shop love: the art of the handwritten note

this week, I'm going to feature some of my favorite items in my new shop with a little blurb every day leading up to GRAND OPENING day on Friday! (did I tell you I was excited?!)

Oh, I am.


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the art of the handwritten note

I'm sure it isn't lost on you, but the art of the handwritten note is dying. a quick (yet rather painful to me) death to email, paperless billing, fb messages, the smart phone, the tablet ...


Oh, isn't there just something about receiving an unexpected note in the mail? If written with care, it tickles my heart and makes my day. And it doesn't happen very often, mind you. So, I try instead to be that person who sends. Not in order to get one in return (although I don't mind!), but just to make another's day. And to be a little different. Although, in honesty, I have to admit that since the events of 2010, the frequency of my random handwritten notes has lessened. However, I still highly value it.

As is evidenced by my love of antique and vintage things, I love to read old letters, find old cards and notes. The next generations won't be able to happen upon a stack of old love letters - they'll be hidden away somewhere in cyberspace in another's forgotten inbox. This, I think, is simply terrible.

True, I won't say there aren't any perks about keyboard and mouse communication.  It's wonderfully nice to get a email chock-full of news from your best friend or a sincerely written note over fb. I love those too. I even find that I can express myself better by typing fast while I'm thinking it rather than penning it slowly. Some days it's just easier and makes much more sense to just send a little note over the computer (especially when I have limited time because of a certain little lady). There are people I never would've kept up with or known about their lives if the age of technology hadn't made it so.

So, don't get me wrong, I appreciate that.

But, there is something almost inexplicably different about giving and receiving heartfelt, handwritten text. It's more human, more connecting, more tangible. You can literally feel the note, see from where it came, appreciate the effort and time it took to compose. That humanity is something that technology, no matter how wonderful, will never be able to duplicate.

So, as technology continues to trend in this direction, I hope to pass on this dying art to my child, even if it is only sometimes utilized and under-appreciated. For, perhaps, someone might be blessed and the tangible care of others might be instilled.