Dear friends,
There is something lovely about setting an envelope aside until you have a moment to open it properly. Making a cup of tea, finding your favourite chair and knowing that a little surprise is waiting. That feeling is at the heart of the Libby & Alice Mail Club, and it is what we want to share with you in Month 2, our September Wildflower Edition.
This month, our inspiration is Mary Vaux Walcott, the artist whose wildflower watercolours bring such care and attention to the natural world. She spent years exploring the Canadian Rockies and painting the flowers she found there. In 1925, the Smithsonian Institution published 400 of her illustrations in the five-volume collection North American Wild Flowers. Read more about Mary at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
What draws us to her work is the sense that each plant deserves a closer look. A bend in a stem, the shape of a leaf, a small variation in colour: details that are easy to pass by become the reason to stop. Looking at her paintings makes us want to take that same curiosity outside, even if the walk is only around the corner.
We have brought that spirit into Month 2 through botanical stationery, ephemera and inspiration for your nature journal. At the heart of the envelope is a personal letter from us. We love the idea of a letter you can sit down with, return to later, and keep among the pages of a journal. It gives the flowers a story and makes the post feel personal.
Once you have opened your mail, the pleasure can carry on in small ways. You might use a botanical piece to begin a journal page, send a note to someone you miss, or keep a favourite image where you will see it while making breakfast. Perhaps it will prompt you to find out the name of a flower you pass every day.
It is surprisingly easy to put these things off. There is washing to sort, a message to answer and something practical that needs doing. Sitting down with pretty paper can end up feeling like a treat reserved for the day when everything else is finished.
We think ordinary days deserve some enjoyment while they are happening.
You can care about your responsibilities and still make room for something that delights you. A few minutes spent reading a letter or choosing colours for a journal page belong in a full life, alongside all the useful things you do.
The pleasure can be very simple, and often free. Look closely at the flowers growing beside a pavement. Drink your tea while it is still warm. Write down one thing you would like to remember about the afternoon. Giving a pleasant moment your attention lets you enjoy it more fully, instead of rushing straight past it.
That is also why there is no need to be an accomplished artist to enjoy our club. You can start with a scrap of paper and a sentence. You can make something wonky, try a colour you rarely use, or simply enjoy the illustrations. Your journal belongs to you, and you get to decide what goes in it.
For anyone who loves botanical art and the anticipation of something arriving in the post, the Mail Club gives these small pleasures a regular place in the month. There is the looking forward to it, the opening, and then the time you spend making the pieces your own. A monthly envelope can become several little creative moments.
We would love September’s wildflowers to find their way to your letterbox. If a personal letter, beautiful botanical paper and a reason to spend a little time creating sound like your kind of pleasure, we would be delighted to welcome you.
Join by 10 September for the September Wildflower Edition. UK membership is £8 per month including shipping. For the USA, membership is US$10 per month plus US$2.50 shipping. International shipping is also available.
Join the Libby & Alice Mail Club
With love,
Libby & Alice
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