With a fresh new year filled with Pretty Postal activities, we thought we'd take a moment to re-introduce ourselves to you! Here's a mini interview with Andrea, our resident snail mail lover, promoter and supporter of stationery designers, and advocate for the lost art of letter writing!
Hi Andrea! You create and send oodles of beautiful mail, what are your must-haves for creating pretty mail?
Washi tape! I love embellishing envelopes with washi tape. My fave brands are Daily Like, mt and maste. It's such fun to combine different patterns and weave tapes together.
A selection of pretty papers and ephemera. I like to use a mix of solids and bright patterns, along with stickers, doilies, pages from vintage magazines and cookbooks and old calendars.
A good pen. Don't your thoughts flow better with the right pen? Some of my go-to pens are the Muji Gel-Ink Ballpoint, Pilot Juice Up 04 and Sakura Gelly Roll.
Great stamps. I enjoy using a combination of vintage and current postage. There are so many fantastic stamps to choose from, and they can make envelopes just a bit more special.
What do you love about Pretty Postal?
I love that the Pretty Postal swaps bring together snail mailers from around the world. Snail mail is such a lovely way of connecting - it's an opportunity to take pause, get creative and to make something that has the potential to brighten the day of someone that you've never met. It's cool to watch new friendships developing between swap partners.
I like that the swaps and monthly themes provide creative inspiration, and it's really fun to watch as participants interpret themes in a variety of ways. I'm really excited to see what 2020 brings for Pretty Postal, and to see how people respond to the monthly themes. I'm looking froward to participating as well!
What are you excited about for 2020?
It's the beginning of a new year - and a new decade! I'm excited about all of the possibilities for what lays ahead...I am really looking forward to planning the second Toronto Stationery Show with my paper partner, Queenie. There are so many talented designers and makers across the country! I always look forward to monthly meet ups of the Toronto Letter Writers Society - all are welcome to join in and catch up on correspondence. On a personal note, I am really grateful to be able to watch my toddler marvel at the world as he discovers new things.
Andrea is the co-founder of the Toronto Stationery Show, Q&A Letterbox, and the Toronto Letter Writer's Society. Connect with Andrea over on Instagram!
