Letters from Strangers & Letter Writing Club This Sunday!

There are a few really great things about working in a stationery shop, most of which are fairly straightforward: I get to play around with new pens and inks as soon as they arrive, I get to roam the shop at night in the dark, running my fingers over notebooks, I get to talk about pens all day and call it work.

But one of the things I didn’t really expect is the mail! Every once in a while, we get some pretty great mail from our customers – the occasional thank you note, or a letter with a story – or sometimes I even get letters from people who have stumbled across the blog, which of course totally makes my day.

Incredibly, Caleb has already received a few letters of his own, which I think is just amazing. What better way for a kid to learn to read and write, and also to appreciate something slow and analogue and meaningful – you can write something on a piece of paper, put it in an envelope with a stamp, and send it anywhere in the world! A miracle!

This is a special favourite, Caleb-sized mail, from Silvie in Montreal. Jon grumbles when Caleb gets more mail than he does, but Jon secretly can’t wait to see what’s inside, too.

Letter Writing Club FAQs

I think one of my favourite times of the month is our Letter Writing Club. While I get a bit weepy thinking about Caleb growing up, every month when the second Sunday rolls around I think to myself, I can’t wait until Caleb is old enough to occupy himself with some toys so I can sit down and write some letters for the entire two hours. In between sips of tea and maybe an egg tart. Or two.

Our next Letter Writing Club is this upcoming Sunday, November 8th, and of course I’ve got a stack of letters to get into.

For first-timers, though, I thought I might put up a few frequently asked questions to hopefully welcome you to venture into our shop for some letter writing madness! It can sometimes be a bit intimidating to come into a new place and not ‘know what’s going on,’ but I hope you’ll give us a try if you’re in the area.

Letter Writing Club with Salman Khattak + An Intensive Calligraphy Class Opportunity

The Letter Writing Club meets monthly to mostly write letters, but also to gab a bit and share some coffee and treats. In September, we had an extra special treat – a visit from calligrapher Salman Khattak, who came to address envelopes in some of his beautiful scripts. This is a much overdue post with a few photos from the day.