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Came across this lovely piece by Camilla Engman on the Good Mail Day Tumblr. If you haven't already, add it to your list of links. While you're at it, add the Flickr stream for Good Mail Day and for your very own Letter Writers Alliance. Pretty pictures abound!
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Just a reminder that THURSDAY is the last day of our SALE on all of our vintage postal items in the LWA member shop. Get your presents now before we reset the prices back to what they were.
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{Poster from the Bristish Postal Museum & Archive Flickr}
Some dates to keep in mind in order for your holiday mailings to arrive on schedule. A detailed list for military and international mail is at the U.S.P.S. website.
| First-Class Mail® Service | Dec. 20 |
| Priority Mail® Service | Dec. 21 |
| Express Mail® Service | Dec. 22 |
| Parcel Post® Service | Dec. 15 |
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Due to the Initiative Response project, we get a lot of questions about IRCs (International Response Coupons) Firstly, look above - this is what an IRC looks like. Now lets get down to what it is:
WHAT: An IRC is a coupon that can be redeemed for first class international postage.
WHERE: You can purchased or redeem and IRC at any post office within a country that is part of the Universal Postal Union. (List of countries here.)
WHY: If you are a non-US resident, you don't have access to US stamps. An IRC steps in to help you with that. If you are requested to send an SASE to a country outside your own, an ICR acts as your "stamps" to get the SASE back to you.
HOW: Ask your postal clerk for an IRC. Mail the IRC with your self-address envelope and that is it! It will magically come back to you with the proper postage needed to be mailed from the country you sent it to.
Above is what a IRC from Australia looks like. It is indistinguishable from IRCs from other countries, except for the fact that is says the country of origin on it. Some countries do not imprint the origin place on the coupon. When a member sends us one of these, I go to our post office and trade it for a first class international stamp, seen below the IRC in the photo.
So, if you are an international LWA member and want to participate in the Initiative Response project here is what you need to include with your request:
- An IRC and a self-addressed envelope.
- A money order or US$ with the total amount for the Initiatives you request
- A note letting us know which Initiative(s) you want to participate in and your member #
More than one Initiative can be sent back to you in one SASE, so no worries about including more than one SASE/IRC for multiple Initiatives.
You can read more about IRCs here and here. We are also happy to answer any other questions you have on IRCs ourselves! We hope this clarifies things for our international members and helps them participate in overseas postal projects!
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Jordan of Oh Happy Day! had this simple, yet festive envelope download up on her site. Wouldn't they make nice thank you note envelopes in this thankful season? What I like most about it is her directions for the inserts. I haven't made wax paper leaf pressings in ages, possibly since preschool. I now want to make a million.
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{photo by Gina Visione, from the L.W.A. Flickr group}
The annoucement of our Inklings program really got a lot of response from you guys. Many of you asked about setting up your own letter-writing socials in your area, but were a bit unsure about how to go about it. Here's a brief list to guide you along.
STEP ONE: Find a place to do it. We tend to avoid coffee shops because the typewriters are so noisy, but if you aren't using typewriters or the owners are okay with it, then that might be your best bet. Also libraries, art stores, maybe book stores and stationery shops. Heck, Kathy and I even have ours at bars sometimes.
STEP TWO: Promote it. Let us know about the time and place and we'll put it on the blog, but you should also put it on your blog if you have one and see if the local paper or a magazine is interested in this crazy person who wants to write letters. There is also Twitter, which we love and Facebook, which we hate, but to each their own.
STEP THREE: Prep your supplies. We tend to use backstock of our stationery or design a neat little black and white number specifically for the social, but there are tons of free stationeries for download online.{L.W.A. members have access to a lot of downloads through our member site, for example.}
50 sheets of anything seems like more than enough and if you run out, CONGRATULATIONS, your social was a huge success. Postcards are nice for people because they feel less intimidated by them. You also don't need envelopes for them. We take a bunch of pens. I use those "free" return address labels from charities to identify my pens.
If you're doing mail art, take rubber stamps, scissors, ink pads, glue sticks, tape, and a stack of magazines or other papers for people to make envelopes with. Sometimes it's easiest to just stick to letter writing because of space and again, some people can get intimidated. They should know they only really need paper, ink and a stamp to send a letter; everything else is optional. We give all the supplies for free except postage stamps and those we sell those at face value, even vintage ones.
If you are feeling a bit overwhelmed, take heart! We are here to rescue you. We will be offering both L.W.A. Social Starter kits and Mail Art Starter kits through the member site. They should contain nearly everything you'll need for at least one social. One of the nicest things about stationery is that it doesn't expire, and you can use any leftovers for the next time. I'm still using stationery from the first social we ever did! {Admittedly, I probably made a bit too much for the first one.}
STEP FOUR: Have your social, write some letters, and have a great time. Take pictures and share it on the L.W.A. Flickr! That'll earn you an inkling for sure.
