kimberly ah

Sep 23 2014

USPS Consumer Advisory Council Meeting 1

Last week I attended my first meeting of the Oak Park area Postal Consumer Advisory Council. As I mentioned in this post, the council was formed due to many, many complaints last winter involving delayed and missed deliveries in the Oak Park, River Forest and Forest Park (Illinois) areas. Our group’s goal is to help the post office see and fix their issues from the customer viewpoint, to collect customer complaints (and compliments!) from others in our neighborhoods and to help the post office educate its customers on some of their limitations.

There were several “department heads” at our meeting, including the Oak Park area Postmaster, Phillip Crawford and eight other Station Managers and other staff who work for the USPS in regional marketing and management. There were about ten customer volunteers ranging in age from 30s-70s. Most of the volunteers were long-term Oak Parkers and I was the lone representative from Forest Park. It was clear that everyone in the room understood that the problems were severe, and no one was making excuses (though there were explanations) and everyone seemed to genuinely love the post office. It felt good to be in the company of other USPS lovers!

I have so many thoughts and learned so much already, even though our first meeting goals were limited to outlining the purpose of the council and introducing ourselves. I have a hodgepodge of things to share this time. I think over the next meetings, there will be more structure and our conversations will be more focused on individual problems and solutions (for instance: late deliveries, missed deliveries, counter service, post office building conditions, etc.) But for this time, I decided just to share the most interesting details. Please let me know if you have any questions and I’m happy to clarify.

These consumer advisory councils were very popular in post offices through the 1980s. In the 90s they kind of fell out of favor. The USPS is hoping that by bringing some councils back, the relationship and flow of communication between the post office and its customers will improve.
The USPS sees package delivery as the future of the post office.
Oak Park will become a Sunday & Holiday delivery hub for area Amazon Prime customers. (A council member asked why the USPS would take on a new, large responsibility while they are still reeling from a disaster of a winter last year. But again, if package delivery is the future of the post office, how could they not take this opportunity?)
During the 2013 holiday season, the USPS expected a 14% increase in package volume. The actual increase was 39%. Obviously the USPS was sorely ill-prepared for the volume of mail. To be fair, FedEx and UPS experienced a lot of problems too. The Postmaster believes that this year, with better staffing and systems, they will be ready for another huge holiday season.
All routes in Oak Park, Forest Park and River Forest now have permanent carriers. When a route doesn’t have a permanent carrier, another carrier would have to finish her route and then continue her day to finish another route. This obviously leads to delays in mail delivery, mistakes due to unfamiliarity and fatigued carriers. The Postmaster seemed confident that just by being comfortably staffed, the USPS is ready for the upcoming holidays. Plus, they have a small team of back-up carriers in case some of the newer carriers don’t work out. “Delivering mail isn’t for everyone.”
The River Forest carriers, who had been working out of the Oak Park South Station for the past two years, are now back at the River Forest Post Office.
One volunteer council member brought up the broken-down state of some of the blue mailboxes and had concerns about building maintenance.
We asked to have a letter carrier and a counter employee at some of the meetings as we discuss specific topics.
We discussed villages’ and customers’ roles in mail delivery. Oak Park (and I assume Forest Park and River Forest) has an ordinance that requires homeowners to care for their sidewalks during winter. However, this ordinance is rarely (or never, according to some Oak Parkers) enforced by the village. Snowy and icy sidewalks and streets not only slow down mail delivery, but they also make conditions dangerous for the letter carriers. The Postmaster told a story of one letter carrier in south Oak Park who delivered mail to a house in spite of its icy stairs. He fell and broke his tailbone and was out of work for several months.

One thing that the Postmaster told us as members of the advisory council is that he’d like us to be a bridge of communication to connect the post office to the area customers. Part of this role is collecting complaints (or compliments!) from my friends and neighbors. If you live in Oak Park, Forest Park or River Forest, Illinois and have a comment, complaint or a question about your mail delivery, post office counter service or anything else USPS related, please feel free to leave a comment below or contact me via email or twitter (details on my About page.) If you don’t live in our area, please feel free to comment as well (always feel free to comment!)

And, if you ever want immediate feedback about a customer experience issue, this is a more direct route to your Station Manager or Postmaster:

1-800-ASK-USPS

hotline@uspsoig.gov

I think that’s everything…whew!

P.S. Pictured above, my council notebook, a doctored up Field Notes Shelterwood.

