I have been looking for a 'white coloured' pen for ages to do touch ups and stuff. I live in the UK, does anyone have any recommendations? The ones I have had either didn't work at all or are like ink and they come out way too quickly. Thank you!
A little while back I posted here about my snail mail club and I thought I would share someone else's feedback.
One of the families lives in Australia. This week the mum sent me an update and it was so heartwarming I thought I'd share it. I work a corporate job 9-6 to support this and to be honest THIS is what keeps me going, it feels so much more meaningful than my regular job and I always ended up feeling incredibly emotional when reading reviews.
The only reason I'm sharing this is to hopefully push some of you who are not sure whether to go and do something they feel is more meaningful, do it!!
Before one of their letters had arrived, the family went out to some nearby woods and the daughters wrote their own letters to the forest, thanking it for the trees and the animals, and left it on a tree. She sent me photos of it! She also mentioned there aren't any hedgehogs where they live in Australia, only echidnas.
The next day Prickly's actual letter arrived, a simple hello and nice-to-meet-you. But when they got home, the family had a little tea party of their own and placed the letter down next to the teapot. The girls were thrilled to open the letter and went straight off to draw pictures back for Prickly.
I just don't think the feeling of creating joy in someone's life is replaceable with any personal corporate work achievements. There is something so natural and wonderful about helping someone feel joy, especially a kid.
I hope this brought some joy and motivation to you too :))
I made a snail mail club for kids and this is what you'd receive in a typical letter!
I am struggling to find the right market though, does anyone have any advice on marketing to families of toddlers?
Thanks so much :) 🦔
A while back I hand-drew a letter as a gift - a hedgehog character called Prickly "writing" to a kid about whatever he'd been up to.
It's since turned into an actual monthly subscription!
A few honest things I didn't expect going in:
Not selling anything here, genuinely happy to hear your advice on running/marketing something like this or happy to answer anything about how it runs day to day if anyone's building something similar.
I am doing a kids snail mail, but I don't know how to do the wrapping up? Do you know of any A6 sleeves that aren't plastic that look nice and aren't expensive?
Tyyyyy
Parents: if you could send your child one envelope every month, what would you put in it?
I’m genuinely curious about this because I’m currently making a little monthly snail-mail project for children and I keep changing my mind about what makes an envelope feel really exciting.
A story that continues every month? A mystery to solve? Stickers? A tiny paper toy? Something they can write back to? A secret code? A character who remembers them?
I feel like there’s a very specific sweet spot between “this is magical” and “this feels like homework”
What would your child go absolutely mad for?
Hi everyone. I make a children's snail-mail subscription where kids receive handwritten letters, illustrations and other surprises through the post each month.
I'm trying to figure out what would make something like this genuinely exciting for a child and worth paying for as a parent.
So, if you were going to subscribe your child to a monthly letter club, what would you actually want them to receive?
Would it be:
What would make you think, “Yep, my kid would absolutely love this”?
Thanks so much for your time
I was wondering if anyone had any ideas as to what I can make this character do in a kids snail mail. So this is month 1 and month 2's prints, and I wouldn't really want to introduce a new character every month. Any ideas? Thank you so much :))
I went back to Italy (in Cinque Terre, Tuscany is my hometown) after living in London for 4 years, and it was the most incredible weekend. I absolutely loved it.
One thing I realised is how different the social culture is. In Italy, it’s so normal to chat with people around you, even strangers. You talk to the waiter, the person sitting next to you in a restaurant, someone on the train… conversations just happen.
Coming back made me notice how much we had adapted to London life. We were rushing everywhere, even though we were on a relaxing long weekend holiday. We decided to slow down, take everything in, and enjoy each moment more.
I didn’t realise how much I missed those little interactions until I was back. I genuinely didn’t want to leave.
I’ve also noticed that people in England can feel much harder to approach. Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like there’s sometimes a pressure to be “interesting” or funny straight away, with good stories, humour, or self-deprecation, whereas in Italy you can just chat about absolutely anything and everything.
I wonder if anyone else has noticed this difference between cultures? Is it just me?
I started Dear Little Thing as a way to bring back the feeling of receiving something thoughtful in the post. It’s a monthly letter and art print subscription that I run completely myself. I draw the piece, write the letters, prepare the envelopes, add the wax seals and post everything.
There are two versions:
I’m still early in the journey, but these are some things I’ve learned so far:
- Handmade businesses are harder to scale than they look
The thing people like most about it (that everything is made by me) is also the thing that limits growth. More subscribers means more drawing, packing and admin time.
- A good product doesn’t automatically mean people find it
I’ve spent a lot of time learning about marketing and trying to find the right places and audiences without turning everything into an advert.
I thought the artwork would be the main attraction, but a lot of people seem to connect more with the idea of receiving something personal and offline.
Right now I’m trying to figure out how to grow while keeping the handmade aspect that makes it different.
For anyone who has built a product-based business: what was something you learned by doing this? Do you have any ideas at all, any other observations at all?
Hey everyone, I am looking for ideas for the third letter of my snail mail.
The idea is that these will be sent to children. The first one is a shy hedgehog who is writing to a penpal for the first time and is nervous and shy.
The second one is the hedgehog and a bee becoming friends.
Any ideas what kids like to see? Or character traits they could have or extra bits I can include in the letter? I made some temporary tattoos of the characters for letter 2 and for letter 1 I have things like stickers and scented paper etc.
Thank you so much :))
I run a small subscription business - hand-drawn monthly letters with art prints, handwritten letters etc.
