Dear Penpal

For our last guest episode of Season One, Parker and Judit are joined by Steph, founder of Moonbow Creative Co., to talk about what actually goes into building a business around something as tiny and joyful as a sticker.

Steph takes us back to Moonbow’s early days as Postix, the sticker club she originally thought would be for kids, and how it unexpectedly found a very enthusiastic audience of adult sticker people. We get into the stressful decision to completely rebrand, what happened to their Google ranking afterward, and how Moonbow has grown from sticker sheets into subscriptions, junk journal goodies, stationery and more.

We also talk about the creative anxiety of following trends without accidentally copying them, why butter, pickles, gingham, geese and mushrooms keep showing up everywhere, how actual trend forecasting works, and why sometimes the weird sticker everyone doubts becomes the bestseller. Plus: sticker subscription secrets, wholesale surprises, using data to figure out what people really want, and the very real business decisions hiding behind all the cute stuff.

Basically: stickers, trend predictions, creative risks, rebranding, spreadsheets and the business behind the whimsy. 💌

FIND MOONBOW 🌈
Instagram: @moonbowcreativeco
Website + Sticker Club: moonbowcreative.com

FIND DEAR PENPAL 💌
Instagram: @dearpenpalpodcast
Email: [email protected]

SEND US MAIL 📬
Dear Penpal
PO Box 411061
San Francisco, CA 94141

Happy penpalling!

This week Parker is joined by Clàudia from @cloudedpages, a Barcelona-based snail mail and paper enthusiast who has been writing to penpals around the world since she was 14.

We finally tackle two very important Dear Penpal investigations: where are we supposed to find actually good letter paper, and when has a slow penpal officially become a ghost? Clàudia shares her rules for finding trustworthy penpals, why she thinks it’s okay to message someone who disappears, and how many penpals is actually manageable.

Plus: stocking up on stationery in Korea, the mystery of letter sets with way too many envelopes, handmade envelopes, Japanese stamps, penpal crushes, Traveler’s Notebooks, postpartum journaling, and why the connection matters so much more than having the prettiest mail.

Basically: paper opinions, penpal etiquette, international mail, and the extremely specific problems you only develop once you become a real mail person. 💌

FIND CLÀUDIA ☁️📮
Instagram: @cloudedpages
Links: linktr.ee/cloudedpages

FIND DEAR PENPAL 💌
Instagram: @dearpenpalpodcast
Email: [email protected]

SEND US MAIL 📬
Dear Penpal
PO Box 411061
San Francisco, CA 94141

Happy penpalling!

This week Parker is joined by Daisy and Chloe from Country Cottage Correspondence, their very charming English cottage mail club filled with handwritten letters, original lino prints, stickers, seasonal stories, recipes and little pieces of everyday countryside life.

We talk about how the club started, what they’ve learned only a few months in, and the less-romantic side of running a mail subscription: printing costs, postage, finding subscribers, figuring out how much handmade detail is actually sustainable, and why even seemingly successful mail clubs sometimes close.

And because Daisy and Chloe previously sent us a letter that sent Parker down a Royal Mail rabbit hole, we get a full lesson in British postal history, Penny Blacks, iconic red postboxes, rising postage costs and why keeping people excited about sending physical mail still matters.

Plus: pumpkin jam, double-sided letter paper, mailing random objects through the post, historic letters, cottage life and why something as simple as finding an envelope in your mailbox can still make you feel connected. 💌

Basically: cozy countryside mail, stickers, postal history, small-business reality and two people determined to keep us writing letters.

FIND COUNTRY COTTAGE CORRESPONDENCE 🏡📮
Instagram: @countrycottagecorrespondence
Website: www.countrycottagecorrespondence.com

FIND DEAR PENPAL 💌
Instagram: @dearpenpalpodcast
Email: [email protected]

SEND US MAIL 📬
Dear Penpal
PO Box 411061
San Francisco, CA 94141

Happy penpalling!

Episode 35: Martina Calvi, the Queen of Junk Journaling 💌✂️

This week we somehow got Martina Calvi on Dear Penpal (!!), and this one is for every junk journal, stationery and snail mail girlie.

Martina takes us all the way back to the journal she started at eight years old, through sharing her pages online and realizing people actually cared about this wonderfully scrappy way of saving memories. We also finally ask whether she knows people call her the queen of junk journaling. Spoiler: she does. 😂

We talk about the viral post that led to a DM from her future editor and eventually her first book deal, what publishing is actually like, building Martina’s Tiny Store from one sticker sheet, why her first sticker book wildly exceeded expectations, and the reality behind creative collaborations, including a little collaboration tea.

And obviously we get into The Art of Snail Mail, Martina’s lifelong penpal history, why slower communication can sometimes be better communication, and the crafty community that has now become much bigger than she ever imagined.

Basically: junk journals, penpals, publishing secrets, Tiny Store, collabs, tiny scraps of paper, and the woman responsible for a lot of us becoming sentimental little raccoons. 💌

FIND MARTINA 🎀
Instagram: @martinamartian
Martina Calvi’s links, books & socials
Shop Martina’s Tiny Store Linktree

FIND DEAR PENPAL 💌
Instagram: @dearpenpalpodcast
Email: [email protected]

SEND US MAIL 📮
Dear Penpal
PO Box 411061
San Francisco, CA 94141

Happy penpalling!

This week Parker is joined by Australian artist Alex Mason, whose bright, textured florals have made their way onto everything from surfboards and bedding to phone cases, stationery and swimwear. 🌸🎨

Alex takes us behind the scenes of art licensing, how it works, what artists actually get paid, and why she’s now turning down licensing deals to build her own products instead. She also shares the messy side of that world, including discovering a new range using her artwork in stores that she hadn’t approved or been paid for.