Tagged adventures, forest park, office supplies, snail mail

Sep 22 2014

2 Comments

home is a 1970s apartment, homemaking

Urbs In Horto

I bought this amazing “Urbs in Horto” print from Starshaped Press last year at Show of Hands. This weekend, I finally framed it and hung it…one of those things that should have happened last November but didn’t. I originally bought the print for our front hallway. We have kind of a travel/map/Chicago theme going on in there. But I thought the print was too amazing to be stuck in a corner that we barely see coming in and out of our apartment. So I hung it up in the living room where we can see it all the time.

Urbs in horto, Latin for “city in a garden,” was Chicago’s slogan in the 1830s, celebrating Chicago’s commitment to parks in the city. (This article from the Chicago Park District can tell you more.) Starshaped Press created the print to celebrate Chicago’s 175th anniversary in 2012. The print is made with only antique metal type and letterpress printed in seven colors…it’s truly a work of art. I’m only sorry I waited so long to hang it up!

The weather is gorgeous in Chicago all week long, so if it gets a little quiet around here, just know I’m out soaking up the last bits of summer…now that fall is almost officially here!

P.S. To see some impressive detail shots of the print and the incredible set-up of all that type, go here!

Tagged decorating, home, homemaking, letterpress

Sep 19 2014

Kiwi Congratulations

patriotic mail art, vintage stamps, USA, New Zealand My pen friend April just became a citizen of New Zealand. I wanted to send her a congratulations card but of course, finding a “Congratulations on your New Zealand citizenship” card in the U.S. was a challenge. But I knew Hallmark would sell a U.S. citizenship card (Hallmark sells every kind of card.) so I dug around in the Congratulations section in the store and found a one. Naoto was with me, shaking his head. He didn’t see the brilliance in my plan. I figured if red, white and blue worked for a USA citizenship, it would work for a New Zealand one. I printed out a New Zealand flag and pasted it over the American flag in the forefront. It didn’t fit perfectly, but I was okay with that. It’s not like I was trying to hide that this card was modified. And I felt that the American flags in the background were a nice touch since April is an American, too.

I added some New Zealand flags to the envelope and went through my vintage stamp collection to find some red, white and blue postage stamps. I had such a great time digging through my stamps and adding up my favorites for this envelope. April often uses an eclectic mix of New Zealand stamps on her envelopes so I *think* she will appreciate the themed vintage postage.

Have you ever altered a greeting card to make it suit your needs? Or are you shaking your head along with Naoto?

Have a good weekend!

Tagged celebrations, mail art, snail mail, vintage, washi tape

Sep 18 2014

6 Comments

crafty adventures, Honor Flight Chicago, snail mail

Honor Flight Mail

A couple of veterans from my hometown went on Honor Flight recently. Neither went with Honor Flight Chicago, so unfortunately I wasn’t able to see them off or welcome them home at the airport. They each flew on different flights with other Illinois-based Honor Flights. One veteran, my Great Uncle Tom went this year and the other veteran, my old neighbor Bud, went last year. When it comes to thank yous, I employ the “better late than never” rule.

This summer I came across an offer from One Canoe Two (and a sponsor, Veterans United) to get this 3-pack of military cards for free. I ordered a set because I knew two of the cards would be perfect for these guys. And, I had a couple of extra Honor Flight Chicago pins from when I started doing mail call a few years ago. (Maureen gave me several pins and told me to use them to “spread the word and good cheer” about Honor Flight.) At Saturday’s letter social, I wrote notes inside the cards and tucked a card and a pin inside some old notecard boxes. This is a trick I learned from Donovan who is the queen of reusing things in the name of mail.The clear plastic packaging just happened to be the exact size of my A2 cards and left room for the pinback. I had a good time decorating the boxes with patriotic washi tape. At the letter social, we weighed the package and it was 1.5 ounces. There was some disagreement about whether it’s a letter or a package, so I came home and looked up the specifications on the USPS website. It’s technically too thick to be a letter (the box is 1/2 inch thick, the letter limit is 1/4 inch) so the postage came to $2.32. I happily used my Inverted Jenny stamps and a flag forever stamp. I hope Bud and Uncle Tom like their mail surprises!

P.S. That’s my Uncle Tom above with his daughters and son-in-law during his Welcome Home Celebration.

