil case with built-in eraser pouch

• Found Astoria High School Girl’s League pencils

• Social Preparedness Kit  Dream Day Notepad for making a list of who to write and why

• Milan triangular eraser

• Brass pencil sharpener

• Plants (dried flowers, whole plant, plant parts)

• Canvas paint-splotched pouch from Hello! Good Morning! in Portland, Oregon

• Red bonsai scissors for clipping plants for inspiration on the go

• Beautiful stamps

• Assorted Egg Press Cards including traditional Japanese Katazome stencil motifs from a recent collaboration with Kiriko in Portland, Oregon

• Water color pencils and brush

• Tea bags, because you can usually get a hold of hot water while traveling, but that’s not always the case for good tea

Emily’s kit:

“I am the opposite of Lalena on this one - I cannot travel light to save my life! I am usually carrying around a huge tote bag filled with every possible activity that I might possibly want to do. My letter-writing kit is one of them! Some things in my kit are part of a larger collection. For example, I have a huge envelope of Japanese stationery that I’ve been hoarding since high school, and a much larger collection of unused vintage postage. I love decorating the envelope of a letter, so a lot of my supplies are geared towards that - fancy pens, little stickers, and beautiful stamps. ”

• SPK Staples document pouch - big enough for everything!

• SPK Dot Triangle pencil pouch - my fave! (I also use one to store knitting needles.)

• Assorted cards and postcards - Hello!Lucky, Egg Press for LOFT, new Egg Press valentines. Working at Egg Press means I always have a great stash of new ones.

• Japanese stationery, with lots of colored envelopes

• Petit Deco stickers from Mochithings

• Write-On-Velopes for longer letters

• Unused vintage stamps - they just need to add up to the current postage rate to be used!

• Pens! My favorites are my white Gellyroll (My fave for addressing colored envelopes), Sakura Souffle pens, Pentel sign pens, Le Pen in every bright color, and Itoya double tipped calligraphy pens. Not pictured is my Hi-Tec-C pen, which is my favorite for writing.

Bria’s Kit:

“I have a letter writing station that has a permanent spot on my table at home but this is my pared-down on-the-go kit. My fantasy life involves painting plein air watercolor postcards when I find myself on a picnic or writing long letters from cafes. So far though, most of my on-the-go letter writing scenarios involve finding myself without a card for the bottle of wine I just grabbed on my way to dinner at a friend’s. This kit has me prepared for anything and everything. Having participated in Write_On for three years now, I’ve learned that creating the letter-writing habit I want to have is a process, and the best way to stay on track is to have the tools I need on-hand at all times. ”

• This year I treated myself big time to a letterpress personal stationery suite from Egg Press. I LOVE it so much and it inspires me to send more letters. I have postcards for penning quick notes, thank yous, or invites. Personal stationery because I really love to write long letters. Personalized seed packets because I’m a gardening enthusiast and it’s fun to share seeds from my garden with friends and family--they always have a story to tell in themselves.

• I use the Social Preparedness Kit pencil pouches to hold my favorite pens and paintbrushes. They are just so handy. The card pouch is small enough to fit everything I need and still be able to fit in my purse or car glove box.

• I think I’m becoming a stamp-collecting nerd! I recently attended our country’s largest stamp show and really caught the bug and began adding a few things to my personal stash. Not only can you create a pleasing-looking envelope with stamps but it’s also a way to customize your message to the recipient. I have inside joke stamps, botanical stamps that appeal to my fellow plant lovers, and stamps that my design wonk friends will appreciate. Plus, I use a lot of the current Janis Joplin stamps because that’s my mother’s maiden name so anyone in my Joplin clan gets that stamp.

• Of course I had to get some new pens to coordinate with my new personal stationery. I think I ordered every single orange, navy, and mint colored pen that Jet Pens sells to try them all out. They have the biggest assortment of Japanese pens online.

• I’ve been having fun with watercolor lately. I’m really lousy at it but the colors make me so happy so I can’t resist. I bought some fun sets at Hello! Good Morning! in Portland, as well as my favorite Japanese brush. I saw some incredible watercolor envelopes in the #write_on feed on Instagram and it’s got me inspired to give that a try.