A stationery shop owner misses the childhood thrill of receiving correspondence in the post – so she’s reclaimed the lost art of letter writing and started a global movement.
Rebecca Maguire’s great uncle Colin used to send her sketches and art supplies in the mail, and this brought her great joy.
But recently people started asking him: why doesn’t anyone send letters anymore?
When Rebecca, 35, and husband Karl, 39, opened stationery shop Wildflower Illustration Co in their home town of Cheltenham, customers kept asking what had happened to the lost art of letter writing.
“People were lamenting the fact that as a society we’ve stopped doing this as regular practice. A lot of people thought that if they wrote someone a letter out of the blue, they might think they were dying, or something strange was going on,” says Rebecca.
‘So we decided to start writing letters ourselves.’
Every Sunday afternoon, Rebekah, Karli and daughter Alba, now seven, sat down and wrote to their loved ones, despite the fact that she was busy with little Eddie and running the business.
“We promised ourselves we would do it. Then it became practice and we enjoyed it a lot as a family. So last October, we launched http://www.thesudayletterproject.com,’; says Rebecca.
The free project invites people to pledge to spend some time each Sunday writing to loved ones, and within weeks more than 1,000 people had signed up.
So Rebecca then created a pen pal project where people could write letters to strangers through one of 200 stationery shops and bookstores around the world.
It just caught people’s imaginations. “People were getting fed up with the Internet, with the search for punishment, and everything that was online, and they were feeling like they had no physical memories to hold on to anymore,” she says.
Letter writing can provide people with an alternative to immersing themselves in their papers TELEPHONEsays Rebecca, after a landmark study found that people in the UK spend an average of 4.7 years of their lives walking.
Rebecca’s move went viral with one Instagram post by @thesundayletterproject, getting a million views. Now, with 12,000 members writing 52 times a year, three million letters will be sent over the next five years.
“It’s really captured people’s imaginations,” says Rebecca.
“Now people can go to some very nice shops around the world and help themselves to a basket of letters called input letters and they can write again.”
She also works with charityraising letter writers for the lonely and isolated and those undergoing treatment for cancer.
“I’ve always loved letters. I know from my own experience that there’s something really special about a letter. It seems to freeze time and handwriting captures the essence of a person. In a digital world, those experiences are so thin on the ground, so it’s wonderful to make that connection through pen and paper.’
Rebecca argues that it’s a deeply relaxing practice that helps you slow down and live more intentionally.
“There’s also a lot of evidence now that writing by hand is good for you and that there are a lot of benefits to putting pen to paper. People spend so much time on screens, which is low-effort, high-reward, that it makes things in real life seem harder than they are,” she says.
“But the unique thing about it is that paper makes us feel good. You choose beautiful paper and stickers and then you’re making something with your hands in the real world. You’re creating something and it produces a sense of accomplishment. It might just be a small thing, but it feels like a real accomplishment.’
Rebecca, who now has her own pen pal Californiasays it offers a healthy alternative to the dizzying march of AI and helps people develop their critical thinking skills during a time of great flux.
“I loved getting letters as a kid. Nowadays, it’s just bills and online shopping, which is just empty dopamine. It seems so sad that there’s a whole generation of kids who don’t experience that joy,” she says.
“If you’re thinking of writing a letter or joining, I’d encourage you to give it a go. Most people who’ve tried the Sunday Letter Project absolutely loved the experience. It’s nice to take some time for yourself and get involved in an activity that makes you feel really good.’
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