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April 1st, 2018 will mark the fifth year of Write_On a campaign of letter writing led by the creative geniuses at Egg Press & HelloLucky and co-hosted by Mohawk Paper & Sakura Of America. And it all happens during National Letter Writing Month. And for the third year, Soul Paper is on board in Saskatoon.

  “But, wait!”
  “Didn’t we just write letters in February?”
  “What was InCoWriMo?”

InCoWriMo did just happen in February and was a very, very successful “International“ event.  But the National Letter Writing Month campaign is the brain child of Scholastic and the United States Parcel Service (USPS) to promote joy, connections, artistic expression and sharing through hand-written correspondence. It is a way for us to unshackle ourselves from technology and put our souls into something that will mean the world to the recipient.

  “So why is Soul Paper doing this?”

We believe in Happy Mail. It is one of the founding cornerstones of our little shop. One of the disappointing things in our lives, is going to the mailbox every day to find … un-happy mail. Flyers. Bills. Summons to appear in court. Tax forms. You know the depressing, trivial, mundane mail. The stuff that we want to forget.

But Happy Mail is, that card from Auntie Gertie for your birthday or pictures and a notecard from your son away at camp or that touching letter from a lost friend traveling the world reaching out to reconnect. These are the letters we save in a shoebox for safe keeping and further reflection. Happy Mail creates moments that touch our souls. We believe in the cause, and want to promote it here in Canada.

  “So why should I write?

There are oh so many reasons. Remember the shoebox? Wouldn't it be great for your grandchildren to happen upon it long after you are gone, and learn about you? Or even the mysterious pen pal you had in Sarikei?

How about for the simple fact that you truly wish to keep old school correspondence alive. Emoji’s have their place, but there is nothing quite as personal or heartfelt as a hand written letter.  It shows that someone actually cared for you enough to write to you, and not simply email.

Or are you upset with the way the world is today? Write a letter that saves, makes a change or speaks for those who cannot. Use your words to make a change.

A great example for "why", is an excerpt of an article by Samara O’Shea for Huffpost in 2011;

“A text message that says: I Luv U

A letter that says: My dear Girl I love you ever and ever without reserve. The more I have known you the more have I loved. In every way--even my jealousies have been agonies of love, in the hottest fit I ever had I would have died for you.

(Excerpt from a letter written by John Keats in March 1820).”

  “I want to get in on this! What can I do?”

1. Participate. Commit to writing a letter every day for 30 days. Even if you just put them in a shoebox for your great grandchildren to find.

2. If you are in Saskatoon and wish to participate, follow the link for more information about our Kick-Off & Stationery Swap. If you can join us, be ready to trade stamps, washi, envelopes, etc.

3. For all other news, updates, connections and all letter writing goodness, follow us on Facebook and/or Instagram.

4. The official Write_On website.

5. Also, please connect, follow and share with these great folks too;

6. Have fun with this. It may well change your life for the better.

Each year Lamy creates a new special edition, limited production run, of their bestselling AL-Star series.

This year the latest colour is (drum roll please) – Charged Green!

And although it seems as though the Lamy designers are caught in a “green” loop after releasing the Safari Neon Lime last year, the Charged Green is already becoming a favorite on pen blogs and the internet since it was announced in December. The green is subtle, stylish and since it is an anodized aluminum, the green has been described as olive, pear, green apple or lime leaf. Either way, it is beautiful, and will certainly become a collectable as are all of the special editions.

The AL-Star is an aluminum pen with a semi-transparent barrel grip, a patented exchangeable nib (hot-swappable) and a spring-action metal clip. The original design dates back to the sixties but was truly re-introduced to the public in 1980 and has remained one of the best pens on the planet. The pen is extremely light weight, but very stout and robust. The little brother to the AL-Star , the Safari, shares the same nib and ink cartridge system and is given to grade schoolers in Germany. So for everyday use, they just keep performing.

This year, Soul Paper will be Pre-ordering and stocking the AL-Star Charged Green in fountain pen and roller ball, and of course, we will also have the limited edition inks in cartridge and bottles.
The AL-Star ’s and Safari’s will accept the Lamy Z24 converter or Lamy ink cartridges, and each series are sold with converters. We love how easy they are to fill from bottles.

Last year’s special edition sold out before production and this year is bound to be no exception. With this in mind, we are accepting pre-orders until January 29, 2016. So if you are looking to add to your Lamy collection, are in need of a very special gift for someone this year, or are thinking of Christmas gifts (it is only 353 days away!), give us a call and reserve yours today.