Over the last few years, snail mail has been trending on the ‘For You’ pages of us whimsical, creative folk. Even just this week, on a scroll through my Instagram feed, I came across a post by artist and influencer @martinamartian, orchestrating her third annual snail mail swap. Anyone can take part by leaving a comment with their name, country and interests. Matching with a ‘snail mail buddy’ is as easy as replying to a comment of your choosing.
But what exactly does she mean by snail mail? Quite simply, it is keeping in touch with family and friends by sending letters or cards via post. It is communication old-fashioned style, which moves at a much slower pace than online messaging, hence the ‘snail’. Martina encourages the sharing of stickers, ribbons, and small sketches, alongside a card or letter. Imagine pen pals, but for adults. And her post now has a chain of over 6,500 comments.
Since the formation of the internet and social media, which rapidly increased the speed of communication, the world’s postal services have been in decline.
In an attempt for financial security, stamp prices have been steadily increasing. A single first-class Royal Mail stamp now costs £1.70 – the same amount of almost three stamps a decade ago. Yet these cost increases have not prevented the company from making loss after loss. From the end of July this year they will stop delivering second-class letters altogether on Saturdays. They just cannot afford it. The same struggles are being faced by the U.S Postal Service and countless others across Europe. They just do not seem to be built for the modern world.
Well, at least that is what the figures are saying. But as someone who works in a card shop in the heart of Edinburgh, I would argue that these services are not quite defeated yet.
The very concept of snail mail relies on the postal service. Six days a week residents of the city come into the shop to buy cards. Cards which they are posting to family and friends not only across the UK, but beyond. Maybe not as many as they were twenty years ago, but still a significant number and enough to sustain the business.
However, what I believe is even more interesting, is the thought customers put into finding the right card for a particular person. These are people they care enough about to pay upwards of £3.00 for the card, and then half of that for it to be posted. They want to find something which embodies them, their likes and their hobbies. My managers spend their lives devoted to sourcing such a range of cards that there is at least one for everyone. This communication method is more personal than texts and online messages (no matter how many emojis are used). It is love – real and tangible – sent across the miles.
The most common customers in our shop are women over forty. Undeniably, it is the older generations who send the most cards by post. But I think the resurgence of snail mail might just bring about some change. No longer just a form of analogue communication, it has been reborn into something for the crafting community. To send something via snail mail is to send something to keep. As a receiver, you can tell when a card has been thoughtfully chosen. You can tell when the message has been written with thought. ‘Snail mail with flair’, coined by Martina, functions entirely on thought and care. This is a new era of communication which is not just meaningful, but collectable and carefully curated by both the sender and receiver. It makes us want to use our nice stickers, because we know we are sending them to someone who will appreciate them (and give us cute ones back!). It is a creative project. A way to form long distance friendships that feel tangible. Something to treasure.
