Design & Decor Blog

I’m sure I’ve bemoaned this fact before but it really distresses me. OK, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration – there are dozens of things that distress me more than this. But what I’m talking about right now is the lost art of handwritten letters. In this age of technology, how often do you sit down to write a thoughtful letter to a friend? If you’re like me, you tend to communicate via email and Facebook or send quick text messages from your cell phone when you’re on the go, go, go. These methods have certainly helped me to increase the quantity of my communications with friends and family but I can’t say they’ve increased the quality of that communication. There’s something about sitting down and carefully thinking about what it is you want to say (there’s no delete button when you’re handwriting a letter) and on the flipside, there’s something special about receiving a letter or card in the mail. I don’t know about you but my mailbox is chock full of flyers and bills, neither of which I have much interest in. But as soon as I see something personal sitting there, with my name written by the hand of a friend, I toss everything aside and tear the envelope open.

Need some motivation? Beautiful stationery always works for me. Pretty papers and patterned envelopes seem to do the trick! New stationery makes me want to sit down and tell a friend I’m thinking about them. These designs (pictured above) from Chronicle Books are fun and whimsical and someone you know will be thrilled to see a note from you sitting in their mailbox. I guarantee it. Oh, and they make a great gift for someone on your Christmas shopping list.

For more information, visit chroniclebooks.com.

Tags: design, home office, paper, stationery