Grace Atwood is the founder of the lifestyle blog, The Stripe. Grace grew up on Cape Cod and is happiest by the water, though she’s lived in New York for over twelve years! Her personal style is inspired by her background – a feminine mix of coastal meets city chic. Her favorite things include a bottle of red wine, her family, her cat Tyrion, yoga, reading, running and bright lipstick.
Q: Why a handwritten note as opposed to an email or text message? What makes it more personal?
A: Sending a hand written note is so much more thoughtful! As a society, we’ve gotten so casual. This is great for many reasons but I miss things like handwritten thank you notes. An email or text message is gone in an instant -- a written note needs to be opened and read -- it’s like opening a little gift.
Q: With letter writing becoming almost a lost art form, who do you think it’s still important to send letters to? Who do you send letters to?
A: I send letters to everyone. My family, my friends and my business contacts. Thank you notes are nice but it’s also nice to just tell someone how great they are!
Q: Whenever I’m writing a letter, I sometimes have trouble figuring out where to begin. What do you suggest, especially if you haven’t talked to someone in a while?
A: Just say what’s on your mind -- even a simple “you’re the best!” can suffice.
Q: You mentioned you had a ritual around letter writing. What do you mean by that?
A: I like to put on some happy music, pour myself a mug of coffee (or glass of wine), sit down at my coffee table and write.
Q: I love writing letters, but am always worried that my handwriting is too hard to read or I will make a mistake. Do you have any work arounds?
A: You can always try writing it out on a piece of scrap paper first. But don’t stress -- it isn’t supposed to be perfect! The note itself is the gesture. I’d take a handwritten note with mistakes over a perfectly spelled email any day!
