"The art of letter writing is still thriving despite the rise of texts and
emails, says market analyst Mintel.
UK sales of pens and stationery rose by 9 per cent between 2001 and 2005 to reach £527m.
And by the end of 2006, sales are expected to rise by a further 4 per cent to hit £546m.
Mintel said the growing popularity of designer pens was the driving force behind the high spending.
David Bird, senior market analyst at Mintel, said: "There is an assumption that new technology always replaces old in the way that DVDs have replaced the video.
"But emails and texts have not replaced personal stationery and writing
instruments, and in fact the old and the new seem to be complementing each other
well...."
Nick Gibbens
LINK
All good news. ;-)
Posted by: Chris Meisenzahl | August 02, 2006 at 06:57 AM
I believe this is excellent news.
I takes time to write a letter, you sit down with a nice cup of
coffee at home or in a cafe and actually think about that person
you are writing to. It is not just an easy way to say hello, it has
meaning for me and I know for many of my friends as well.
It is not nice to arrive back home from a long day in the office
to find a letter from a friend who wants to share some news?
I believe it is fantastic.
Write again soon.
Marcus
Posted by: Marcus | August 02, 2006 at 07:15 AM
To write is to live, and to live with passion.
Posted by: John Stroup | August 02, 2006 at 03:20 PM
Look at all the great letter writers in literature and how much their correspondence has contributed to our world: Robert Lowell, Flaubert, George Sand, Truman Capote, to name a few. I have a marvelous volume of correspondence between Pound and James Joyce which is terrific reading in its own right.
Anyone else have favorites?
Posted by: Shirley | August 02, 2006 at 04:57 PM
Letter's! Brings a flood of memories. My mother wrote almost everyday while I was overseas in the military. I am happy to hear that letter writing is on the rise. One useful tool I found was a book by Alexandra Stoddard called "The Gift Of A Letter". You can really make someone feel special when you craft something especially for them.
Posted by: Harold | August 03, 2006 at 09:22 PM