Re:trospective on 2009

[Alyson Kuhn] I have loved being the editor of Felt & Wire during its first year of life. The ease of e-publishing has changed my life beyond my wildest imaginings. Think it, write it, post it. Love it. Thanks to technology, my inspiration and gratification have sometimes been almost simultaneous. And 2009 has been My Most Postal Year. I wish to toast my correspondents, both new and renewed – and encourage you to click those links.

I rekuhnnected with several accomplished mail-senders: Bev Dittberner, who most recently sent me a toasty treasure trove of cinderellas, in the envelope shown here. Beth Goldstein, who maintains both an incredible collection of business cards and an extraordinary correspondence with Audrey in Portland, Maine. Beth and Audrey have been penpals for 40 years and have never met! Bari Zaki, with whom I traded some writing for her website for glorious boxes for my new stationery and envelopes. What a felicitous kuhnfluence of needs – Bari needing descriptions of the vintage and handmade correspondence accessories she offers in her B’Zaar, and my deciding to house my stationery in a luxurious linen suite. And Jennie Hinchcliff, co-author of Good Mail Day and virtual postmistress of her own fab blog.

My year was rich in new mail kuhnnections. Felt & Wire “brought” me Laura Tarrish, via Jessica Helfand, via Pam Williams. I loved Laura’s guest post, and  am pleased to report that she has started making puns with her name, my favorite being “Just put it in the tarrash.” Thanks to Felt & Wire, I received my first, glorious piece of mail from Good Mail Day co-author and self-proclaimed superdilettante Carolee Gilligan Wheeler, whom I got to meet at the “best mail evening”  booksigning. O, joy: Samara O’Shea, epistolary exemplar for the under-30 set, via Trish Kinsella. The gracious Claire Reyes, who found Mohawk at the National Stationery Show, sent me a gem-like thank-you note {lòók left} for including her work in our post about handwriting.

And, speaking of thank-you notes: I received my first piece of post from my 13-year-old friend Molly H. Her thoughtful communique fills me with hope for the future of paper-based social civility. Her note was short and sweet, seemingly spontaneous, and appreciative in the extreme.

Last week, I asked Molly whether she and her contemporaries mail each other thank-you notes, or whether they thank each other digitally. She assured me that she and her friends send actual notes to all gift-givers, including each other. I told Molly how much I had enjoyed her note to me, and asked what she thinks makes for a good thank-you note. Her immediate response: A good thank-you note is one that doesn’t sound generic. Yes, she said generic. Note Molly’s row of green dots across the bottom of her note, reprising the printed dots beneath her name. I asked whether everyone got those dots … and it turned out that she was ”getting creative with my extra space” when the note was short. So, the note I loved was a shortie! Makes me love it even more.

I also received noteworthy mail from gentlemen. But their loot tends to be larger and more difficult to visually detail here. One standout was a limited-edition thank-you poster from Steve Hartman, mailed in a gigantic black envelope … into which I put a small thank-you note and a medium broadside, and mailed it back to him, with lots o’ postage, natch.

Lòóking forward:  I will continue to be the biggest blogger on Felt & Wire – but as of today, I am passing the editorial baton to Tom Biederbeck. I have had the kuhnsiderable pleasure of writing for Tom in his capacity as editor of Dynamic Graphics and then STEP inside design. Just as I have benefitted from his judicious and generous editing, Felt & Wire will benefit from his vision and his amazing network. Tomorrow, right here, Sean Adams interviews Tom. Wednesday, right here, I will show-and-tell about some of the mail I’ve received from Tom {and perhaps pun around with his name}.

Alyson Kuhn avers that this is her hyperlinkiest post ever. Hyperlinks, the sausage of champions. Don’t smoke them, click them.