Slow And Steady Isn't Winning This Race

It’s no secret that the popularity of the postal service has steadily declined since the internet has become widely accessable. Email and social networking is the dominant choice for keeping in touch today. What does this mean for the U.S. Postal Service?

National Public Radio recently reported that up to 3,700 post offices may begin closing next year, primarily in rural areas. Aditionally, the USPS has not turned a profit since 2006, according to NPR News.

To listen to the two-minute report, or to read the story, visit THIS LINK to NPR's website.

Will the closing of post offices effect you? When was the last time you sent something in the mail? Is this method of communication, hundreds of years old in the US, still useful and important?

Post your thoughts below.

Something New, Something Blue

Vintage wedding cake toppers
Photo and story by Rita

   August is the second most popular month to get married. Age-old wedding traditions are still upheld but the norms of gift giving have been refashioned. Today many people subscribe to the idea that money or gift certificates is the best present of choice; it answers needs that we as the givers don’t know about, especially in this economy. 

   People on their second or third marriages are often looking to downsize and would probably love to ask for contributions to their kids' college funds or their retirement. These gifts have not yet reached social acceptance. Some people are asking for contributions to charities and nonprofits.  For many “do-over” couples or other couples not in need of blenders and crock-pots, it makes sense.

   People are still being gifted family heirlooms of china and silver and wedding registries are still alive and well. The question remains of how to make any gift—traditional or new age—personal.

   Many of you are in a quandary: you’ve checked the gift registry, spoken with friends and family and even asked the happy couple themselves. Whatever you choose, personalize it!

   Express your intentions for the couple using your own unique words. Maybe through a memory of your shared history, encouraging visions of the future, or expressions of joy in the celebration.  Sharing your honesty with your words for the marrying couple, short or long, adds meaning to their special day.

   I saved the cards that reflect time and thought from my own wedding; I can’t always remember the gift that was given, but I treasure the messages that came with them.

   Are you going to a wedding this month or are you getting married? What are your thoughts on gifts and gift giving? Please share your ideas and experiences with us by posting below.

   Also check out our homepage (Create a Garden or Matters of the Heart) to find the perfect art card to accompany your wedding.

Computers Don't Have Fingers

By Lauren Snelgrove

Wilfrida's Closet Staff

I am a hybrid animal. The feeling of little plastic squares under my finger tips is as familiar to me as lead stains on my pinky knuckle and calluses on my index finger. I can type 94 words a minute and write legible cursive. I use social networking, e-mail, word processors and text messaging avidly, but the handwritten word still has an important place in my heart. I can see the death threats looming over the existence of penmanship—as I rap away on my laptop—and I feel an urgency to do something about it.

As a kid I'd ask my mother after her walk to the mailbox, “Anything for me?” Pure and utter delight consumed me when I received even bank statements at age eight, with my full name on the front of the envelope! So official, so important; so personal.

I experienced equal delight when school assignments were no longer required to be handwritten but typed. I appreciate the ease technology provides me in creating documents and communicating with people, friends and strangers alike. But fond memories of childhood pen pals and the experience of total elation upon receiving packages in the mail reminds me that the effect of human touch on a message cannot be matched.

While I lived overseas I stayed connected with people at home primarily through the internet. Without the convenience and affordability of email and video chatting I don't know how I would have survived years away from my family and friends. When a package arrived for me full of Reese's peanut butter cups, new socks, family photos, and stationary with the immediately recognizable scribbles of my mom, I felt closer to home than ever. And best of all, the faint scent of my mother's house lingered on the items.

Everything from the tape on the edges of the cardboard to the pieces of paper covered in love and affectionate humor had been touched by my mom's hands. The same hands that ran through my hair when I was wasn't feeling well, the hands that helped pack the empty suitcases shoved under my bed. During my stay abroad, no email or text message from home provided the same, emotionally evoking response as a piece of mail did.

Recently, my grandmother mailed me homemade cookies and a brief note about how she spent her fourth of July holiday. It was nothing too exciting. She made dinner for the family, special dishes for my vegan uncle; my little cousin baked cookies, and helped clear the table; and oh, Grandpa is taking his blood pressure now, must go, “Love (really!!), Grandma.”

