The Lost Art of the Handwritten Note

900265The US Postal Service did a survey in 2010 which found that the average household received one handwritten note every 7 weeks, down from one note every 2 weeks in 1987. It may be safe to say that in the intervening years since the last survey, handwritten notes may be received even less often today. With the advent of email, the internet, online greeting cards, and social media, not to mention the increased pace of everyday life, many of us simply don’t take the time to sit down and write out notes anymore.

Note writing is an exercise in caring. To take the time to sit down and write a thank you note, express gratitude for something a person did that had a positive impact on your life, or simply say “I’m thinking about you” shows the recipient that you care about them enough to tell them so. Both in business and in building personal relationships, the true value of a handwritten note cannot be underestimated.

It takes relatively little time and money to produce a handwritten note or letter. And although we can keep those special emails expressing gratitude, there’s something about a note, letter, or card we can physically hold, or keep in a special file or treasure box, that just can’t be replaced by a digital message.

Think about famous notes and letters down through history, like Napoleon’s letters to Josephine, or famous handwritten documents such as the Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence, or even ancient documents like Biblical manuscripts and scrolls. But nothing reveals the American love for the handwritten like the official draft of the US Constitution. Penned on four leaves of vellum parchment, a clerk was paid $30 (around $800 today) to transcribe it, yet today this handwritten treasure is considered priceless.

901047At Current, we understand the true worth of the handwritten note, and we make it easy for you to find the perfect style of notecard or notepad that expresses your individual panache. Whether you prefer blank notecards, personalized notecards, notepads, or you need address labels or even a special pen, we can help. Stock up on writing supplies today, and make 2017 your year to be remembered as a person who takes the time to say “thank you” in writing.