letter writing Archives

The Letters in My Grandmother’s Desk: What Seventy-Year-Old Ink Taught Me About Paper

Ellen Ashford · July 26, 2026

The Letters in My Grandmother's Desk: What Seventy-Year-Old Ink Taught Me About Paper

The Desk Arrived on a Tuesday My grandmother’s writing desk came down from her attic in three pieces, wrapped in moving blankets that smelled like cedar and old wool. I had expected the desk itself. What I had not expected was the shallow center drawer, still locked, and the small brass key taped to the … Read more

Building a Stationery Set That Makes People Want to Write Back

Ellen Ashford · July 16, 2026

Building a Stationery Set That Makes People Want to Write Back

I started collecting analog tools because I was tired of things disappearing. Emails vanish into folders. Texts get buried under notifications. However, a handwritten letter on good paper? That sits on a desk. Someone picks it up twice. They notice the weight of it, the slight tooth of the page, the way ink sits differently … Read more

Pen Pal Culture in the Internet Age: Where to Start

Ellen Ashford · July 15, 2026

Pen Pal Culture in the Internet Age: Where to Start

People always assume pen pal culture in the internet age is a nostalgic quirk — something retirees do, or a twee hobby for people who collect vintage typewriters and call it a personality. I used to half-believe that myself. Then, about six years ago, I sent a handwritten letter to a woman in Kyoto who … Read more

The Case for Writing Letters in 2026: Why I Send One Every Week

Ellen Ashford · July 12, 2026

The Case for Writing Letters in 2026: Why I Send One Every Week

Last Tuesday, my neighbor knocked on my door holding a cream-colored envelope. She looked genuinely confused — almost suspicious of it. “Did you put this in my mailbox?” she asked. I had. Inside was a two-page letter I’d written the previous Sunday morning, thanking her for watching my cat while I was away. She stood … Read more