The Future of Snail Mail

It is no question that we live in a digital world: Technology is moving at lightning speed, magazine sales are down, and we have instant gratification at our finger tips.  This does not go unnoticed when you work in the stationery industry. At times I’ve questioned my future with this job. Will it withstand this tech-savvy generation that sends greetings in seconds with their thumbs, and gives birthday wishes via Facebook walls? It’s easy to wonder if what I’m doing in life is meaningful when some can so easily forgo sending a card due to cost, time, convenience, etc.

A couple weeks ago, though, I received a message from a customer that said:

“I have purchased your cards for years and I’m now a widow. Your cards were a part of every holiday. I would get my guy a card to make him laugh. And stacked away in his dresser is every single one of your cards. There may always be people with rude actions, and then there are us, the people whose lives you touch in ways you never could imagine.”
Photo by Aperture Coffee.

So I (of course) bawled. I bawled because I’m me, and I cry at all things.  I bawled because after ordering our love cards for four years, this customer is now a widow. But most of all, I bawled about that last sentence:  “people whose lives you touch in ways you never could imagine.”

Her words really opened my eyes, and I immediately took myself out of business stress mode and imagined the moments my cards were exchanged – special, intimate moments between two people, maybe partners, friends, family members, who love each other.  It made me realize that I get so wrapped up in the constant worries of running a business that I completely lost sight of what I’m offering, what I’m a part of, what snail mail represents…. love.

I truly believe, that as long as there is love in this world, there will be snail mail.

x, Julie