This Saturday I’ll be at The Lantern Loft in Forest Park for the brand new Maker’s Market! I’m very excited to do a local show. It’s fun to meet fellow neighbors who love handmade. There will be a light focus on Mother’s Day since it’s the next major holiday but I’ll have some new cards and framed quotes for Teacher Appreciation Week (coming up May 6-10,) graduations, and Father’s Day. And, as always, a mix of sweet and snarky handmade greetings for everyone else on your list.
kimberly ah
kimberly at home
Category Archives: snail mail
April in Chicago in April
My pen pal, April, and her partner Geof were in town this month for a visit. They live in New Zealand and April is a huge fan of Presley so she stops in to see her when she’s in town. And, we always go to Greer when she visits. It’s so fun to shop in Greer with someone else who loooooves stationery and fancy office supplies as much as I do. 
We were the only customers in the shop while we were there, but you’d never know it as much as we were chattering about Mr. Boddington’s great style, vintage pencils, the many, many notebooks we have in our stashes, and the great variety of greeting cards at Greer. 
Naoto gave me a gift card to Greer for Christmas and this was the first chance I had to spend it. I still have some money left to spend again, but I this time I chose some Mr. Boddington’s pencil-themed stationery, a vintage pencil, and a new pencil bag. (Neither the vintage pencil nor the pencil bag are available online.)
We also went to Quimby’s to look at zines and take pictures in the photo booth. (I can never pass up a photo booth.)
April and Geof were in town for Record Store Day and they shopped a lot of the record stores in Chicago, so we took them to Val’s Halla and Old School Records in our neighborhood. Val’s had live music which really put me in the mood to shop. 
On their last day in Chicago, it snowed six inches, so our plans were adjusted. We ended up going shopping and to Portillo’s for Chicago-style hot dogs and Italian beefs. Weirdly, we didn’t write any letters together this time, but there’s always next year!
Olivetti Valentine
Naoto surprised me with one of the best gifts ever for my birthday last month: an Olivetti Valentine. If you don’t know, the Valentine is one of a few holy grails for typewriter collectors. It was originally designed to be an inexpensive portable typewriter, but became a classic among design lovers. There’s even one displayed at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. This page has some fun information and old Olivetti Valentine advertisements. 
I was shocked because I don’t really remember dwelling on wanting one. I think I mentioned it in passing once when we saw one in a store window in Japan and that it is a coveted design item featured at the MOMA. But he remembered and managed to find one and have it shipped safely to him with a week to spare. I was genuinely shocked, which is rare because he has a very hard time keeping a secret and I never thought he would buy a typewriter. This Olivetti was made for Spain so it has some Spanish characters, like ñ and ¿. 
As much as I want to leave it out to admire it, I know dust is a typewriter’s kryptonite so I’m keeping it in its case and vowing to put it away after each use. Oh and I’m only using this typewriter for letter writing and other fun things–I won’t be using it for Galaxie Safari. I want to use it, but not put it through the card-making abuse that my Smith-Corona and Royal are put through. 
Its case is a hard red plastic that snaps into the machine. Apparently it’s designed to be a wastebasket when you take it off to use the typewriter. Every detail was considered! 
So far I’ve written a few letters on it using my personalized stationery from last year’s birthday. I’ll leave you with this fabulous 1970s advertisement for the Olivetti.
My Tidied Letter Writing Spot
It’s Monday and I’m finally feeling human again! It feels so good to be able to breathe out of both nostrils again and to be free from the amped up feeling I get from being on cold medicine. I spent some time recovering on Saturday by clearing off the sunny side of my desk so it would be ready for writing this month.
(Please note that I have only shown you the tidy third of my desk…the rest is still a work in progress. Always…) 
I made a little shelf of mail knick knacks. They won’t live here forever because they are taking up too much desk real estate, but I like them here for Letter Writing Month. For now, I have plenty of space for writing letters, but when I’m making cards, I need a clear deck for production. Eventually I’ll probably hang a shelf for my mail toy collection. 
