Artist-entrepreneur brings letter writing back in vogue

Twenty-five-year-old Abhiraami Thangavel’s love for letter writing began right at the age of 10. “It started with sending letters to my parents about the dream house we all wished to have. I noticed the happiness a handwritten letter could bring to their faces. Then, I began writing letters to my future self to read them a few years later and feel happy. Whenever I would travel, I would gather postcards from local tourist sites and write to my friends. Soon, I realised one couldn’t get post cards with good illustrations, and started making them,” recollects Abhiraami, who founded her art brand ‘The Pixie Dust’ about three years ago.

An architect by profession, Abhiraami works with a multinational firm in the city, spending her free time on making art on post cards, bookmarks, etc., adorned with mandalas and other quirky designs. “My Master’s course in Building Engineering gave me a lot of confidence in using colours, compositions and balance in my illustrations. Living in a digital world, all our text messages and photographs shot on mobile phones can get erased, but handwritten letters remain. I find penning thoughts down as an exercise that brings immense happiness,” she admits.

Besides illustrated post cards, she also crafts bookmarks, mandalas on canvases, calendars, planners and fridge magnets. Some of her most popular designs include nature-themed ones, city-inspired illustrations, and colouring postcards (which one can colour) — which are bought by people from around the world through her online store on art e-commerce platforms like Etsy. “The colouring cards have been very special as I colour half of the design and the receiver can colour the other half — resulting in a small art collaboration of sorts,” she points out.

People are rediscovering the lost love for writing through post cards, Abhiraami says, as she notices high demand for her illustrated cards. “People who buy my cards share the pictures of them posting the letter at a post office, which is very heartening. I also write and send postcards to people in different parts of the world through postcrossing.com (a project that allows people to send and receive letters to others around the world). The project allows me to read letters about people’s daily lives in their respective countries. All it takes is a Rs 5 stamp to send a letter within our country and a Rs 15-worth stamp for a letter to be posted outside our country. Finding a post box nearby could be a bit difficult, but once one finds it, writing letters is fairly easy,” she says.

In future, Abhiraami plans to open a store front for her handcrafted cards and other products. “I would like to have a small store in the city in future and make people happy,” she adds.