All the Love

Valentine's Day is bigger than a box of chocolates and a dozen roses. And while we value romantic love — yes, our hearts swell at the thought of a chubby cupid running amok with an arrow aimed at a chosen few — we believe that everyone deserves to be celebrated on Valentine's Day. This year, we challenge you to put aside historical origins and preconceived notions about this holiday, and view it as an opportunity to reach out to friends, unlikely suspects, and anyone who has made a difference in your life, and let them know how much they matter to you.

Handcrafted Valentine Potato Print

Family: If you've got the time and the interest, engage youngsters by crafting cards together and sending mail infused with affection to one another. Set up an inter-family mailbox in your home where cards can be placed and distributed to fellow family members. 

Let's Have Coffee Valentine (Featuring "i'm hooked on you card" from Egg Press)

Friends: In addition to current friends, reach out to someone from your childhood with whom you've lost touch, or send a quick note to a new acquaintance whom you hope to know better. Thank friends for the time they devote to your friendship. Invite a future friend for a coffee date. 

Co-Worker Valentine

Work: It's very possible that you spend more time with them than with your family: CO-WORKERS! Celebrate the unsung heroes of your everyday: current co-workers, former co-workers, people who work in the same building as you. Let them know that you appreciate their contributions to your day-to-day.

Classroom Mini Valentines

School: Whether in grad school, preschool, or anywhere in-between, students surely benefit from words of encouragement, and the support lent by a simple expression of adoration. Many of us here at Write_On have a soft spot for Classroom Valentines, which have a knack for keeping it light, fun and pun-filled!

Silly Valentine

Funny Lover's Valentine

Lover: Don't let a fear of blushing deter you! Honor the love of your life with a silly sentiment if the thought of poems and serious declarations of adoration are too intimidating. Let the puns and inside jokes run wild!

 

Resolving to Write!

The Write_On team isn’t waiting for April to roll around to lean into letter-writing. We’re resolving today to write more letters than ever in 2017. Curious how we’ll tackle the challenge in an increasingly digital, fast paced world? We interviewed a few of Write_On’s key players to uncover the secrets to a life-long practice of meaningful communication via the written word.

SABRINA MOYLE | HELLO!LUCKY

resolution: use letter-writing to express my commitment to being an engaged citizen

Last year, the best letters I wrote expressed love and gratitude to people from all areas of my life, from the crossing guard at my kids’ school to my college adviser.  It felt great to say “thank you” and in some cases it was the beginning of a conversation that continues to this day!This year, I want to continue that effort.  I’m going to use interview questions offered by Story Corps to get inspired about who to write to, and what to say.  For example:

* Who has been the most important person in your life? Can you tell me about him or her?
* Who has been the biggest influence in your life?
* What lessons did that person teach you? Who has been the kindest to you in your life?

I also want to become a more informed and engaged citizen through Write_On this year.  I’m pledging to write thank you notes to non-profit organizations -- for example, groups that are promoting civil discourse such as Bring it to the Table and The Village Square -- encouraging them to keep up the good work.  And, I want to keep an eye on Congress and write letters to my representative to thank them for doing good work, or to let them know about an issue I care about, using this article in The Art of Manliness as my guide!

 

KARA YANAGAWA | EGG PRESS 

resolution: use letter-writing to rekindle connections with my relatives

I’m a letter writer, and love sending notes throughout the year. I drop a line when I see something that reminds me of a friend, and I try to be on top of birthdays, anniversaries and of course, thank yous. One of the things I most appreciate about the Write_On Challenge is its potency: an entire month dedicated to spreading the love, via letters.

This year, in addition to sending general well-wishes to friends and those close to me, I pledge to focus my practice on writing to my more distant relatives on the regular. It may be lofty, but my aim will be to mail a letter a week to someone in my family who doesn’t hear from me much. My list will include cousins, aunts and uncles, as well as the “Aunties and Uncles” in my life; the friends of the family who have provided mentorship and inspiration to me over the years.  

