I, being the very excitable and easily in deep kind of person that I am, have recently found myself in the world of snail mail! I have always found charm and love for receiving mail, but wasn’t sure how to make it happen! If you’re like me and don’t know how to get into the world of snail mail fun don’t worry I have the deets!
It all started on tumblr, terrifying, I know. I was scrolling around and found a blog called Craft Exchange . The blog is all about barter economy for art! What a concept, what an idea! I loved it! So, I jumped right in and submitted a post. Right away folks started reaching out and the very first person mentioned Swap-Bot ! Swap-bot? I had never heard of this, but they mentioned it because I brought up snail mail in my post. Well after a little investigating and account creation I have fallen in love. Swap-bot is a platform that supports mail challenges both in the US and internationally! Think something like; make an art piece themed around the food pineapple and then send it to this person! It’s more complicated than that and there’s nuance of course, but that’s the basic vibe! Between new tumblr connections and Swap-bot I have already sent out like ten mail pieces! There’s only more to come as well!
So, why am I so into mail? Well there’s a few reasons actually! One is that it keeps me from buying stuff! I am definitely one of those people that will sometimes buy things for the dopamine hit. Like I want the thing too, but I mostly want mail. This is a way to get mail with real human connection, not know exactly what I’m getting (which is more fun), and be able to participate in the mail by sending things out too! I also appreciate snail mail being a sort of guerilla style way to get my art out there! It feels more human than selling my art, because it’s a two way street, a mutual connection. It’s also just a suggestion! I put my business card in there and it’s totally up to the receiver to check it out if they want, no pressure! It’s also really freeing for my art practice too, because I can make all kinds of art with or without a prompt and not have to worry about what I’m going to do with it! I like the accountability aspect of it too where you have to send your mail by a certain date, it keeps me moving and on a schedule. There’s also joy in creating and communicating separated from social media. As someone who loves to yap but doesn’t love social media and the pressure that comes with it this is a lovely alternative. Crafting something that’s going to be held in the hands of another person rather than witnessed only through a screen is a very moving thing!
I do have to get better at packing though! Somehow I managed to get all my ceramics over from Japan safely and now I can’t seem to manage the same now! I think I was trying to minimize how much packing material I was using, even though it’s recycled, but I have quickly learned the error of my ways! If there are sounds of movement when the box is packed it’s probably not packed tightly enough!
I guess I’ll finish this with; if you want to be penpals, definitely reach out! As you can probably tell I am loving the snail mail lifestyle! I’d love to have you on my list as well!
All my best,
Polar!