Letter Writers Alliance

Nicely Noted & One Per Week

The nice folks at Nicely Noted sent me a sample package of their subscription service in honor of National Card & Letter Writing Month. The cards were sweet and specially curated by the company which was a surprising touch. They came in a 2 ounce stamped envelope in good condition and included three postage stamps as well. At $20 a month, it seems a fair price to me if you're the type of person that uses a lot of cards and runs out at the wrong moments. In addition to their subscription offers, they have an online store as well. 

If card subscriptions appeal to you, you also might enjoy One-Per-Week. It's a card and postage stamp subscription service and blog run by fellow letter lover Lori Christensen. She is the "self-proclaimed Liaison of Letters, with a mission to assist others in maintaining contact, communication, and connections with family and friends through the written word." The idea is that you make a point to set aside time dedicated to at least one correspondence a week. In the hustle and bustle, that seems like an attainable level of self-care that I can get behind.  

Fountain Pen Friday

I haven't mentioned fountain pens much of late. Did you know #fountainpenfriday was a thing? It's a thing. Now you know. I still manage to slip the siren call of collecting these instruments of construction, but it's not for any lack on the part of fountain pens. My favorites remain Kaweco. They feel like a friendly fountain pen to me. I really enjoyed the video above. Happy (Fountain Pen) Friday, all!

Mystery Goodie Boxes

When you have the luxury of space, you tend to fill it up with stuff. In the years that we've had a studio space for the Letter Writers Alliance, I have made use of every nook and cranny I could find to ferret away all sorts of sundry supplies and miscellaneous materials. Since we have to move out of the space in September, I have begun trying to lighten the load.

 

In addition to maybe a literal ton of donation materials headed to The WasteShed (Chicago's premiere craft thrift shop and community center), I have been making up a selection of what I'm calling MYSTERY GOODIE BOXES. The name is a homage to the packages that set a young Donovan up on the mail-loving path. My grandmother would mail out "goodie boxes" from her Colorado home to our South Carolina one. They'd have treats and surprises and made me understand the magic that is the mail. 

 

These boxes are akin to those. They are full of a unique blend of letter writing books, stationery, supplies, vintage trinkets and odds-and-ends. There are leftover bits from RSVP sets, parts of projects that were proposed but never quite happened, and things I bought for personal use that I wasn't able or couldn't bring myself to use. (Not one, but two World's Smallest Post kits are among the contents, for example. They were just so precious and perfect that I never opened them.) The very last bits of the 16 Sparrows cards are here as well; so be warned, some are saucy! There are some similarities between boxes, but every one is different. There's the last of the Circa Ceramics/L.W.A. wares in there. There's a garland made of postage stamps in one. This is a way to adopt a piece of our studio into your home. In a way, it is sort of a time capsule of the Letter Writers Alliance.

 

The boxes are now for sale in the member's only section of the shop. There are only 16 available and all are in medium Flat Rate boxes. Help us move out and move on to more! What surprises await you?

Back To School Supplies

(Photo by Chandra Greer of Greer Chicago)

It's September and Summer is swiftly speeding by us. Chicago-area schools all started right after Labor Day and I think we're among the late starters. Some of you may still be in school. For me, school was a while ago, but I still love seeing the stacks of supplies going on sale. I do use a fair number of what could be considered "school supplies" in my mail art and stationery. How about you? What are your favorites? What do you wait all year for to indulge in? 

For me, I like anything with graph paper or interesting lines. I love that elementary learning-how-to-write newsprint with its pink and blue dashed lines. My favorite supply when still in school was the Mead 5 Star college rule (wide rule is gross) notebook. They are spiral bound, but the pages are perforated; so you don't have the terrible snow-edge problem when you need to turn in an assignment. (I was forever having the "wrong" paper for my school projects, and there was also that terrible day when I forgot my Trapper Keeper on top of the family car and had to pick up all my notes from along the side of the road.) I remember them making up to five subject sections divided by a tabbed and pocketed folder, but I only saw three subjects for sale when I poked around my local Target. (I was honestly a little disappointed. Of course, when one has Greer nearby, the definition of back-to-school shopping hits another level.) And, of course, the smell of pencils and Scotch tape are among the best smells in the world. 

