Gen Z are paying strangers around the world to send them handmade mail

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figcaption>The Swatched Ink Print Club focuses on a different era of fashion each month.February’s edition included a QR code for a Facebook page inviting subscribers to “find a penpal.” Now, Schaffer sends handwritten letters and watercolor paintings to eight penpals around the world.

“This is one of the best things I’ve ever spent money on and it costs what, less than $12. It’s so meaningful. She gave me my tiny community that I needed. I knew something had been missing, but I didn’t know what it was,” Shaffer said.

Ashley Webber, a 25-year-old senior court operations specialist who subscribes to Williams’ Swatched Ink Print Club, enjoys the building excitement of waiting for the letter to arrive. Watching videos of fellow subscribers opening their envelopes on social media makes her feel part of a community.

“I love that, because we all now have a small connection and similarity in what we enjoy,” Webber, who is based in Arizona, said. “In a world of same day delivery and instant downloads, it’s kind of refreshing to slow down and get excited for something really authentic,” she said.

Time will tell whether snail mail clubs and the interest in analog living will prove to be passing trends or a lasting cultural shift. But for now, they’re bringing subscribers a moment of childlike wonder in the real world, even if just for five minutes.

“I always think about the fact that you have to use both hands to open it. That sounds so stupid, but you quite literally have to put your phone down and open this thing,” Gustafson, the founder of The Tiny Post, said.