Writer and illustrator Naomi Bulger is on a path to live a simpler life with greater creativity and deliberate kindness, which sounds like a plan. Inspired by family, art, and nature, her Instagram page and blog are places of serenity and reflection (which are far and few online).
In a recent project, part of the #100DaysinDinan project, she drew on personalized envelopes. “I’m making the envelopes for each card by tracing one of the original envelopes the cards came in, onto used calendars and magazine pages,” she writes on her website. “A stamp or two, and the address: there’s not much room for anything else, so into the post they go.”
“Writing a letter feels completely different to writing an email,” shared Bulger with Flow Magazine. “It forces you to slow down and be more mindful of what you are saying. Snail mail is where my two joys of writing and painting converge. I like to paint illustrations and incorporate the addresses into the designs to make each envelope bright, cheerful and something unique that will make the recipient—and hopefully also the mailman—happy.”
“I had pen pals when I was growing up but I wasn’t a prolific letter writer,” she recalled. “I rediscovered letters about six or seven years ago when, on a whim, I started offering to send letters to strangers who read my blog. They would write back, and I became hooked by the whole process. It’s so personal, holding something in your hands that they first held, and that has traveled—sometimes—thousands of kilometers to reach you.”
Her envelopes are enchanting works of wonder. Take a look for yourself:
