missed connections

First and foremost, I absolutely love the idea behind this blog. There are numerous occasions when I've wondered "if I go to this particular coffee shop tonite, maybe I'll find exactly who I'm looking for." Missed Connections author/illustrator Sophie Blackall describes her blog rather well:

Messages in bottles, smoke signals, letters written in the sand; the modern equivalents are the funny, sad, beautiful, hopeful, hopeless, poetic posts on Missed Connections websites. Every day hundreds of strangers reach out to other strangers on the strength of a glance, a smile or a blue hat. Their messages have the lifespan of a butterfly. I'm trying to pin a few of them down.

I adore these:

Text: Can I buy you a drink? -Buffalo plaid jacket



Text: I am a nice, quiet guy, and I am about to have a missed connection with someone at my local laundromat when I go in a half hour to do my laundry. I'll probably be sitting in a corner reading, because I don't like to leave my laundry alone. Maybe you're there doing your laundry too?

And these are nice too:

Text: We were both swimming around 5-6 in astoria pool. we ended up walking the same direction in the park for a while but didn't talk. i wish i had said hi...so i figured i would on here. worth a shot.



Text: Green Hula Hoop in Tompkins Square Park Yesterday you had a bright green hula hoop around your waist and you were VERY cute. Hope you reply.

Thanks, Sophie, for all this hope and charm. You rock.

(oh, and here's her etsy shop)

heart to heart

I've assembled a collage of notes of love and thoughtfulness that have been given to me in the past. Each special in their own way.

Happy valentine's weekend, everyone. May it be lovely.

The Art of a Note

I like to start my notes to you as if we're already in the middle of a conversation, as if we were the oldest and dearest of friends. -Kathleen Kelly, You've Got Mail

~

I am obviously a big supporter of the handwritten note (how can I not be when I sort of make cards for a living?). I've developed a true appreciation for a rough piece of scrap paper with ink smudges decorating the edges and corners. It has character. And even better, it has a heart. Remember.. A phone call is nice, but you can reread a letter.

paper writing goods from paperpastries

I have recently diagnosed myself with meandering letter syndrome. Emily Post (queen of all things etiquette) calls a meandering letter one that dawdles through disconnected subjects lie a trolley car run off the track, through fences and fields and flower beds indiscriminately. This is me to a T. BUT in what my letters lack in organization, they gain in personality. I tend to doodle, add a few serifs to my favorites letters and words, and sometimes throw in a chart or diagram here and there.

adding character to letters through doodles and shapes..
dkim and n e v e r by

Sometimes while writing my letter, I like to think of how the person receiving it would read it. Where they would be sitting, what time of day it would be, if they would skim first then go back and read the fine print. I wonder these things while writing. So I try my darndest to put so much of me in my letter that it feel like I am actually present when reading it. I want to be looking over their shoulder, watching them smile.

Ok so envelopes liners, to me, taste like feet. I prefer to use decorative seals or alphabet stickers to seal my envelope. Next I pull out my handy address book and slap an address on it. I like to write in all lowercase letters, despite the elementary rules of capitalizing proper nouns. And depending on my mood, I'll either put the return address on the front or the back (beneath my decorative seal). When written on the back, there is that slight moment of anticipation since they don't know who it's from yet. I like that. And finally, I save the best for last. Slap on that stamp and let her fly.

envelope seals from: imagine art 7, nothing elegant, ladybug labels, and herculiz.

Cardboard Love

Who wouldn't appreciate a note scribbled on a piece of cardboard?