Handmade cards have increased in popularity by a huge amount over recent years, and it's easy to see why. They offer the chance to give a unique, thoughtful and personal card to a friend or loved one, which is something we all like to do.

 
We all know the pleasure of seeing an envelope drop on the mat which doesn’t have a printed address. One which doesn’t have a plastic window with your name peeping through. An envelope which isn’t manila, hasn’t been franked and isn’t addressed “Dear Householder” either.
 
The joy in seeing a real letter pop through your door is tremendous. It’s a little ray of sunshine in a world of takeaway menus and bills. I love to receive a postcard from my sister or a hello card from my best friend as (sadly) I don’t get to live in the same town as either of them. As we move away from living in the same town we grew up in and we turn more to travel, moving house and jobs more often, the value of a simple piece of hand-written correspondence is huge.
 
Obviously we can’t send snail mail every time we want to check a date to meet up, or have a quick question about something. But for birthdays, Christmas, weddings and even the odd “just to say hello” occasion, it’s lovely to seek out something special.
 
It was these thoughts that prompted us to put together a selection of handmade cards for our site, as a little extra when buying a lampshade or cushion or a gift for a friend. We have a lovely range of cards hand-printed by SORT in London with terribly British sayings like “So Long, Old Bean”, alongside a small (perfectly-formed) range of cards by talented artist Mrs Eliot Books.
 
Writing this post about how lovely it is to receive a proper piece of mail has inspired me to add more to our card collection, so keep your eyes peeled for new items coming soon. And, if you are a designer of beautiful handmade cards - something creative, charming, funny and a bit special - then why not get in touch? We’d love to hear from you.
 
Finally, dear reader, I have a question for you… what was the last piece of proper post you sent? If you can’t remember then I urge you to grab a pen and find a lovely card, some pretty paper, an old photograph or something similar and send someone a little ray of sunshine in amongst their boring bills. 

Becky
x

p.s. If I haven't managed to convince you of the value of letters then pop to the wonderful site Letters Of Note and have a browse around...