Monday, October 7, 2024
This business is built on tales by mail
The Flower Letters follow the romance of a fictional World War II couple
A Utah couple has created a successful business using the mail to regale subscribers with a romance set during World War II.
Hannie and Michael Clark launched the Flower Letters in August 2020, telling the fictional story of Audrey Rose Drollinger and Cpl. Charlie Henderson Burke.
At first, there were 38 subscribers who followed the romance of the couple through letters and postcards against the backdrop of historical events. Today, the Flower Letters has 31,000 subscribers.
Since 2020, more than 1.8 million letters have been mailed.
The Clarks ran the business by themselves from their home in Pleasant Grove, a city near Provo, but now ship from a warehouse in Orem, UT, and have 24 employees who handle fulfillment, operations and marketing.
The Flower Letters has also expanded to four other series featuring characters from other eras and genres.
Hannie Clark writes, designs and illustrates the content, while Michael Clark runs the business and serves as a sounding board for new content.
“I love to research, and I love history, so a lot of the inspiration comes from really diving into the time period and seeing what historical events I want to center a story around — so it’s kind of limitless inspiration when you’re doing historical fiction,” Hannie Clark said.
Subscribers receive two letters a month, along with occasional surprises and interactive components in each mailing, such as journal entries, maps or advertisements from the era.
“We have several thousand people subscribed to more than one series at once. They’ll read a couple of stories at a time,” Michael Clark said.
The Flower Letters has a community of “super fans” on social media who are “scrapbooking the series and sharing how creatively they captured the letters,” Hannie Clark said.
The letters are part of a wave of similar subscription services, including companies that mail customers reproductions of historic letters from the likes of Benjamin Franklin and Mark Twain, as well as services that are geared toward children.
The Clarks credit USPS for helping their business to expand.
“The Postal Service has walked us through a lot of new growth changes through the years as well. We call it the miracle of mail,” Hannie Clark said.
Heroes
His medical training came in handy
This carrier came to the aid of an ailing driver
Letter Carrier Carlos Vlaun was driving in San Antonio recently when another vehicle suddenly veered off the road and narrowly missed striking a utility pole.
He safely pulled over his vehicle, called 911 and checked on the driver and her passenger.
Vlaun, a military veteran, relied on his medical training to assess the driver, who was experiencing a medical emergency. He told the 911 dispatcher that the woman’s heart rate was slowing, and that medical assistance was urgently needed.
The Postal Service employee comforted the driver and her passenger until emergency responders arrived and took the woman to a nearby hospital.
The woman was discharged and is recovering at home.
Employees featured in “Heroes” receive letters of commendation through the Postmaster General Heroes’ Program. The nomination form is available on Blue.
Week in Review
Here’s what Link covered Sept. 29-Oct. 5
Two stamps, COVID-19 tests and a heroic employee made news
Last week, Link covered the release of Thank You, Healthcare Community, a stamp honoring the nation’s health workers.
We also reported on a special ceremony in Indianapolis for the new Christmas Madonna and Child stamp and marked the end of National Preparedness Month on Sept. 30 and the beginning of Cybersecurity Awareness Month and National Disability Employment Awareness Month, which each kicked off Oct. 1.
Other stories highlighted the Postal Service’s delivery of free at-home COVID-19 tests to homes across the nation, informational webinars and online training courses for the Thrift Savings Plan, and the importance of not hitting “Reply All” to large group emails clearly sent in error.
Additionally, we introduced you to Carlos Vlaun, a San Antonio letter carrier whose medical training came in handy when he encountered an ailing driver, and Anna Rodriguez, the postmaster in Sierra Madre, CA, a community that marked a “date meets ZIP” event, when the date matched the local ZIP Code.
“We’re excited and honored to host this rare event,” Rodriguez said. “It recognizes the unique ties between USPS and our community. As outlined in the Delivering for America plan, we are committed to serving the changing needs of our customers for centuries to come.”
Postal Posts looks at election preparations
The Postal Service’s preparations for this year’s general election are the subject of the latest Postal Posts blog entry.
Adrienne Marshall, the organization’s election and government mail services director, wrote the post, which was published Oct. 1.
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This business is built on tales by mail
The Flower Letters follow the romance of a fictional World War II couple
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Heroes
His medical training came in handy
This carrier came to the aid of an ailing driver
-
Week in Review
Here’s what Link covered Sept. 29-Oct. 5
Two stamps, COVID-19 tests and a heroic employee made news
-
Brief
Postal Posts looks at election preparations