Have you ever asked someone for their address on Facebook, in a private message, of course? I have. The questions that followed made me feel like a bad guy, a creeper: Why? What’s up? Why do you need my address? Hmmm…
It is a sign of where we are today, not necessarily negative; but our friends are not always our neighbors. We have friends who live far and wide. When letter writing was more common, most of our friends lived on our street or just a bit down the way. An address book was a common thing to own. Today we have contacts on our computers with only the things we need: name, cell number, and email address, physical addresses are unnecessary, a relic of the past.
This card is an effort to connect, in a real way, with the people we want to be friends with. Sure we’re friends with the people we send text messages and emails to, but friends who take the time to send a birthday card (two days before our birthday so that it shows up just in time) are the people who are giving you the gift of their time and exhibiting the consideration they have for you.
Everything in our lives is, ultimately, about us. When I check the mail, the bills are for me, the catalogs are for me, the advertisements are for me; in the hecticness of our lives, many things can seem as though they are interrupting all the things that are for me. However, when I take a moment to plan ahead, find a card, find a stamp, zip by the post office, my time is about someone else.
I have nearly 800 friends on Facebook, many of you have way more than that. Do you really want to read a happy birthday message from the kid you kinda knew in high school because he was reminded (several times) that it is your birthday, or do you want to hear from your real friends?
That's the premise behind this card, here’s a little about how the card works: this card has a form on the inside that asks for a name, address, birthday, other important dates, favorite color, Instagram and Facebook handles (let’s be honest this is a social media world), and other details. The card itself is a part of a set of 6 which include stamped envelopes. You would write your address in the “send to” section of the envelope and then give this to someone who you would like to fill the card out. They can choose to fill out the relevant parts of the inside and then to mail the card to you (that part’s easy since your address is on the envelope as well as a stamp).
Imagine, for a minute, you find yourself talking to the same set of people at the local dog park. If you like the people you continue to talk to, give them this card, it will give you the opportunity to know them outside the dog park; it’s as easy as that.
It may seem as though I am saying these things in an effort to sell more of my cards, but there are plenty of cards in the world that will better align with your thoughts, feelings, style than mine: Party Sally, Quick Brown Fox Letterpress, Daniel Joseph Durkin, Bred & Butter Paper—just to name a few.
Let’s make an effort to be real friends…