Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Merci from Mister Peacock…

As a child, my mother would make me promptly write a thank you note after I received gifts or was treated to special dinners or events by grandparents, aunts, uncles or whomever. I would usually make a homemade thank you card or sometimes my mom would let me pick a card from her stash of greeting cards she kept in a shoebox. Mr. Peacock still hand writes thank you cards, however, not as promptly as my mother did. In fact, I’m just getting around to writing my holiday thank you cards, but I guess I have a good excuse for my tardiness this time.

There is no excuse, however, for not writing thank you cards. Mr. Peacock thinks thank you cards are especially meaningful in this frenzied digital age of email and text messaging. I’m not very fond of George H. W. Bush, but after watching the PBS American Experience documentary, I was impressed that people remembered his heartfelt thank you notes he would write.
After initial meetings with colleagues, politicians or dignitaries, Mr. Bush Sr. would often send a simple note thanking the person for the opportunity of a friendship. You can use a blank card or just a simple piece of paper as a thank you note, it’s your own personal message that is important—although a nice card can make it extra special. Here’s some of Mr. Peacock’s favorite thank you cards:

I love anything faux bois or wood!
left: Blue Snail Papers right: Night Owl Paper Goods

Whales are always charming!
left: Egg Press
right: Fugu Fugu Press

Mr. Peacock adores the delicate and thoughtful silhouettes on the cards made by Jezebel.

Colorful and humorous cards are always fun.
left: Egg Press middle and right: La Familia Green

Mr. Peacock loves these blank letterpress cards from Dandy Lion Press that have original pocket watch drawings printed on metallic paper. The envelope even has a little clock detail printed on the flap.

This series of birds on chairs, by Screech Owl Design, are witty and elegant. I especially like the middle card, "Oystercatcher posing on Reitveld Chair."

Set Editions has a clever “every card you need this year” box of 40 cards—each card is printed with a simple color graphic and message. How easy is that? All the cards you need in one box and includes 6 thank you cards.

Here’s a few thank you cards I’ve received from friends this past year. My friend, Jon, always promptly sends a chic engraved note card with his monogram at the top—custom printed, from Tiffanys. You can also commission your own thank you cards or monogrammed note cards from a letterpress studio—there's probably one in your area too. If you're in the Baltimore, Maryland area—check out Typecast Press for custom letterpress projects.

Clockwise from top left: Snow and Graham, Roger la Borde, Tiffanys, Pancake & Franks, and Tritia K.

Mr. Peacock would like to express his sincere gratitude to everyone who reads my blog and for all of the wonderful comments and emails! I appreciate the warm welcome to the blogosphere. Thank You!

1 comment:

Elizabeth said...

Merci for including our card in your post.

I just received a lovely thank you note from a 90 year old friend today and reading your post was a good second reminder to me as a member of the young(er) generation not to let this highly civilized tradition die. An emailed thank you just wouldn't have been the same!

Elizabeth of Blue Snail Papers