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Momorandum Archive »
Executive Momorandum
Mail It In
10/1/2009
- Mail It In
Of the many many many things we love about our
digital world, there are certain remnants of a not-so-distant past that can
evoke twinges of nostalgia for what used to be. The small delight, for
example, of getting a letter or postcard in the mail.
When we discovered Hazel Mail, a service
that brings the two together, it was impossible not to feel instant affection.
Tuck this one away for the next time you take a trip:
Hazel Mail lets you turn a digital photo into a traditional postcard, that they
mail for you...
Mirroring our bit of nostalgia above, Hazel Mail
was inspired by founder Michael Lato's mother (yes: Hazel) who he learned
had saved every postcard he had ever sent her during his many travels.
Recognizing that there is a unique, tactile pleasure in tacking a postcard to a
refrigerator door, he sought to create a way of taking the
ubiquity and convenience of digital photos and enabling them to be quickly
converted into a lasting keepsake.
 How
it works: upload your photo to the Hazel Mail site and format it; you
will then be directed to craft your note for the back of the postcard. Choose
your recipient (or recipients; you can send to more than one person at a time)
and for $1.50 per card, Hazel Mail will mail it for
you. (The $1.50 charge covers the card, plus postage and handling). Sure
"snail mail" takes days as opposed to seconds to reach its destination, but an
interesting note: the company has set up with a network of local printers in
North America, South America, Asia and Europe, in order to cut costs, time and
environmental impact.
There are now iPhone and
Blackberry applications you can download to make it that much easier to
snap a shot while you are away and quickly convert it into instant grandparent
gratification (or a fun way to say hi to kids at home when you are traveling
solo).
www.hazelmail.com
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