I have a shoebox full of these letters. They are records of a woman I admire, respect and adore. They are documentation of her life, her relationship with me. And just like my mother's handwriting, I could pick my Grandma's script out of a lineup without doubt. It's just so her. Had these mundane, simple notes been sent via email I probably would've clicked them away to my trash bin. But they're not emails, those things I get from big businesses and college counselors alike. They're real, handcrafted pieces of love someone special took time to create just for me.

I've gone digital but I am not a digit. I am not a social profile, a backlit screen, a commonly used font. I choose to retain my humanity, my individuality that rubs off on all things I touch with my unique finger prints. Computers don't have fingers. Though the time we spend with computers is increasing, authentic human connection cannot be replaced with technology. The work of human hands—the handwritten word—is so important to keep alive.

Humans are sensory beings; we are perhaps animalistic computers ourselves, processing information through a constant input/output via experience and sensation. My quest is not in search for a victory over computers, just balance. Adaptation is as necessary as preservation. How can we use the efficiency and expediency of technology to better our lives while preserving timeless practices that provide us with the simple necessity of human touch?

I've heard that practice makes perfect.

About Lauren

I'm a twenty-something, English Writing major. I met Rita, artist and creator of Wilfrida's Closet, at a yoga class. In short, our serendipitous connection felt like fate to me. We are creatively compatible and likeminded but we offer varying perspectives based on our unique life experiences and age difference. I look forward to receiving your comments, rebuttals and questions on our blog content.

Please don't hesitate to contact me at lauren@wilfridascloset.com

Thoughts From The Designer

By Rita

For those of you who are unfamiliar with us, Wilfrida’s Closet creates original art cards for all occasions. Each art card is hand created from original collages, paintings, and photos. We believe:

"…that your handwriting is as unique as your thumbprint and in an era where technology allows us convenience and efficiency, it also threatens to dilute our individuality. We encourage you to hold fast to your uniqueness, to the value of the handwritten thought, to the beauty of original artistry."

Our blog is a forum for discussion on the importance of such matters. We are searching for ways to find balance between a world of technological wonder and an appreciation for unique, handcrafted notes and letters. We invite you to share your thoughts and experiences as we travel between both worlds.

My cards are an extension of a value system. The value of the word on paper, a form of expression revered, respected, and utilized to prompt love and change among former and current clan members; the value of hand created sentiments, and the time that goes into both of these acts. My cards represent the value and the art of time spent and thoughts shared. It is the art of the card.

Wilfrida and Guido (my mother and father) taught me these values, and helped me understand the purpose and fun of writing a thank you note. My parents always composed amazing letters, chosen over a phone call, when someone was going through a difficult time. They both felt that in addition to a call, a letter was caring, personal, and supportive, it was an extension of the heart.

My parents (right) both wrote letters to editors and CEOs’ that were responsible for faulty products or bad customer service. They wrote with flair, humor, and style and the recipients always responded to their letters. They harnessed the power of not only gaining attention but also receiving a response, all through the medium of a letter. Both my parents utilized the strength of the words on paper to heal, to create change, and to grow relationships.

I wonder now, what is the future of the pen, ink, the letter typed, signed and posted? With the push to no longer teach cursive will we return to signing with an X?

In the future will we still be able to savor the joy of receiving an envelope addressed to us with our name, the delight of opening a card or letter specifically chosen for us? Or perhaps we will no longer relish personalized, hand-expressed thoughts, intentions, and love sent over so many miles. Are words destined to only exist on backlit screens and handheld devices?

It is up to us.

My hope is that Wilfrida’s Closet creates a forum for your thoughts on when, how, and where we should use the written/typed word, paper, ink, our personal touch. In this exciting electronic era, which has brought the globe together, will we keep a place for the word not sent through cyberspace?

We would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions, ironically, on our blog or via email. We also invite you to participate in communication through post, pigeon or owl, sent to:

Wilfrida's Closet

8789 Auburn Folsom Road STE C-314

Granite Bay, CA 95746

Hope to hear from you,

Rita