Beyond reconnecting, my goal comes with another reward - the many surprises that come with the Write_On Challenge – the inevitable boomerang effect - the things that come back. I wonder: Who will write back? Who might I touch? And what might I learn? And all because I engaged in the simple but powerful act of writing letters.

 

MICHAELA YEE | SAKURA OF AMERICA

resolution: use letter-writing to creatively express my appreciation of others' time

Now that Christmas is over you’re probably thinking about thank you notes you need to write for all the gifts you received. But what about saying thank you for someone’s time, energy or kindness? I’m super lucky to have so many wonderful people in my life that enjoy spending time with my son, take time to drop by and visit or just let us know when they are thinking of us. To kick start my letting writing habit for 2017 I’m going to let them know how appreciative I am for those experiences, which happen quite frequently and for which I feel very lucky!

Who says all the color must be on the front of the card? I love making my writing colorful and fun! Working for Sakura sure has its perks – I’m able to combine and coordinate color and special effects across different products to create truly personalized notes and even match my note to the artwork on the front of the cards.

 

My favorite thing to do is make key words pop off the page in either a more vibrant color or a glittering ink. I started lettering the names in Koi Coloring Brush Pen (seen here in Blue Green Light and Viridian), then wrote the note in Gelly Roll Moonlight in Green and went back over the words I wanted to emphasize with Gelly Roll Stardust in Lime Star. Tip: Choosing like colors from different Gelly Roll lines (all purples for example) makes it easy to use complimentary coordinating colors but with different effects.   

There are so many endless Sakura color combinations, nib widths and textures you can create, it makes note writing a very fun time for you and will make your note recipient feel super special too!

 

 

 

 ARIeL SMULLEN | MOHAWK PAPER

resolution: use letter-writing to rekindle a beloved habit with an old friend

My pledge is to write more letters to my friend Megan who moved to Barcelona this past year. We’ve been friends since childhood and used to write notes to one another as we were growing up. I’ve tucked them all away in a binder that I titled “The ‘Note’ Book,” and it’s a joy to stumble upon it every now and then. We haven’t written a letter to one another since our high school years, though I wish we had, because now there’s a chunk of our young adult life that we can’t fully reflect on since there’s nothing to look back on. My pledge is to write Megan one to two times a month this year. My pledge is my first letter:

Dear Megan, Remember this?

It’s the infamous 3” 3-ring binder that I titled ‘The “Note” Book’ with a metallic gel pen that contains all of the notes we’ve exchanged throughout Middle School and High School. I stopped by my parents and found it tucked away in my old bedroom along with other items that reminded me of my childhood (a corsage from semi-formal, neon orange recorder from elementary school, and my CD collection containing early 2000 classics including 3LW).

 

Earlier this year, you moved to Barcelona and it’s safe to say I may only see you three times a year. I haven’t thought about writing a letter to you in a while with today’s way of reaching out via social media, texting and video calling. But as I look at this binder and laugh about the truly random things we used to exchange (like the drawings of monkeys performing – odd things you would give me just because you knew I loved that animal), I couldn’t help but question why we stopped exchanging letters.

We’ve had plenty of conversations in our young adult years that we’re not able to look back on because we either texted them to one another or talked over Skype about it. So with that, I’m taking the Write_On Challenge! More info here if you want to join: writeoncampaign.com.

Expect a letter from me once or twice a month. The content? Who knows. The length? Who knows. Just know that I miss you and want to look back on our young adult life 20 years from now the same way I’m looking back at our childhood life now.

Write soon!

Ariel

Season's Greetings!

We believe in the power of this season to bring people together.  When limits imposed by physical distance - or simply shyness - prevent us from expressing ourselves in person, the holiday card swoops in; a magical vehicle for seasonal well-wishes and love. To ensure your efforts are well received, we invite you to consider heeding some of our etiquette tips, including a photo with your card,  and diving headfirst into envelope decorating this year. Read on for tips and inspiration!

