A Sedate Type-In & Letter Writing Social

Chestertown’s first Type-In & Letter Writing Social was a rousing event.  The second iteration was a more subdued affair with fewer participants, but no less enthusiasm.  The thing is, people love the nostalgia of being reminded about and the novelty of being introduced to typewriters and letter writing.  As with our first event, the age range of participants spanned about eight decades.

Here is a quick look into the morning:

To encourage those who hadn’t written a letter recently, I put together some ideas for getting started and some guidance on postage rates.
(You can download PDFs of these pages from Scribbling Glue’s Downloadables page.)

Four typewriters ready and waiting to compose.

Lindsay made a tip sheet for each typewriter, explaining its particular quirks of typography and operation.
(“Note: R to L” is a note to herself about which way to wind the ribbon to ensure smooth sailing in case it needed to be replaced mid-event.  Isn’t she clever?)

At several different points, all four typewriters were clattering away together. The youngest typist in this photo really got into the process and produced a lengthy note to send to a friend.

Three sisters and their mom making art and envelopes together.

Stamped, sealed, and ready to send.

More to come about the Chestertown Book Festival and what I found there…

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Envelopes: Prepped to Seal, Stamp, and Send

It’s almost time!

This type-in and letter-writing social is a creative collaboration between Thread Lock Press, typewriter-enthusiast and letterpress printer, and Scribbling Glue, letter-writing champion and envelope-pusher. They are out to reintroduce people to old techniques for creating new and improbable connections.

– event mission statement for Chestertown’s Type-In and Letter Writing Social, Round 2

In anticipation, Lindsay and I got together this week to finish prepping envelopes.  Due to the time and space constraints that come along with presenting this event at the Chestertown Book Festival, we decided to pre-cut handmade envelopes so people can assemble and embellish without having to start completely from scratch.  The result of our flurry of cutting is that we have 70+ envelopes just waiting to be filled with literary musings and bookish thoughts by Book Festival attendees who find the sound of clattering typewriters sufficiently distracting to wander away from the Bookmakers and Writers Exhibition Hall long enough to record their own thoughts to be sealed, stamped, and sent.

From animals, trains, and nuns to sunsets, fairy tales, and airplanes, a wide variety of envelopes will be available to suit different moods and strike proper tones.

 

We hope to see you there!

 

 

Type-In & Letter Writing Social, Round Two

As you may recall, last December Lindsay of Thread Lock Press and I teamed up to bring about our town’s very first Type-In and Letter Writing Social.  As a result of that lovely evening, we were invited to present a similar program at the 2013 Chestertown Book Festival.

Did you see?  We’re featured on the poster!  Official and exciting, isn’t it?

Due to logistical factors, this program will be a bit scaled back and more focused than our first event, but there will be typewriters, envelope-making materials, and plenty of good cheer.

Success: A Type-In & Letter Writing Social Retrospective

It finally happened.  The day arrived.  We set up the typewriters and the stationery and supplies for cutting and gluing, then we watched it all unfold.

It is nothing but the truth to say that the Type-In & Letter Writing Social organized and hosted by Thread Lock Press and Scribbling Glue was a huge success.   The typewriters were in constant use and the mailart table was always full.  Over the course of 3 hours, there were 70+ people who stopped by and walked away with typewritten and handmade creations!

If you couldn’t make it (or you did make it and want to relive the great vibe of the evening), here’s a brief photo overview.

Checking out the mailart supplies.

The first wave of typists.

A Royal gets a fresh red ribbon.

Cutting, gluing, writing, and creating.

A new round of typists.

Best friends creating together.

First time with a typewriter.

Quick! Where’s the typewriter expert?

 

Every time a typist finished, a new one slid into the seat.

And, yes, the evening even included a visit from Santa.

There were, I think, eight or nine typewriters that made an appearance during the evening.  They were nostalgic for some, novelty for others, and enjoyed by all.

What I enjoyed most was the scope of the event.  The youngest participant was 2 (and the youngest in attendance, who has not quite developed the fine motor skills to write or type, was 4 months old), the oldest were in their 70s and 80s.  Some people came on purpose, others just happened to wander into Evergrain Bread Company as part of their 1st Friday circuit and stayed to make something.  Out of town friends and family of mine made the trip to Chestertown just so they could be a part of the fun–I’m so very fortunate to have such fantastic people in my life!  People showed up as individuals and couples and families.  A man typed a birthday letter to his mother who was turning 94 the next day.  A girl wrote to a friend from school.  A woman typed letters to two of her oldest friends–the three used to work together as typists.  A little boy created a tremendously be-stamped and colorful card when left to his own devices with a glue stick (I missed a photo op with that one!).  I love thinking about all the letters and cards and poems and thoughts that were created and are now going to be sent and shared; the event is over, but its impact is going to continue as colorful envelopes make their way through the mail and are opened on the other end.  This was definitely a happening that lived up to Scribbling Glue’s mission to celebrate how “handwritten letters, jotted notes, and scrawled miscellany add to the forces of good at work in the world.”

I have an inkling that this was not a one-time event.

Oh! And I also have an inkling from the Letter Writers Alliance:

File under: this made my day 

Hooray for being a part of the creative and fun-loving community of letter writers!

Donovan and Kathy of LWA, thank you for introducing me to the idea of letter writing socials!

Huge thanks are also due to Doug and Kelly at Evergrain who gave an enthusiastic go-ahead when asked about holding this event at the bakery.

And, hey, Lindsay, creative collaboration rocks!  I’m so glad we made this happen.

In which there is an unexpected overnight guest and the creative process refuses to be rushed

We had an unexpected overnight guest this weekend.

Hildegard, Patron Saint of Writers and Unexpected Overnight Guest

We had known Hildegard and Lindsay were coming over to make things, but Lindsay and I underestimated the amount of time that would be needed to complete our project.  After six hours of typing, cutting, gluing, and creating, Lindsay headed home around midnight promising to return the next day.  Not wanting Hildegard to feel lonely, I introduced her to a new friend.

Despite the generation gap, they had no trouble finding common interests to discuss.

After a while, they were joined by a couple more friends.

Everyone enjoyed the bedtime stories.

Then it was time to get comfy…

The youngest member of the group was already in sleep mode.

…and tucked in for the night.

Ahhh…a well earned rest after a full evening of making stuff.

And what, you ask, were we doing that exhausted Hildegard and required ten hours of diligent work over the course of two days?

Well, at various times, it looked like this:

And this:

Eventually, it resulted in this:

Tomorrow some lucky letter carrier will start these on their way to spread the word about the fast-approaching letter-writing social and type-in:

Won’t you join us, too?  If you do, you’ll have the fun of putting together your own super-special, totally unique, custom created typed-and-handwritten masterpiece.  (Added bonus: experiencing Evergrain Bakery will make your taste buds happy.)