In the age of email and text messages, the idea of sitting down and writing someone a letter is rather quaint. Why send someone a letter that could take days to get to them when you could send an email or text that gets through immediately? But just think of how lovely it would be to get a handwritten letter out of the blue! I recently sat down and wrote a letter to Natalie, but it was a lot harder than it looks: namely because we tend to send each other about 50 emails a day so we already know everything that’s happening in each others lives. But there was also the fact that after years of typing, my fingers aren’t actually used to writing much more than a few sentences. Needless to say, my penmanship has quickly degenerated since the days of school, when writing clearly and following the lines were all-important (good luck trying to figure out what I actually wrote Natalie!).The source of my new found passion for letter writing is the cute letter sets from the $3 Japan store on Queen Street. I plan on buying several packs, but for now I am writing letters on mini pieces of paper printed with floral fabric swatches, lace edging and a charming piece of advice that goes a little something like this: “If you take care of your personality well, you will appear beautiful.”
kikki-K is another good source for simple letter sets (above) - albeit a lot more expensive than $3 Japan. Or if you want to go really vintage, how about an old-fashioned typewriter? I just read Hunter S. Thompson’s amazing autobiography, Kingdom of Fear, in which he included several letters written to friends and foes, all meticulously typed on an old typewriter. Courier New never looked so good.
