Pen Pal Writing Club

I have found yet another rare gem in this city, and it is a club for folks like me who thrive on the written word delivered in a snail like fashion.

I been on the pen pal band wagon, since I first took to it in the 4th grade. Her name was Jessie Moore, and she was my teachers niece who lived on Galiano Island, was home school, and was apparently in need of a little lift in her life. So our class was chosen to each write her a letter (which at that age is a great experience and lesson), and we made a memberable trip to the post box.

Since then I have found pen pals through relatives, old roommates, classmates, friends who have moved across the globe, and most proudly through strangers.

I love everything about the art of pen paling and to find a club that caters to and embraces my passion with welcoming arms, is a rare sight to see. In a world of emailing, texting and facebook, the act of creating a relationship with someone in the form of a letter, has fallen by the wayside.
I understand all the arguments against it : Too slow! Unreliable! Impractical!...but think of all the wonder that goes with it.

I am proud to say that I no longer receive any mail that is not a letter from a loved one, and I receive one at least once a week!
No more bills, junk mail, or newspapers, just pure unadulterated love.

Now back to this pen pal find of mine :

Assembly of Text is quite possibly the cutest store in Vancouver (or at least on Main street)  http://assemblyoftext.com/. The walls of this teansy store are lined with handmade cards, rubber stamps, buttons,and ready made shirt prints (just to name a few), and the back is a full wall of filing cabinets filled up to the brim with all sorts of stationary materials.

On the first Thursday of every month, the store opens its doors to the letter enthusiasts a like, and hosts this fabulous club for two hours. And for the entirety of those hours, the single room is packed with people of all walks of like addressing envelopes, typing on typewriters, and eloquently positioning stamps upon letters. Running along the middle of the room is a tables filled with 10-15 typewriters, all of different makes and sounds, and when they all come together they make the most beautiful orchestra of cackle, that resonates through the space.

I've only been twice now but it is safe to say that I am hooked. I even walked away with a couple of early Christmas gifts to myself that have made me more than over joyed. I picked up a rubber stamp set of birds, nests and leaves, to add to my ever growing stamp collection. And more importantly I picked up a new type writer ribbon for my room mates beautiful, black, classic typewriter, which I have now stolen, and fallen in love with. There is something about the act of pounding your works purposefully into the parchment and having to really think out your words before you type. Pure art!

Hope I have inspired you to send a letter to a long lost friend, or at least send a Christmas card some one specials way this holiday season :)

Love Nymph