A Love Letter To Paper
When I was little, I was obsessed with letters.
I adored anything to do with the postman or sending mail. I wrote letters to everyone - my teachers, my grandparents, my friends, local shops - sometimes even to my family in the same house — I really loved a letter. Recently, I found one that my mum had saved, and reading it back to my daughter transported me straight to that feeling. The thrill of putting pen to paper, folding it into the envelope and dropping it into a postbox, not knowing exactly when it would arrive, but knowing that when it did, someone would smile.
Paper has been woven into all our lives in one way or another.
It’s a material that everyone - creative or not, has used. From childhood drawings to books that shape our worlds, the important documents we sign, or the notes we scribble and tuck away. Nowhere is its potential more profound than in creativity. The scrap of paper that saw the first scrawl of an idea, the thick textured sheets chosen for a printed piece, the feeling of a letter in your hand. And when we send it out into the world - to friends, to family - it becomes something even more special.
In an age where so much of life is digital, the tangible feels more precious than ever.
The weight of a handwritten note. The beauty of an envelope addressed in familiar handwriting. A message that won’t disappear into an inbox, but will be kept in a drawer, revisited in years to come. Recently, during the devastating LA fires, people weren’t scrambling to save everyday objects, but rather letters and cards - pieces of paper holding irreplaceable words from loved ones. Proof that what we write, and how we send it, truly matters.
That’s one of the reasons I started Dear You Paperie. I couldn’t find simple, watercolour cards in beautiful designs, so during my maternity leave, I started painting again. What began as something just for me soon became something I wanted to share - little pieces of paper carrying celebration and connection.
And that’s why I wanted this space, Dear You Dispatch - to celebrate the art of the written note. A place to talk about favourite pens, the joy of writing, the things we love to send and receive and the paper goods that make life more beautiful.
Of course, the irony isn’t lost on me that this is all digital… but here we are! A modern love letter to an old tradition. I’m so glad you’re here.