There is something very British about a letterbox in a front door.
Sometimes it is shiny brass, sometimes painted the same colour as the door, and sometimes it rattles so loudly that everyone in the house knows the post has arrived—including the dog.
We’ve been thinking a lot about letterboxes lately, which is probably inevitable when you start a monthly mail club.
Colourful doors and cottage letterboxes
Some of the loveliest letterboxes belong to little cottages. A sage-green door covered in climbing roses, a blue wooden door tucked behind a garden gate or a slightly wonky letter slot in an old stone house.
They are not always grand or perfectly polished. That is really part of their charm.
Then there are the beautiful front doors of London, Edinburgh, Bath and other British towns and cities. Deep navy, glossy black, pillar-box red, pale pink or bright yellow, often finished with a brass knocker and a neat letterbox in the middle.
It is such a small detail, but it says so much about the home behind it.
The sound of something landing on the mat
If you grew up in Britain, you probably know that sound immediately.
The flap lifts, the post comes through and everything lands on the floor with a soft thud—or a surprisingly dramatic crash.
Most days it might be a bill, a leaflet or something in a brown envelope. But every so often, there is a handwritten card, a postcard from somewhere lovely or an envelope with your name written across the front.
That is the good stuff.
There is something completely different about receiving post that somebody has chosen and sent especially for you. You pick it up, look at the stamp, turn it over and wonder what is inside.
An email simply cannot compete with that.
And, of course, the red postbox
We also have a soft spot for Britain’s red postboxes.
You find them on busy city streets, beside village greens, outside little shops and sometimes seemingly in the middle of nowhere. They are such a familiar part of the landscape that we barely notice them—until we actually need to send a letter.
Posting something feels like a tiny act of faith. You drop your card into the slot, hear it fall and trust that it will make its way across the country—or across the world—to somebody you care about.
Alice and I used to send postcards to each other, and we still love the thought of something travelling from one person’s hands to another.
Beautiful post deserves a lovely letterbox
The Libby & Alice Mail Club really began with that feeling.
We wanted to make post exciting again. Not another delivery notification or padded parcel, but a beautiful envelope filled with flowers, art, paper pieces and little things to enjoy.
Something that feels special when it lands on the mat.
Each month is inspired by a different flower artist, so you never quite know what will be coming through your letterbox next. You can use the pieces for scrapbooking or journaling, send a postcard to a friend, display the artwork or simply keep everything somewhere lovely.
No rules and no need to be particularly crafty.
It is just proper post, made to brighten an ordinary day.
So here’s to colourful front doors, rattling letterboxes, red postboxes and the little thrill of finding an envelope with your name on it.
Beautiful post, once a month.
Libby & Alice x
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