And I switched out my supplies in my Classiky box…I went with a mail theme for now, but I also have all my spring and Easter things waiting in the wings…so many choices for April! I wrote three whole thank you notes on Saturday before I had to take a rest. It feels good to be participating in life again!
National Card & Letter Writing Month
It’s April and my favorite month of the year: National Card & Letter Writing Month!
As usual, I will be participating in the Write On campaign, and trying to write a card or letter every day this month. I have a little set-up on my desk with some cards and stationery, all easily accessible for a quick note or letter. I am ready to write this month and I’ll share my set-up here soon, along with some other letter writing related posts.
Happy letter writing!
P.S. I found this vintage Dennison (I think?) letter carrier decoration on eBay last month. Isn’t he dreamy?
Happy National Pencil Day!
I’m celebrating by writing a few notes with my favorite pencils and prepping my calendar for April…it’s National Card & Letter Writing Month! Do you have any pencil or letter writing plans this weekend?
International Women’s Day
Happy International Women’s Day! I’m celebrating by sending these great postcards by Natalie Harney to a few of my pen pals. It’s also Women’s History Month, so I plan to honor women all month long (here on the blog and in my everyday life.) I was also going to try to only read novels by women writers, except we’re reading George Orwell for book club so, I’ll be reading him too.
Three cheers for women!
In My Mailbox: Traveling Mail Kit
My penpal Nic sent me this fabulous traveling mail kit just in time for our trip to Japan last year. Her mom made it and is hoping to sell them, so Nic asked me to “test” it out and see what needed to be changed or fixed. 
It’s made from this gorgeous orange gradient Japanese fabric with metallic gold accents. My pictures aren’t doing it justice! 
Inside, she used an accent fabric of orange, black, and gold. There are pen loops and pockets to keep stationery and stamps and little extras organized. She thought of everything! 
Nic tucked in some postcards and stamps to get me started…
…and some stickers and a playing card holding some washi tape. (Isn’t that genius? The washi tape comes right off the coated playing card! It’s such a perfect way to carry a little bit of washi without the bulk of a whole roll!)
I carried my little kit with me everywhere on our trip. It is so light and compact, perfect for long days of being a tourist and walking all over Tokyo. I tucked postcards inside, along with Japanese stamps, my travel address book, a pen, and some ephemera that I picked up along the way.
Now that I’m home, I still tuck the mail kit in my bag when I’m out and about in case I have time for a postcard or a quick note. It’s held up beautifully through all my travels, so I’m confident Nic’s mom can start production when she’s ready!
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Happy Valentine’s Day! I got this hilarious card in the mail this week from my pen pal, Cindy. Two of my favorite things–cats and Golden Girls! I can’t believe how funny Sophia looks and she even has her purse!
Naoto and I both have the day off today, so after my meeting this morning, we’re getting pie from our favorite local pie shop, cooking dinner, and doing laundry. It’s basically a Thursday, with pie.
What are your plans for today?
Snow Mail, No Mail
The weather has been insane in Chicago lately. After a very snowy weekend, we had sub-zero temperatures on Wednesday with wind chills of 45 below. It was colder here than it was in Alaska. It was so cold, the entire area was pretty much shut down. No school, no work for many people, no Metra trains, even no Trader Joe’s and no mail service since Tuesday! (Update: mail arrived Saturday night!) It was almost as cold on Thursday and it snowed some more Thursday night, but now this weekend it’s warm and rainy. Now every thing is a mess of slush and dirty snow. (Dirty snow is my least favorite part of winter.)
I took some inspiration from the weather and used some of my wintry Japanese stationery to kick off the Month of Letters. The snowflakes are an old Midori set I bought a few years ago and the polar bears are from Maruzen. And the washi tape is old mt and I was kicking myself because I have other snow washi, but I packed it away with the Christmas stuff…
I sat under a blanket right next to my space heater while I wrote the letters…a cup of hot tea and a warm kitty nearby. It was a cozy to kick off the month.
kimberly ah 