Fabulous commenter xJane belongs to the Letter Writer’s Alliance, a “member based organization dedicated to keeping the art of letter writing alive,” which means she writes physical letters with pen and paper like some kind of savage. If you have similar recidivistic tendencies, the LWA is a fantastic resource for all things correspondence-y; they offer interesting workshops, promote local events, and even provide a clearinghouse for finding a pen-pal. However, even if you’re an inveterate e-mailer, the site is worth checking out.

The LWA offers a number of exclusive products to its members (and at a mere $5 for a lifetime membership, it’s certainly a good deal), but also has a few items for sale to the public. One of these is the glorious Moth Mail set, themed around the (mythical) Stellate Moth.

Stay up late and write letters. We’ve harnessed the power of the Stellate Moth to deliver your insomnia-driven musings. Our eclipse of moths has been trained to serve as letter carriers through the ingenious scientific manipulation of naturally occurring soporific pheromones.

This carefully packaged set comes with:
• six handmade lunar envelopes
• a rubber cancellation stamp as large as a Stellate Moth’s wingspan (3.5″x1″)
• twelve artistamps that follow the moon phase
• Stellate Moth field notes, as written by our expert, in-house lepidopterist Dr. Shoggoth.
• paper model of a Stellate Moth

The phase of the moon during which you order your set purportedly affects the type of stamps you receive: Black for the new moon; white for full; and a combination of both black and white for waxing/waning moons.

The LWA blog has a “behind the curtain” post about the making of the package, with closeup photos of some of the elements. It really is lovely, and even if you don’t write letters it’d make a wonderful display piece or gift (you have to admit that night creature-themed stationery is pretty darn gothy).

The public-facing site has some other amusing items, like the Pigeon Post “envelope” (send someone the gift of mild perplexity!) and a small selection of free downloads; I expect there are more available to members.

The LWA is an arm of 16 Sparrows (“Sarcasm folded in half”), and that shop is also worth a look. I particularly like their Blood Money stationery and Misanthropic Calling Cards.

(Thanks, xJane!)