HOLIDAY CARD ETIQUETTE TIPS

  • Add a personal touch  Don't skimp this time of year or recipients might think you're sending simply out of obligation. At the very least, include a short sentence addressed specifically to the recipient letting them know you're thinking of them. If, for whatever reason, you need assistance with the actual penning of the card, call on a friend to help you write while you dictate. 
  • Send early Maybe you've noticed, holiday cards are key players in seasonal decor. Be sure yours arrives in time to stand tall alongside pillar candles and cedar bows on mantel displays, hold its own among mistletoe in doorway swags, and hobnob with shiny orbs on the Noble fir. The sooner you send, the longer your card can be appreciated!
  • When in doubt  Be thoughtful and courteous with your greeting. "Happy Holidays" or "Season's Greetings" are safe bets when you're unsure what holiday your recipient observes.
  • If you are too late  New Years! What a great holiday for reflection on what has been, and anticipation for what will be! Sending New Years cards is a fun tradition, and the cards are appropriate for anyone. What's more, cards can be sent later in the month, a bonus for those of us waylaid by December holidays...and spiked Eggnog.

INCLUDING PHOTOS

It's too easy to order photos these days NOT to include them in your holiday cards. Fun and stylish options abound. Here are a few of our favorites:

Social Print Studio
Mini square photos! Photobooth style photostrips! Mobile or desktop options.

Artifact Uprising
Imagine if Kinfolk had a photo printing company. So tasteful.

Walgreens
Same-day printing! What's more, they offer square prints and the ability to print from Instagram.

DECORATING ENVELOPES
Tips from Emily Baier, resident envelope beautifier.

  • Leave room for the stamp! 
  • If you want to try a new technique or drawing, do it on a separate piece of paper and glue it on afterwards.
  • If you accidentally address your envelope off-center, balance it out with a drawing or sticker to make it look purposeful.
  • If the recipient has a long name, but a short address, spell out everything in the address (street instead of st., boulevard instead of blvd.)
  • Write your return address on the back of the envelope - it frees up room on the front to get decorative!
  • Play with spacing, caps, cursive, and different lettering styles.
  • Brighten up dark colored envelopes with a white Sakura of America Gelly Roll pen - a personal favorite!
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Shop new Hello!Lucky and Egg Press holiday cards!

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:

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“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.”
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  • 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:

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“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. ”
EmilyGrid.jpg

 

 

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.

Halloween Printable

In the spirit of Halloween, let’s warm up our letter-writing practice — we dare you to! Hello!Lucky has created a free printable PDF for Write_On. All you have to do is print, cut, and customize with your own personal message. Directions and printable PDF below.

Supplies:

  • exacto knife or scissors
  • cutting mat
  • cardstock or printer paper
  • printer
  • A2 envelope if sending

Directions:

  • Download our free Halloween Printable here.
  • Cut out along trim marks (2 per page)
  • Add your own personal message using the Halloween writing prompts below!

Writing Prompts:

  • Write a confidant to share a deep-seated fear you have, whether you think it is founded or not.
  • Write to a youngster to let them know what your all-time favorite Halloween costume was.
  • Write to someone who loves sweets and share your favorite seasonal treat recipe with them.

A visit to the biggest stamp show in the country!

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Thanks to Write_On I've discovered some beautifully curated stamp shops like Send More Mail so when I heard about The American Philatelic Society Stamp Show happening at the Portland Convention Center this month, I was excited to check it out. It wasn't until I arrived, feeling like a deer caught in the headlights, that I realized that this was a BIG deal. It's the biggest show in the country and people had traveled from all over the world to attend.

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I received a very friendly greeting at the info table and the seasoned vets weren't at all put off by my green questions. It's true there weren't a lot of young faces around, but they're working hard to change that and even had a whole section set up to attract a new generation of kids to the hobby.
 