We also get into manufacturing samples gone horribly wrong, her upcoming clothing line, the floral surfboards that unexpectedly went viral, Bindi Irwin casually buying one of her paintings, celebrities sliding into the DMs, and the truly mysterious phenomenon of brides asking small businesses for free stuff. 😂

Basically: color, flowers, business chaos, big creative risks, and Alex’s plan to build her own very pink, very recognizable empire.

FIND ALEX 🌸
Instagram: @artbyalexmason
Shop + artwork: artbyalexmason.com
Links: linktr.ee/artbyalexmason

FIND DEAR PENPAL 💌
Instagram: @dearpenpalpodcast
Email: [email protected]

SEND US MAIL 💌
Dear Penpal
PO Box 411061
San Francisco, CA 94141

Happy penpalling!

It’s our last Parker + Judit duo episode of the year, so naturally we have a LOT to catch up on.

Judit is back with a belated birthday stationery haul, a fancy new fountain pen, red shimmer ink on the way, and a casual little pile of eight penpal letters waiting for replies. Parker finally got her Martina Calvi sticker book in the mail, and we’re already plotting a Paper Source trip for the Martina Calvi freebies because obviously.

We also revisit the pen show and admit that we were somehow too intimidated to actually touch the fancy pens, got tired way too fast, and didn’t even make it through the whole show.

Judit shows off her three Hobonichi journals, gives her thoughts on the episode she missed, and we get into listener mail, the possibility of doing a live show, and all the little stationery things currently taking over our lives.

Plus, a tiny reminder from us to actually take a little time for yourself during the day, even when there are eight letters staring at you from the desk.

Basically: birthday goodies, penpal guilt, pretty paper, tired girl behavior, and a whole lot of catching up. 💌✨

want to write Judit a birthday note?! or just send us cute snail mail? write to us at:

PO Box 411061, San Francisco, CA 94141

This week Parker is joined by Elle from Shell Flower, who originally got our attention by asking who she needed to bribe with stickers to get on the podcast, which is, frankly, the correct strategy.

We talk about Elle rediscovering her teenage journals filled with candy wrappers, menus, scraps and little memories, and how that eventually helped lead her back to creating and building Shell Flower. We also get into the making of her now-iconic journal pouch, taking the risk of ordering hundreds before knowing if anyone would actually want one, and growing a creative brand by trusting her own taste instead of chasing every trend.

Plus: Sydney’s junk journal scene, leopard print, sticker hoarding, creative community, small-business chaos, and Parker’s many questions about why a small creative brand hires a PR firm and what PR actually does behind the scenes.

Basically: junk journals, very good stickers, girl gangs, creative risks and the business behind all the cute stuff. ✂️💌✨

FIND SHELL FLOWER 🐚🌸
Instagram: @shellflowerstore
Shop: shellflowerstore.com

FIND DEAR PENPAL 💌
Instagram: @dearpenpalpodcast
Email: [email protected]

SEND US MAIL 💌
Dear Penpal
PO Box 411061
San Francisco, CA 94141

Happy penpalling!

Parker is running low on letter paper, which turns into a discussion about where to buy the good stuff, and why anything monogrammed instantly feels fancier.

Judit shares her latest fountain pen want, Parker has a penpal confession, and Judit updates us on messaging some ghosted penpals. We also talk about sending postcards instead of full letters sometimes, Parker’s postcard hoarding, the traveling sticker card we did with listeners, and listener mail from the UK.

We also discuss the San Francisco Pen Show, recorded before we went, so yes, it has already happened, plus why Dear Penpal is not becoming a video podcast unless Netflix or Hulu comes calling.

Somehow we also end up debating how to say “riso,” talking about current music playlists, USPS PO Box paperwork, and Parker wanting more markers.

SEND US MAIL 💌
Dear Penpal
PO Box 411061
San Francisco, CA 94141

Instagram: @dearpenpalpodcast

Happy penpalling!

This week Parker is joined by Haeshah Davis of @PlanninginHD to talk about journaling without the pressure to make every page perfect.

We get into journal therapy, finding a journaling style that actually works for you, fountain pens and ink obsessions, using the stationery you’ve been saving, and why so many of us are craving analog hobbies again.

Haeshah also tells us how her Postcard Pal Exchange grew to hundreds of people sending happy mail around the world, plus creative workshops, stationery rabbit holes, expensive fountain pens, and the very important art of buying two sticker sheets so you can use one and hoard the other.

Consider this your official permission to mess up the notebook, use the good stickers, and send the postcard. 💌

CONNECT WITH DEAR PENPAL 💌
Instagram: @dearpenpalpodcast
Email: [email protected]
Podcast: Dear Penpal on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Podcasts
Send us mail:
Dear Penpal
PO Box 411061
San Francisco, CA 94141

FIND HAESHAH ✨
Instagram: @planninginhd
Links + resources: linktr.ee/PlanninginHD

Happy penpalling!

This week we’re talking with Paulina Hoong, the artist and founder behind Menmin Made, about turning creative ideas into real products.

Parker is currently trying to figure out manufacturing for her sticker book, so she had LOTS of questions: How do you find a manufacturer? What happens when a sample is wrong? How much back-and-forth is normal? And what happens when an entire order goes sideways?

We also talk about Paulina’s Menmin Multi Bag, selling 10,000 tote bags, craft fair chaos, and growing a creative business.

Find us 💌
Instagram: @dearpenpalpodcast
Send us mail:
Dear Penpal
PO Box 411061
San Francisco, CA 94141

Find Paulina ✨
Instagram: @menminmade
Shop: menminmade.com

Happy penpalling!