Commonly asked questions at socials:
"Who do I write to?" -Whoever you would like, but family members are a great place to start. If there's a phone call or an email you've been meaning to return, do it in a letter instead, right now. WRITE NOW.
"What do I write about?" -Describe what they are doing right then and what their senses are experiencing; what they smell, hear, taste... It's an excellent way to really bring the reader into the moment of the letter.
Be prepared for a lot of basic questions concerning address and stamp placement. I think most L.W.A. members are up on that info, but the U.S.P.S. website is a pretty excellent resource for questions regarding mail regulations.
Good Luck and Write More Letters,
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Come out, come out and visit us and our friendly mascot at the DIY TRUNKSHOW this Saturday! We'll have fair exclusives for sale as well as our regular stock and some of our vintage postal finds. It's our first fair of the holiday season and we are so excited!
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This girl wants to write you a letter and then send it to you as a letter! See how clever she is? From her website:
"My name is Mary Kate McDevitt and I’m an illustrator and hand letterer living and working in Portland, OR. Handwritten Letters is a daily project where I commit to writing a handwritten letter everyday for the next year (or more) in hopes of either getting myself in the habit of writing letters to my friends and family or getting other people wanting to write letters. I won’t send you a letter where I tell you how funny my cat is or what I ate for breakfast, instead I will draw you a letter (you know, like, from the alphabet). You can display or keep as a reminder to pick up a pen yourself and write to someone you love. Each day I will post the letter that was sent on the blog, yourhandwrittenletters.tumblr.com so be sure to subscribe and check back everyday.
All you have to do to participate in Handwritten Letters is enter your address here (I will not share your address with anyone) and pass the word along via twitter and subscribe to the blog.
The letters will be drawn in alphabetical order and sent to the participants in the order entries are received. I’m afraid I can’t take requests for letters or styles, but I can assure you that your letter will be awesome. "
The Letter Writers Alliance thinks this is a great idea. We certainly signed up; how about you?
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Some of you may know that I am scheduled to get married sometime in the forseeable future; so that means that I read wedding blogs. Every so often, I find something in that scary world to be of epistolary interest. The Brooklyn Bride Card Swap is one of those things.
Here are the rules from the Brooklyn Bride site:
Send an email to me at brooklynbride [at] gmail [dot] com with Holiday Card Swap in the subject line by November 23 [day before Thanksgiving]. Include your name, address, email address, website/blog address and twitter handle [if you have these]. Please send your email in this format--
Jane Smith
123 Main St. #25
Anytown NY 12345
jane.smith@google.com
www.janesmith.com
www.janesmith.com/blog
@janesmith
- By December 1, I will have emailed you the names and addresses of up to 5 people to send cards to.
- Your cards must be handmade [think Gocco, glitter, Photoshop, cut + paste, sewing, etc....] Make something that’s easy to do multiples of. You’ll be sending 1 card to each person on your list, and add in a special holiday greeting!
- Send out your cards by December 15 at the latest! Easy squeezy!
Sounds fun! Tell her the Letter Writers Alliance sent you.
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Those cleverboots kids over at Rad And Hungry have a new fun program going on called Pencil Pals. From their website:
1 - Sign up to be in Pencil Pals. We’ll put you in the Pencil Pals queue.
2 - You’ll receive a pencil in the mail from a random RAHstr. Enjoy your new pencil, share a photo on our Facebook wall, send a little note back to the sender if you like.
3 - Once you’ve received your pencil, shoot us an email at boss@radandhungry.com We’ll reply with the name and address of the person you’ll be sending a pencil to.
4 - Mail a pencil to the next lucky person. Decide if you’d like to mail a new pencil, or pass on the pencil you received.
5 - We’ll add your name back to the bottom of the Pencils Pals queue, so you can look forward to another pencil in the upcoming months.
1 - Pick a pencil you’re stoked about and excited to share.
2 - Pencils should be new or gently used. No stubs, that ain’t cool.
3 - Write a little note explaining why THIS pencil is particularly rad and special. Include it when you mail your pencil.
Pencil Pals is open to RAH RAH fans worldwide--international peeps, feel free to join in!
*By participating in Pencil Pals, you agree to be responsible for the cost of shipping one pencil to the next recipient. This may include international shipping.
*We’ll respond as quickly as possible when you email us for the next address, but if we’re out of the office on a sourcing trip, it may take a little longer than usual.
*All information is securely stored and will not be shared. Your participation authorizes us to send your name and mailing address to participants mailing you pencils.
P.S. Don't forget, L.W.A. members can send us a postage with a request for certain freebies- including pencils! Use the handy form below!
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Letter Socials:
TBA
Host your own Social!
Tips on how right here.
Then email us to add your social to the LWA calendar.
Copy and paste the code to add the LWA button to your website or blog.
