I remember complaining to my doctor that I always felt tired and unwell. I was met with “it’s depression” and “you’re overweight” and was  advised to exercise more. This went on for years. Was I depressed? Yes. Was I overweight? Also, yes. But there was something more going on. Then in 2014 I couldn’t get out of bed for a week with no real cause. Labs were drawn, there was an abnormality and I finally had answers, or so I thought. It was just the beginning of a long road.

My ANA (antinuclear antibodies) came back positive, and I was referred to a Rheumatologist for possible autoimmune disease. Depression and weight gain are symptoms by the way. Over time my health declined. I was in pain and fatigued every day. I was treated for Lupus and Fibromyalgia. The medications I was prescribed didn’t necessarily make me feel better, but it was noticeable whenever I tried lowering a dose or stopping altogether.

During those initial years I worked full time, part time and had a photography business on the side. I hung out with my friends out on the town multiple nights a week. It got to the point that I couldn’t keep up. I was forced to look at how I was spending my energy and rethink the way I lived. Feeling unwell every day is not fun but there have been important life lessons mixed in. I was forced to slow down. I stopped working part time, I gave up my photography business, and I stopped going out partying. I started living more slowly and intentionally, taking care of my body and my mind. This new way of life was my silver lining, and I am forever grateful for that.

                Part of living slow for me meant diving deeper into my creative side. I took my photography in a new direction, focusing more on florals and landscape. I started to turn my photos into blank greeting cards and sold them at small vendor fairs. They were always a hit. Eventually I found my way to junk journaling and I started looking at paper differently. Service tag from car repairs, this would make a great insert. I used my greeting cards as additional writing space options. Receipts are no longer trash they’re now a memory. This all led to the start of West Shore Papercraft. During my junk journal journey I started getting into pen pals again. The idea of sending and receiving letters with individuals of various ages, from all over the world was so appealing to me at this point in my life as I try to find my place in this world. I strongly believe that there is something to learn from everyone, especially when you live differently and are at different stages in life.

Shortly after exchanging letters with my pen pals, I came across a few artists that I followed on social media who had started mail clubs for their prints. I decided very quickly that I wanted to try something like this myself as a division of West Shore Papercraft. I loved the idea of pen pals with a twist. One problem, I enjoy painting, but my paintings aren’t good enough to offer as a mail club. Suddenly it dawned on me that I could create something with my photography/greeting cards and tie it into junk journaling. What would I like to receive in a mail club that I would like to incorporate into my journals but maybe is multipurpose?

I started working very hard behind the scenes coming up with a name, a brand, monthly themes and designing the contents of the overall package. Getting more and more excited as it was all coming along. I knew that I wanted to keep the overall theme of the club in line with the West Shore Papercraft brand, living slow and intentional along the New England coastline. I also knew that I wanted to create this mail club as an experience. Here we are three months later and we are almost ready to launch the Ink & Tide Society.  

Ink & Tide Society will be a monthly offering, a ritual to grant you space to set time aside for yourself. The overall theme as mentioned above is living slow and intentionally with New England coastal vibes. Each quarter has a theme; Q2 Movement & Growth, Q3 Fullness & Light, Q4 Reflection & Return, Q1 Quiet Beginnings. I do recognize that I am starting during the end of Q2 so we will then flow back into Q2 Movement & Growth to bring us full circle for the year before new themes may begin. Monthly themes will be announced when the orders for that month open up.

I am going to keep some information to myself at this time as I do want to keep an element of surprise with each delivery. I will say that each package sticks to the theme for that month and includes the following items which are exclusive to the Ink & Tide Society; a photo greeting card, a letter from myself, a journal prompt, note from the Driftwood Desk, a local tide chart and a small rotating surprise item (think along the lines of a bookmark, word search, mini coloring page, journal tag etc).

Earlier I mentioned that I wanted to make this an experience. Along with a subscription to Ink & Tide Society you will gain access to a private channel in my Discord server which will include a monthly Spotify playlist, an expansion on the journal prompt included in the mailing, an area to showcase your creative works and general chatting to meet like-minded people. The Ink & Tide Society Members channel is not a content hub so much as an extension of the mail club.

Since this is new for me and there will be a learning curve, I only plan to offer monthly and 3 month-tier subscriptions initially with limited quantities. If all goes well, we will add additional tiers and quantities. I also plan to offer a limited number of catch up bundles.

Stay tuned for details on June’s theme and the date orders will be open. Please note that Junes order dates will not match the standard ordering dates for July and moving forward.

I would love to hear your feedback as I finetune the last of the details before letting this project set sail in open waters.

With love,

                Marie