THE POWER OF THE POST WITH ROYAL MAIL

SHOP THE EXCLUSIVE COLLECTION

We've teamed up with Royal Mail (and borrowed a few of their copy lines, too) to deliver a collection of exclusive merchandise, featuring hoodies, tees, accessories and homeware, available in store at Selfridges London and online from 3 December. ‘Do not bend’, ‘Fragile’ and ‘First Class’ are all words synonymous with the post office, reminding us of the most important letters and grin-inducing parcels we’ve received in the past. Plus, our friends at Studio ALCH, Labrum London and Biscuiteers have used the post as a creative jumping-off point for a line-up of exclusive (and, in Biscuiteers case, rather tasty) pieces.

STUDIO ALCH X ROYAL MAIL

EXCLUSIVE MERCH AND CHRISTMAS GIFTS

PUTTING PEN TO PAPER

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Tell us about your letter.

“Ordinarily, I see my nieces very often. And because of lockdown and restrictions, I’ve not been able to. So, I just wanted to write them a letter just talking about everything that’s going on and how, actually, despite everything, there’s still a lot to look forward to.”

What do you think is special about letter writing?

“Even though we have loads of different ways of communicating at our disposal, I feel like letters are really important. They’re something tangible, they’re something that you can feel and hold, and something that you can read over and over again.”

What’s the most memorable letter you’ve kept?

“I don’t really receive many letters, but something quite important that I received is an invitation to my friend’s wedding. She was one of the first in our group of friends to get married, so that was really special.”

What inspired your letter?

“Seeing my colleagues working so hard during a time that none of us were expecting. I feel like they didn’t get enough appreciation. If they did or didn’t, I feel like a letter could show everyone at once that they’re appreciated.”

Tell us what Royal Mail means to you, especially during a period of lockdown.

“I feel like Royal Mail is a massive part of the community because we connect everybody. We don’t just deliver letters and parcels – we’re delivering laughter, happiness, chats… People that don’t see anybody; we might be the only person that they see, especially during lockdown. Everyone had to stop working, and we took the role of being keyworkers and we just took it on the chin and carried on going.”

Favourite letter you’ve received?

“I received a letter from Royal Mail [Head Office], telling me how much they appreciated me and how hard I’ve been working. I feel like that gave me the drive to just work harder every single day, because my hard work isn’t going unnoticed.”

What’s the story behind your letter?

“I was inspired by 2020, and how this has been such a year for contemplation and appreciating what we all have in our lives. I wanted to write an open letter to Australia, which is my home country, because I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about where I grew up and everything that we can appreciate within our culture.”

Tell us about the Studio ALCH and Royal Mail pieces in the collaboration. What was the design process?

“We really wanted to explore different elements of the Royal Mail brand, including working with their Royal Mail sacks, and also take a couple of conceptual points from how the company works. For example, we developed tote bags in three different sizes, and those sizes relate to the exact dimensions that Royal Mail prescribes to when shipping packages. I had developed a couple of pieces out of reconstructed Royal Mail bags a couple of years ago, purely for experimental purposes, so for this collaboration I really wanted to draw upon that and turn it into something that we could work with Selfridges on and develop for the range.”

If you could receive a letter from anyone, who would it be?

“If I could receive a letter from anyone, it would probably be from a professional female athlete, someone like Serena Williams. I’m really inspired by sport and especially females in sport, so I think it’d be really inspirational to get a letter from someone like her.”