Tagged celebrations, crafts, Honor Flight Chicago, mail art, snail mail, washi tape

Sep 17 2014

LWA Social at the Forest Park Library

On Saturday, I attended the LWA Letter Social at my public library (as mentioned in this post.) As usual, I regret not taking more pictures. Kathy and Donovan had an amazing spread of stationery and mail art supplies, an array of rubber stamps and four fantastic typewriters. I used the Tippa pictured above and it typed like a dream! It moved like butter (or buttah!) I wrote a letter and two special thank you notes (which I will be sharing soon!) and had a great chat with all of the other women writing letters. (It was all women, a coincidence I just realized.) A few of us came back to our place and enjoyed Negronis and funny conversation. After everyone left, I wrote some more letters and postcards until dinner. I’m officially staying on top of my to-be-returned pile and it feels great!

Tagged adventures, cocktails, forest park, mail art, snail mail

Sep 16 2014

4 Comments

adventures, crafty adventures

Renegade Craft Fair 2014

Last year, we were in Japan during the Chicago Renegade Craft Fair and I really missed it as part of my “end of summer” routine. I love going to Renegade, so when it rolled around again this summer I knew to keep the weekend open.

I didn’t buy very much and as usual I had “non-buyers remorse”. I wish I had researched better before we went. I usually comb through all of the sellers’ sites and make a wishlist of things to look for, but I didn’t do as much investigative work this year and I missed out on a couple of things that I wish I’d seen. We got about two-thirds of the way through the fair and the crowds were picking up and we were hungry!! So, we skimmed through part of the fair, which was fine by me because tacos were waiting for us at Naoto’s office. Plus, there’s always the internet…I picked up a lot of business cards and can purchase from the comfort of my pajamas!

So, what did I buy? I have been eying this Peg & Awl bag for almost a year now. (Mine is a slightly larger version of this one.) I love its polished rustic feel–it’s neat and tidy and not too bulky, but also has a worn, casual feel. I love the waxed canvas and the antique deadstock red gingham fabric trim. When I read that the straps were made from antique WWII gun slings, well that sealed the deal. So far, I’m loving this bag…it’s the perfect size for my planner and my wallet and a few other necessities and the front pocket is perfect for my phone and a lip balm (the real necessities!)I should also note that the bag makes an excellent cat nap mat, according to Presley. (Thanks for leaving your fur behind, cat!) The Into the Night postcard set from New Academy Press is so good that I came home and ordered two extra sets (because I couldn’t imagine parting with this one.) The set comes in a screen printed folder with a screen printed band. I’m thinking I will be able to turn it into a tiny staple-bound notebook when I’m all done with the cards. It’s just too fancy to throw away! The postcards are gorgeous screen prints that create a scene together and also work really well as a single card.We are going to frame this set for our bedroom wall. (The bedroom is lacking in wall art, style and creative direction.)

I also bought a paper tape (which is less than exciting) and a small gift (which I will share after Christmas). All in all it was a great Renegade. The weather was perfect–cool and sunny–and the company was wonderful. It’s always fun to meet the creative people behind the wares.

If you’d like to read more from Renegade Chicago, Rebecca from Hugs are Fun has a great post on Renegade with detailed shots of some of the booths and Robyn from Robayre has a lot of great stuff to share too.

OH, and if you missed Renegade, Show of Hands is coming up on November 22 and 23. Karen and I went last year and it was as great as Renegade, only smaller. I highly recommend is as a kick-off to your holiday shopping!

(My 2012 Renegade post is here.)

Tagged adventures, crafts, diy, mail art, Renegade Chicago, shopping, snail mail, summer

Sep 15 2014

1 Comment

adventures, Forest Park, Oak Park, gardening, summer manifesto

Plot #6: The Loofah Takeover

This is the south end of our plot, where the flowers and the Brandywine tomatoes reside. And yes, that’s a loofah vine growing all the way over there. (The loofahs were planted on the northeast corner of our four-by-eight plot.) I’m not so worried, since our tomatoes are almost done, but man, next year we really do need to plan our plot better! Back in the north end of the plot, you can see the loofahs are overflowing outside of our raised bed…I’ve been tucking them back into the border, but some of the loofahs are cozily making themselves at home. They sound a tiny bit more hollow than they did last week, and their color is lightening ever so slightly, so hopefully, we can pick them soon. (I know I keep saying this, but really…I have no idea when the perfect time for picking is!) It has been really cold here the past few days–sweater weather, sock weather, jacket weather cold. I’m personally loving it, but I’m hoping it means long fall and not early winter. Yikes!

How is your garden growing? Are things slowing down?

