In a world that seems increasingly divided, where folks are feeling more isolated there is a need now more than ever to find ways to connect with others. This is exactly what the Wildflower Illustration Co. had in mind when they created The Sunday Letter Project.
The Sunday Letter Project is a community writing initiative from Rebecca & Karl of Wildflower Illustration Co., designed to encourage and inspire as many people as possible to begin writing letters again. To take part in the project, you simply have to sign a pledge to promise to yourself that you will carve out a small pocket of time every Sunday to write a letter. Of course, it does not take signing a pledge to become committed to the practice and as far as we are concerned it can be any day of the week. The point is that instead of talking about writing more letters you just go on ahead and write! I was very excited when I stumbled upon The Sunday Letter Project because it very much aligned with my own practice of not only writing letters but encouraging others to write letters as well. So often in the shop when someone encounters the stationery corner I hear the comment, "no one writes letters anymore". And wow, I really have to put on my smile before I comment that maybe no one you know writes letters but yes, in fact there are so many people in the world that write letters. Always a great opportunity to encourage others to take up the practice.
At this point you might be asking yourself "who would I write to"? Well in fact you can write to just about anyone. To take part in the project you can write to literally anyone at all - your parents, children, siblings, strangers, yourself (to read in the future) - the choice is yours! A few suggestions offered by the project include:
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From Me to You Letters, a charity that facilitates the sending of letters to those going through cancer treatment
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A local care home (please just contact them first to check that they would accept a letter, but most do)
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A stranger – if you wish to write to a stranger, you can send them to our shop where we will create a basket of letters free to collect by our shop customers. Feel free to narrow this down if applicable. For example ‘a letter to a new mother’ or 'a letter to a college student' or 'a letter to someone who lives alone'.
The inception of the project came from a simple unexpected recurring theme. The owners of Wildflower Illustration share the story:
When we opened our stationery shop in 2023, we found that a theme began to emerge: there is a general, human longing for a simpler time. For a time when people wrote letters, lived more slowly, and had more time and space for consideration. So many people who walk through our doors express a quiet sadness about the fact that ‘no one writes letters anymore’.
We started The Sunday Letter Project to try rejuvenate the practice of letter-writing through collective action: small actions coming together to create society-level change and a more caring, connected world.
After some time they started to notice a growing issue: folks were looking for penpals. So they decided to extend their commitment to encouraging letter writing to form a system of "Letter Keepers" which turned into The Sunday Pals Network.
This shop-to-shop pen-pal network uses local independent bookshops, stationery shops and cafes acting as ‘Letter Keepers’ - allowing participants to exchange mail without sharing their home address. Anyone with a desire to become a penpal can participate in this network without having signed the pledge, and there is no requirement to write to your new pen-pal every Sunday.
How does the Sunday Pals Network work? It's easy:
How does it work?
This unique pen-pal network allows you to find a pen-pal, anywhere in the world, completely free, and without ever sharing your home address.
Customers write ‘shop to shop’, with their letters held safely until collection by the Letter-Keeper Shop — a modern twist on the old post office box system.
Each participating shop acts as a ‘Letter-Keeper’ - keeping letters safe until they are collected by the intended recipient. You can post a letter to someone through any shop in the network and the letter recipients will collect it from their local shop.
How it works
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Find your nearest participating shop on the map. If you can, pop in to see if they have received any intro letters. Your perfect pen-pal may be waiting already!
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Send your intro letter to any other shop from the network with some information about who you are and what you want to get from joining the project. Remember to include your local shop address on the back of your envelope.
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Wait for a kindred letter pal to read your letter and hopefully reply to your local shop.
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The shop will hold it until you’re able to collect it.
Who can join?
Anyone who’s part of The Sunday Letter Project. Your intro letter will join a ‘pool’ of letters at each participating shop. People visiting the shop will be able to browse the letters and reply to any that they ‘connect’ with.
Are there any rules?
Yes, just a few — enough to keep everyone safe and the experience kind.
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Don’t include personal details like your home address, phone number, or social media handles. All contact stays through the Sunday Pals network.
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Keep your letters kind and respectful. Sunday Pals is about connection, not debate or persuasion.
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No sales, promotions, or self-advertising of any kind.
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Shops can refuse to hold or deliver any letter that feels unsafe or inappropriate.
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If you want to stop writing or take a break, just let your shop know — no awkwardness required.
In a world that shouts continuously for our attention and tries to distract us at every turn, the most powerful action any of us can take is to reclaim small moments of time for ourselves and to be completely intentional and present in them.
Letter-writing offers a unique and joyful path to reclaiming a life of presence in a world of distractions and screens. But because it feels so easy and mechanical to continue communicating digitally, we realize that collective action is needed to inspire a significant change.
In the words of The Sunday Letter Project "this is a movement to collectively celebrate and return to a more thoughtful mode of correspondence. Not to replace or reject technological communications altogether, but to carve out time for its superior predecessor:
letter writing."
If you are ready to reconnect to the world of letter writers stop by to chat with us about the project and get you started on writing letters. We have a letter writing station available to you and we are always happy to provide prompts for letter writing. We are excited to get you started on changing the way you connect with the world through letter writing.