I learned that stamp selling and buying is big business. The Harmer-Schau auction house was on hand with rows and rows of cardboard file boxes containing highly coveted stamps and letters. The mood was hushed and serious, which seemed appropriate once I learned that the auction the opening night had seen a single stamp fetch $40,000. I learned that it's not just stamps but envelopes too that can fetch into the several thousands for those that are historically significant. For instance, you can tell by postmarks if something was flown in a Zeppelin or a hot air balloon.

“I think most stamp collectors have collector personalities. Stamps are particularly easy and interesting to collect. Stamps can be collected by the thousands, for very little money. They are interesting on many levels. They are easy to store and enjoy. ”
— David Markowitz of Uptown Stamp Show

My favorite part of the stamp show turned out to be the HUGE exhibit of Thematic Displays that were shown by individuals. Using stamps, letters, and photos these displays told different stories from every corner of the world. There was The History of NASA told through NASA Local Post Labels, 1967-1984. Another fascinating one was British Empire Anti-Communist Actions in the Jungles of Malaysia, 1948-1960.  With exhibits and dealers from Ghana to Singapore to Israel, I now see how stamp collecting is an amazing gateway to studying history.

Another thing I learned was that although stamp collecting can get very expensive, it can also be very, very affordable. I saw people culling through hundreds and thousands of stamps that were being sold for mere pennies, but they were nonetheless beautiful artifacts, and for the design and typography lover, an amazing source of inspiration. For under $20 I came away with some "first day covers" (envelopes containing newly released stamps), old letters, and unused stamps that I'm looking forward to personalize my own letters. Though I won't likely make it to next year's show which takes place in Richmond, Virginia, I have definitely caught the stamp collecting bug and look forward to adding to my collection.

Inflection Point: Interview with Lauren Schiller and Write_On

Lauren Schiller's show Inflection Point: Conversations with Women Changing the Status Quo has been one of our favorites ever since it came on our radar last year. So we were thrilled to be invited as her guests to discuss Write_On.  

We truly do believe that letter-writing is at an inflection point. As Gina, a letter-writer we met on Thursday, said: campaigns like Write_On are simply providing a "signal boost" to thousands of individuals who are already out there sending handwritten letters to deepen human connections amidst a wall of digital noise. You guys are our beacons. Write_On!

Read On, Write_On!

As we bring this year’s Write_On Campaign to a close, we find ourselves wondering: how will we keep our letter-writing practice going?  Luckily, these wonderful books are here to inspire your letter-writing all year long:

Dear Mr. You, by Mary Louise Parker

Actress Mary Louise Parker’s debut literary work traces the arc of her life through letters written to the men who have influenced it, both real--such as her father--and imagined.  Beautifully written and lovingly crafted, the book reveals just how meandering, carefully observed, and creative a letter can be.  You’ll find additional inspiration in her warm and engaging interview with Inflection Point Radio’s Lauren Schiller.

I Will Always Write Back: How One Letter Changed Two Lives, by Martin Ganda and Caitlin Alifirenka

In this true story, a middle class American girl becomes pen pals and, eventually, best friends with a boy from a Zimbabwe slum thanks to a class writing assignment. A dual memoir alternating between their perspectives, it shows how the simple act of writing a letter can lead to mutual understanding and transformation.

If You Find This Letter: My Journey to Find Purpose Through Hundreds of Letters to Strangers, by Hannah Brencher

TED speaker Hannah Brencher’s memoir describes how, fresh out of college and depressed, she began writing love letters to strangers and leaving them in bathroom stalls, doctor’s office, and all over New York City.  400 letters later, she had discovered a deeper sense of purpose and revealed how a letter can be the ultimate random act of kindness.  Hannah’s campaign The World Needs More Love Letters, mobilizes people worldwide to write love letters to those in need.

Mr. Jameson and Mr. Phillips by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat

Though out of print, this charming children’s book tells the story of two friends -- a writer and an artist -- who seek to get away from the crowds and realize that they’ve each found true happiness when they’ve made enough creative space to send each other a Christmas card. A prescient and timely reminder for kids today on the value of unplugging and the true meaning of friendship.