So I want to know, what did you get for the back-to-school season? Do you care? Am I along in browsing those sections even though I have no classes to attend? Share with us in the comments.

Out With the Old... An L.W.A. Shop Update

We've been busy here at L.W.A. Headquarters. Our old 16 Sparrows telegrams have been replaced with a bright and shiny red Letterigram. The older design has been around since before we became the Letter Writers Alliance and it is well past time for a change. Plus, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to use the 6"X9" Air Mail envelopes I found. I'm just such a sucker for those chevrons. Also updated are our Correspondence Flats. We're switching out colored paper in favor of colored ink. I think they are rather fetching and hope you agree. 

Lastly, there's a new stationery in town. It's padded. Fifty sheets of letter writing fun that's ready when you need it. As a person with a constantly cluttered desk, I'm often writing in my lap. Padded stationery helps me negotiate my space a little easier. Since I'm such a fan of it, I figured why not make my own? Viola! Now we have padded Air Mail sheets.

As always, thanks for being the inspiration to continue to create new mailable goodies. We welcome your suggestions and look forward to serving your letter writing needs!

P.S. Cleaning up the studio, I found some other treasures from the vault, too.

P.P.S. Remember to be logged in to your member account to see everything!

Glass Pens for Letter Writing

 

I have a glass pen. It was a gift. I never use it. Maybe I'll give it another try after watching this hypnotizing video of how glass pens are made. Have any tips for me? Favorite inks to use with glass pens? Share in the comments!

Evil Supply Co.

At any time of year, I adore the Evil Supply Co. but especially at this time of year, their ghastly stationery goods are sheer perfection! Posters and patches, notebooks and stickers. I love the new "Ghostagrams" and they do package mailings too. Stock up for the holiday or make it Halloween all year! They claim that "letter writing died, so they hired necromancers." I don't agree entirely with that statement, but I do like the voodoo that they do. Happy Haunted Mailings,

Pen Collectors of America Online Library

Good news for you fountain pen lovers out there. Every issue of "Pennant", the publication of the Pen Collectors of America, is now available online. The entire site over at Pen Collectors of America is positively bursting with information of the pen and ink variety, from pen shows to projects. 

Speaking of pen shows, I found out about the online archive through notice about Scriptus, a show coming to Toronto on November 1st. I doubt we can make it up that way, but perhaps some of our more northern members would be interested. We'd love a full report if you do go!

UV Fountain Pen Ink

Need some spooky ink for your ghostly post? I love the look of the Noodler's Whiteness of the Whale ink under black light. They also make an "invisible" ink called Blue Ghost. I think it's perfect and love that you can order wee little black lights for your pens as well. I've mentioned this ink here before, but I thought it deserved another go round in the spirit of the season.

Blame the Pen!

I recently read this article in the Wall Street Journal about the decline of penmanship. The author argues that our crummy pens might be partial culprits in the lack of legibility for handwritten text. I have noticed that my writing does change depending on what kind of pen I'm using, but I hadn't ever thought about the whys and wherefores of it all. According to the article:

"Those struggling to write neatly should avoid rollerballs, according to Todd Craver, former owner of the recently shuttered Seattle pen and watch shop World Lux. "Rollerballs tend to cause your handwriting to deteriorate in appearance; they almost flow too quickly," he explained. On the flip side, ballpoints require writers to apply excessive pressure on the tip to get the ink to flow, which can have equally deleterious effects."

The article really lobbies for the use of fountain pens and goes through some features and price points. There are also some links to handwriting practice worksheets and tips about paper choice. It's a good read, and hopefully, will lead to some good writing!

P.S. The sharp-eyed amongst you may have spotted this new workshop. Perhaps it would be of interest if you're looking to get started writing with fountain pens, yes?