Gen Z’s handmade mail tradition spreads across borders

Young subscribers are paying monthly for handmade letters, tarot cards, themed craft extras and offline prompts—turning a niche “snail mail club” into a fast-growing global pastime with costs that range from $8 to $16 AUD.

Every month, Teagan Franz counts down the days until a colorful envelope arrives through her letterbox.. Last month. it was red—inside a handwritten letter. a tarot card featuring the Greek goddess Artemis. a piece of card scented with homemade essential oils. toad stool stickers. and a DIY craft activity titled “shrine to your inner child. ” all arranged in a vintage scrapbook style.

Franz is a subscriber to Raindrops on Roses. a monthly spiritual wellness-themed snail mail club created by Madalin Giorgetta. a 37-year-old nutritionist and former fitness influencer based in Melbourne.. Each letter costs $16 AUD ($11.47).. For Franz, the appeal is built around the physical surprise.. “It’s really exciting because it’s a surprise each month. ” the 28-year-old content creator and mom-of-two from Western Australia said.. “It’s actually so much fun.. I don’t get a lot of mail that’s fun mail.. Even birthday cards, that’s something that’s dead now.. Everybody just sends a text.” She also called the effort a kind of personal note: “Maddie puts so much beautiful effort into her mail club. and it’s a little love letter.”

Proudly offline snail mail clubs like Giorgetta’s are spreading quickly.. Subscribers pay around $10 a month to receive a mailer on a theme of the sender’s choosing. from cooking to poetry to fantasy worlds.. Typically, the letters include fun paper goodies such as journal prompts and original art prints.

Search interest suggests the idea has already traveled well beyond individual hobby circles.. In the past 12 months, Google Trends data shows that searches for “snail mail club” increased by 700%.. Data shared by Pinterest with Business Insider shows a 245% spike in searches for “snail mail ideas” and a 125% increase for “letter ideas” during the same period.

Giorgetta used to have one million followers on Instagram, where she sold downloadable workout guides.. She later said that experience felt dehumanizing.. “You’re just constantly putting out content and never really connecting with anybody,” she said.. The snail mail club she started in January has around 150 subscribers. and she describes it as more intimate and creatively fulfilling.. “You really feel like, ‘Oh wow, I know this person’s name.. I understand that they’re getting this delivered into their hands every month.. It feels very personal,’” Giorgetta said.. She also notes the practical reality behind the mailings: each edition requires an “inordinate” amount of time. and she spends four days packing 150 letters.

Each month, Giorgetta chooses a goddess to inspire the content of her mailers.. April centered Artemis and childlike wonder, which is why Franz received the inner child shrine.. Previous editions have centered Persephone, Aphrodite, and Athena.. The letters are embellished with pearl and lace details and ribbons, plus extras like hand-drawn Victorian love tokens.

Across the market, other clubs are leaning into tactile learning and older styling themes.. Kaelyn Marie Williams, a 29-year-old artist and costume designer based in Knoxville, Tennessee, started Swatched Ink Print Club last November.. For $8 a month, her 550 subscribers receive a mailer themed around an era of fashion, such as Regency or Renaissance.. The clubs include a handmade guide on how to recreate a stitch from the era. an illustration of a woman modeling clothing. and a note from Williams about the artwork.. Williams said her audience is mainly women artists and crafters aged between 20 and 40. as well as those with no crafting experience who still get excited to learn a new tactile skill.

Hannah Gustafson’s story follows a different route—starting with a desire to feel closer to neighbors.. In April 2025. Gustafson. 26. organized the first of a now-monthly farmers market called Tiny Farmers Market in Austin. Texas. as a last-ditch attempt to feel closer to neighbours in the area where she had lived for three years.. She regularly posts on social media about the market, which features live music, free drinks, and stalls from 30 vendors.. She said she received messages from people around the world who were sad they couldn’t join. and in August 2025 those requests inspired her to create The Tiny Post.

The creators who spoke describe sending those “market” feelings far beyond Austin.. Their mail has been posted to people in the US, Ireland, France, Austria, Spain, Mexico, and Australia.. Gustafson said the emotional thread was the same: “We listen to really good music here.. We eat really yummy jams and the vulnerability piece is really big for us. connecting with people and showing up as you are.. And so I was like. what if I put that all in a letter and you could feel like you were actually a part of the market?”

In eight months, she built a worldwide subscriber base of more than 5,000 people.. Members receive a heartfelt letter that reads like an open journal entry. a recipe card related to the market. an art print by Gustafson. a tarot card. a journal prompt and a Spotify playlist to set the mood. stickers. and a surprise paper goodie.. “Last month was a little zine that they could make themselves,” she said.

Katie Shaffer. a 39-year-old diagnostic medical sonographer based in Houston. said signing up to The Tiny Post has changed her daily habits.. She said her screen time is down 75%. and instead of doomscrolling for hours in a dark room. she spends free time doing offline activities like crocheting and painting.. “It’s not an instant gratification from a notification.. It’s sitting down and holding something tactile in my hands that makes me happy, brings me whimsy.. It’s like magic,” Shaffer said.. She added that February’s edition included a QR code for a Facebook page inviting subscribers to “find a penpal.” Now. she sends handwritten letters and watercolor paintings to eight penpals around the world.

“It’s 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.

For subscribers, the waiting itself can act like a shared experience.. Ashley Webber. a 25-year-old senior court operations specialist who subscribes to Williams’ Swatched Ink Print Club. said she enjoys watching others open their envelopes on social media. which makes her feel part of a community.. Webber. based in Arizona. said: “I love that. because we all now have a small connection and similarity in what we enjoy.” She added. “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.”

The pattern shows up across different clubs and price points: monthly mailers are built around themes. they arrive as a physical surprise. and they create room for offline habits to replace the urgency of notifications—whether that shift is described through screen-time changes. penpal friendships. or simply a slower daily pace.

Whether snail mail clubs and broader “analog” interests prove to be passing trends or a lasting cultural shift will take time.. For now, the founders and subscribers describe a moment of childlike wonder—sometimes lasting only minutes.. Gustafson said: “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.”

snail mail club handmade mail analog hobbies Raindrops on Roses Swatched Ink Print Club The Tiny Post Teagan Franz Madalin Giorgetta Kaelyn Marie Williams Hannah Gustafson tarot offline activities