Thank you so much :))
Does anyone here use acrylic markers? Are they worth it do you think?
Hi everyone :)
I started a snail mail club back in April as a creative side project. By June I had just two subscribers.
One of them is a mum, and she told me this week something that made me smile. Her four-year-old daughter received her first letter on Sunday. It was written as if from a shy hedgehog living in a hedge, inviting her to write back to the woodland with help from a bee who collects the post.
That morning, the little girl wrote her own letter thanking the woodland for the trees, plants and animals, then went into the garden and “posted” it into the trees.
Later that day, another letter arrived from the hedgehog… talking about having his first ever tea party with the bee. Apparently she’d spent the morning having a tea party with her stuffed animals.
Just one of those small moments that makes you stop and smile.
I started a snail mail club in April. I have maybe 2 subscribers now by June.
This week one of them, a mum, wrote to tell me her four-year-old daughter received her first letter on Sunday. It's a letter from a shy hedgehog called Prickly (I write a children's version too, where the letters come from a fictional hedgehog in a hawthorn hedge).
In the letter, Prickly invites her to write back to him, to the woodland, with the help of a bee called Buzzy who fetches the post.
The mum told me that on Sunday morning, her daughter sat and wrote a letter to the woodland, thanking it for the trees and the plants and the animals. They walked out to their garden (which backs onto woodland) and "posted" it into the trees.
That same afternoon, Prickly's letter arrived. The kid had spent the morning having a tea party with her stuffed animals. And the letter from Prickly was all about him having his first ever tea party with the bee.
Coincidences like this are the whole reason I do snail mail. Anyway, I just wanted to share with people who would understand.
Snail mail still does something nothing else can!
I started a snail mail club in April. I have maybe 2 subscribers now by June.
This week one of them, a mum, wrote to tell me her four-year-old daughter received her first letter on Sunday. It's a letter from a shy hedgehog called Prickly (I write a children's version too, where the letters come from a fictional hedgehog in a hawthorn hedge).
In the letter, Prickly invites her to write back to him, to the woodland, with the help of a bee called Buzzy who fetches the post.
The mum told me that on Sunday morning, her daughter sat and wrote a letter to the woodland, thanking it for the trees and the plants and the animals. They walked out to their garden (which backs onto woodland) and "posted" it into the trees.
That same afternoon, Prickly's letter arrived. The kid had spent the morning having a tea party with her stuffed animals. And the letter from Prickly was all about him having his first ever tea party with the bee.
Coincidences like this are the whole reason I do snail mail. Anyway, I just wanted to share with people who would understand.
Snail mail still does something nothing else can!
I started a snail mail club in April. I have maybe 2 subscribers now by June.
This week one of them, a mum, wrote to tell me her four-year-old daughter received her first letter on Sunday. It's a letter from a shy hedgehog called Prickly (I write a children's version too, where the letters come from a fictional hedgehog in a hawthorn hedge).
In the letter, Prickly invites her to write back to him, to the woodland, with the help of a bee called Buzzy who fetches the post.
The mum told me that on Sunday morning, her daughter sat and wrote a letter to the woodland, thanking it for the trees and the plants and the animals. They walked out to their garden (which backs onto woodland) and "posted" it into the trees.
That same afternoon, Prickly's letter arrived. The kid had spent the morning having a tea party with her stuffed animals. And the letter from Prickly was all about him having his first ever tea party with the bee.
Coincidences like this are the whole reason I do snail mail. Anyway, I just wanted to share with people who would understand.
Snail mail still does something nothing else can!
I started a snail mail club in April. I have maybe 2 subscribers now by June.
This week one of them, a mum, wrote to tell me her four-year-old daughter received her first letter on Sunday. It's a letter from a shy hedgehog called Prickly (I write a children's version too, where the letters come from a fictional hedgehog in a hawthorn hedge).
In the letter, Prickly invites her to write back to him, to the woodland, with the help of a bee called Buzzy who fetches the post.
The mum told me that on Sunday morning, her daughter sat and wrote a letter to the woodland, thanking it for the trees and the plants and the animals. They walked out to their garden (which backs onto woodland) and "posted" it into the trees.
That same afternoon, Prickly's letter arrived. The kid had spent the morning having a tea party with her stuffed animals. And the letter from Prickly was all about him having his first ever tea party with the bee.
Coincidences like this are the whole reason I do snail mail. Anyway, I just wanted to share with people who would understand.
Snail mail still does something nothing else can!
I started a tiny snail mail business in April. I have maybe 2 subscribers now by June.
This week one of them, a mum, wrote to tell me her four-year-old daughter received her first letter on Sunday.
It's a letter from a shy hedgehog called Prickly (I write a children's version too, where the letters come from a fictional hedgehog in a hawthorn hedge).
In the letter, Prickly invites her to write back to him, to the woodland, with the help of a bee called Buzzy who fetches the post.
The mum told me that on Sunday morning, her daughter sat and wrote a letter to the woodland, thanking it for the trees and the plants and the animals. They walked out to their garden (which backs onto woodland) and "posted" it into the trees.
That same afternoon, Prickly's letter arrived. The kid had spent the morning having a tea party with her stuffed animals. And the letter from Prickly was all about him having his first ever tea party with the bee.
Coincidences like this are the whole reason I do snail mail.
I am always looking for advice on what to put in these letters and how to market myself better.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
You can find me on socials @dearlittlethingletters and on my website dearlittlething.com.
Anyway, I just wanted to share with people who would understand.
Snail mail still does something nothing else can.
