Personalize A Letter Through Language With Eva Jorgensen Of Sycamore Street Press
Looking for ways to make your letters feel more thoughtful? We've struggled with this a bit especially with pen pals, so we're always looking for fresh ideas! Eva Jorgensen of Sycamore Street Press has stepped in to share the ins and outs of word intimacy and authenticity. Follow her on Instagram for daily inspo: @SycamoreStreetPress. - Hello!Lucky & Egg Press
Photo by Jessica Peterson
Hello friends! I'm so glad to be here -- I love everything about the #write_on campaign. Ever since I was a kid, I've had pen pals and enjoyed writing and sending snail mail. So much so, that I started my own stationery company straight out of school. And I guess that wasn't enough, because I'm also collaborating on a series of short films called The Art of Correspondence. This series aims to show how good old fashioned letter writing brings people together in a way that modern technology can't replicate.
There are so many ways to personalize a letter visually -- through the choice of stationery or the DIY creation of it, through embellishments to the envelope, through the inclusion of photos, stickers, and other bits of paper ephemera, etc... I'm a designer, so of course I love all of that. But most of the time, the core of the letter comes down to the message -- the language.
Here are 3 ways I use to personalize a letter through language.
1) Get intimate.
I'm a pretty avid user of social media, and you can learn quite a bit about my life from following me on my newsletter, blog, Instagram, and even Pinterest. So when I write a letter to a good friend, I want to make sure that I am telling them things that they haven't heard online. Things that tend to be a bit more personal and intimate. It could be anything from thoughts about my children's personalities, to questions about my long term goals, to creative ideas that are still "top secret". Or maybe just beautiful little details that can get so easily overlooked... things like the way the late afternoon light hits the kitchen wall, or the way my daughter pads into our room early in the morning and crawls into bed with us. The goal is to have it feel almost like we're sitting shoulder to shoulder, tea in hand, having one of those wonderful late night conversations between friends that you never want to end. Even if social media isn't your thing, if you tend to get stumped for letter content -- try thinking of what you would say in one of those late night heart to hearts.
2) Make a list.
My friend Claire Dollan and I have been pen pals for many years. A tradition she started from the beginning was including a list at the end of each letter. It's essentially a list of favorites -- things we are loving at that moment. It might include anything from foods, to songs, to brands, to changes in the weather. It's always a fun little snapshot of each other's lives.
3) Include a quote or poem you know they would love.
I try and keep a list in a notebook of lovely quotes that I come across in movies, books, articles, songs, talks, etc... And if I'm looking for a quote on a specific subject, I'll even search online. (Goodreads is a favorite source.) Usually, I'll just write it in the body of the letter, but if you're feeling inspired, here are a few ideas of how you could get creative with it:
- Make a little watercolor painting featuring the quote.
- Stitch a little sampler with the quote.
- Lay out the quote in black and white using Photoshop or Illustrator, and then take it to a copy shop to get made into a huge engineering print. Fold this down to fit into a manilla envelope.
- Cut out all the letters from the quote, and number each letter on the back, so they can lay them out in order and figure out what the quote says.
If you'd like a little help with the lettering and layout, feel free to download my free template of these wise words by Mahatma Gandhi. You can use it to execute any of the above ideas either by tracing, printing, cutting out, etc...
Thanks for reading! I hope these ideas help you in your letter writing endeavors for #write_on 2015. And if you'd like to see more of my stationery designs and the Art of Correspondence films when they come out, you can follow along on Instagram:@SycamoreStreetPress and @NorrFilm.