Tagged adventures, food, forest park, garden, gardening, summer

Sep 10 2014

3 Comments

adventures at the library, Forest Park, Oak Park, snail mail

Guess Who’s Coming To Forest Park?

On Saturday (September 13) the Letter Writers Alliance is hosting a letter writing social at the Forest Park Public Library!

I love attending letter socials and LWA events and it’s even better when I can walk to one! The social goes from 1:30-3PM and more details can be found here on the library website.

Since I sent out twenty-five letters earlier this month, I’m not sure I will have anything in my mailbox that needs a response by Saturday, so I plan to write some friends and family just because. Those are the best kinds of letters anyway, right?

To see what to pack for a letter social, go here.

Tagged adventures, forest park, mail art, office supplies, rubber stamp, snail mail

Sep 09 2014

2 Comments

crafty adventures, Office Supplies, snail mail, Uncategorized

Handmade “Aerograms”

I’ve had these stamp information sheets since this LWA RSVP series in 2012. I found them in my vast paper stash while I was geting my desk organized (which is still an ongoing project–so many drawers, so many decisions.) The stamp sheets have pictures and educational bits on one side and are blank on the other, so I figured I could write letters and fold them into makeshift aerograms. The paper is thick and sturdy, perfect for handwriting or typewriters and I knew if I used some washi tape to seal it all up, that the recipients could (hopefully) open their letters easily without cutting into them. I hand wrote a letter to April on the “Postage Stamps of New Zealand” sheet. Then I folded the sheet into thirds, paying attention to how the back would look. I wanted the title part (seen at the top photo) to be the feature.I folded some red paper tape (from Target) over the two ends. Then I used thick washi tape (from Japan) to seal the top. I wrapped the thick washi tape around the front of the envelope and stamped the ends with an “OPEN HERE” stamp (from a set of postal-themed stamps that I bought it Japan). Hopefully, the little directions will prevent the sendees from tearing open the aerogram like an envelope. I had so much fun making these and spending out some of my paper hoard. I’m thrilled that I found my letter writing mojo again!

Tagged crafts, diy, mail art, office supplies, rubber stamp, snail mail

Sep 08 2014

6 Comments

Forest Park, Oak Park, snail mail

USPS Consumer Advisory Council

Thanks to another Letter Writers Alliance virtual letter social and a long Labor Day weekend of letter writing, I am all caught up on my mail. These four letters were just the start of a deluge of mail that left my apartment over the past couple of weeks. I’m still doing my best to keep the USPS in business.

Speaking of the post office…I’ve never mentioned it here, but I have the best letter carrier. His name is John and he knew my name within a couple of weeks of living here. He goes out of his way to wave HELLO from down the street when he is delivering in the neighborhood. He patiently and enthusiastically handled thousands of pieces of mail for me during my Honor Flight Mail Call days. He is incredibly detailed and efficient, yet takes time to answer a question or chat with you for a moment when you run down to his truck to hand off some letters. If he’s not training the next generation of letter carriers, he should be. He is a model postman.

I feel very lucky, and spoiled by John. This winter, during the polar vortex, John didn’t miss a beat delivering our mail at normal times in sub, sub-zero temperatures. But the polar vortex highlighted all sorts of problems my community was having with mail delivery. I read a lot of articles like this one where people in Forest Park, Oak Park and River Forest had a laundry list of complaints about missing mail, no mail, late mail, wrong mail…all sorts of problems.

So, the USPS created a Postal Consumer Advisory Council made up of local citizens and “mail officials” to help solve the problems of the post office on a local level. Of course, I applied. I love the post office and in general, I have a lot of positive things to say about the USPS. I feel like it’s still a great value to send a letter or a card across the country or across the ocean. I feel like those letters get there pretty quickly, too. But I also know from some pretty dreadful experiences at the post office counters in Forest Park, River Forest and Oak Park (I frequent all three out of desperation to find good service) and some bad experiences with delayed and missing mail when John is on vacation that there are some serious customer service issues.

Last month I got a letter saying I was accepted to the committee! Our first meeting is next week and I couldn’t be more excited. According to the letter, the council will “increase opportunities for postal consumers to interact with postal representatives.” We will be able to voice concerns, share ideas and suggestions and resolve issues. It all feels sort of rose-colored glasses idealistic, but I’m hoping the committee and the post office can come up with some good ideas for improvements. And that those improvements are implemented and positive changes are made.

I promise to report back.

Oh, and if you, too, love your letter carrier, One Canoe Two created this fun printable for you to pass along.

Tagged forest park, mail art, snail mail