Pinpin Mail Is Here!

When I found out about mail clubs and snail mail, I got so excited, because I have been meaning to find a way to share both my art and my life here in Japan. Why would I want to share my life here in Japan, you ask me? Well, because everyday I experience something different. I share my days with amazing people too. I moved to Japan at the end of 2024 to the countryside in Nara. Yes, where the deer are. But I don't see them everyday, only when I go to Nara City, which is not that far away. I kind of ended getting adopted into a family, where I spend time with the elderly. My host father is pratically like a grandfather to me. I help him run a small guesthouse, and he teaches me carpentry and other DIY skills in our spare time. He also has three sisters in the countryside of Wakayama, so we visit them from time to time. One of his sisters moved to the same city I live earlier this year, and is now selling Manju, Japanese dumplings with sweet bean filling.

I get to spend a lot of time in nature living in Nara and visiting Wakayama, which I love, and also inspires my art. But as a big city girl, I haven't completely abandoned the urban life. I live in a convenient place, which allows me to travel to Osaka quite often. I love Osaka. It has interesting neighbourhoods, good food, I made friends there, found an amazing art comunity and even worked there for a while. But at the end of the day, I am happy to leave those crowded streets and tall buildings and slip back to the prefecture surrounded by greens and mountains. Also, can you imagine how many kind of animals I have encountered since moving here?

One of my favorite neighbourhoods in Osaka

At obaachan's garden

Now back to the snail mail idea.

I have been working the last few months developing a concept that would fit what I wanted to share. What should I include in each letter? What would be interesting, unique and truly "me"? I also wanted to do something analog, nostalgic and collectable. So I decided to write a monthly letter, like one you write to a friend. I haven't written a letter in almost 20 years, so this part is pretty cool. To include my art, I developed a paper doll, that comes along with outfits you can collect every month, a photograph I took at here in Japan, and a random stationery item. This can range from memo sheets, thank you cards, postcard etc. Every item is designed by hand, that means that I draw and paint everything by hand, then edit it on the computer and print it. Since I make everything myself, I can control the quality and the amount it is being produced, so I don't have to worry about overproduction or manufacturers. The down side is that I will be struggling with my dear printer machine.

First sketch

First doll prodotype. The clothes still had wings.

The paper doll was incredibly challenging to design and went through many prototypes, but it was also so fun to make, and it's something I'm really proud of. Cutting the doll and clothes takes time and requires a bit of precision, but I think that this challenging aspect of it makes it fun. It is a good activity to do while watching or listening to something in the background in a cozy setup.

The first letter, from June, included a picture I took when I first came to Japan in a quiet spot in the countryside, a Paper doll starter kit with a spring outfit, and 6 memo sheets of ducks and hydrangeas.

And yes, I called it Pinpin Mail. Because of my original character, Pinpin. I am slowly creating a world where this clumsy ghost lives, and expanding his lore, and I would love to also share that with you!

I separated the mail club into three tiers, where the third tier includes a small bundle of paper ephemera I collected around, especially for scrapbook and junk journal lovers that would like a piece of Japan in their journals. It may include wrapping paper, magazine pages, flyers, tickets, paper packaging, and other little paper treasures I collect along the way. It's about 10g of paper goods, and since they are randomly collected, each bundle is unique!

If you'd like to follow my adventures in Japan while supporting my artwork, I'd love to welcome you to Pinpin Mail. You can learn more and subscribe through my Ko-fi page.

https://ko-fi.com/studioamorosa/tiers

With love,

Gabi Amorosa