no picture today because i have been reminded by my fan club to mention why the envelope is such a big deal? even if a person does not like their name, it gets used daily and they have a bond with it. seeing your name written artfully is just plain fun. the contents of the envelope may be very important, but a beautiful envelope conveys the message that the guest is just as important as the event. and, face it, how much fun is your party going to be without guests.
one of my favorite stories about the magic of the artful envelope is about how the most unlikely
people are wowed by envelopes. years ago, when my daughter was in high school, she mentioned that she was going to visit a friend in the hospital, a guy who was probably 17 or 18 at the time. she had a get well card and i had one of the Superman stamps and lettered a fun envelope for the guy. even though she was hand delivering the card, it was fun to mimic the Superman lettering when writing the name of the guy. she mentioned that he really liked the envelope.
a few months later, another friend (also a young guy) was in the hospital with a serious injury. he was probably in a lot of pain, but when my daughter appeared at his bedside, the first thing he said was, "Where's my envelope?" he remembered the Superman envelope and figured that anyone in the hospital was entitled to some artful mail. of course, she delivered one as soon as possible.
this story reminds me that the most unexpected people (young guys) are just as impressed and grateful for personalized art work as the crafty girls and women who are the typical fans of the decorative arts. this is not the only time i have heard about guys who appreciate the artful envelopes. while many of mine are very feminine and floral, it is just as much fun to do sets of envelopes for guys. luckily, the post office produces lots of stamps honoring guys.
when my son was in his second year of college, he shared a house with 3 other guys. one day, for fun, i sent him a fancy envelope and i remembered the names of two of the other guys at the house and sent envelopes to them, too. the next time i talked to him he said that on the day the envelopes arrived, he walked in the door to the house, and was approached by the guy whose name i could not remember. he said "Where's MY envelope?" my kid did not know what he was talking about at first. i did send the other kid an envelope as soon as i learned his name. but, again, this illustrates that the most unlikely people truly enjoy something as simple as an artful envelope.
This is a wonderful story. We should be putting more beautiful envelopes in the maibox (and including a hand written short note), especially directed to the younger generation, to remind them that a font is not as beautiful a greeting as a hand made calligraphic word. Way to go Jean!
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