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For the next week or so, New Yorkers visiting some of the city's most cherished businesses will notice a number of old-school looking red mailboxes around town. Set up by floral and event company Popupflorist, the stations are part of a unique new activation aptly called "Love Letters of New York City," a tribute to this great city of ours just in time for Valentine's Day.
"As an experiential florist based here in NYC, Valentine’s Day is our Super Bowl," Popupflorist owner and founder Kelsie Hayes said to Time Out. "It’s my favorite holiday, and every year we go all out. This year we came up with the idea of 'Love Letters of New York City.' It’s an ode to this city, to New Yorkers, to Love Day, and to the many connections that this city fosters."
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The concept is relatively simple: now until January 30, city dwellers are invited to drop off completely anonymous, hand-written letters at 13 different mailboxes across Manhattan and Brooklyn. At the end of the month, the Popupflorist team will comb through the notes—basically, chances to say exactly how you feel about anything without anyone ever knowing it is you—and select 30 of their favorites to be displayed at the Love Letters of New York City Gallery on February 8, set to debut at 21 Howard Street in lower Manhattan. The exhibit will also feature floral installations inspired by the love letters.
If you can't make it to any of the drop-off locations, you are invited to enter a submission for consideration online right here.
"The idea was born from my excitement to bring my recent book, Say It with Flowers, to life," said Hayes when asked about the inspiration behind the lovely project. "The book [...] is inspired by all the weird, wacky and wonderful reasons why people send flowers. Since opening this business nine years ago, I’ve collected the most memorable and special notes that customers have trusted me with to accompany our flowers. Flipping through the pages of the book and reading all the notes inside is like a peek behind the curtain of what it’s like to be a florist. I wanted to bring that same feeling of surprise and excitement with an in-real-life experience for New Yorkers."
As for the sorts of notes that she expects to read through, Hayes is used to and eager to witness "anything and everything."
"We’re expecting sweet, endearing, apologetic, sexy, hilarious, dramatic," she said. "Plus everything else that Valentine’s Day brings."
Here is the full list of Love Letters of New York City mailbox locations:
From Lucie in the East Village, Manhattan
Nickey Kehoe in Soho, Manhattan
THE ELK in Nolita, Manhattan
Caffe Dante in Greenwich Village, Manhattan
Corner Bookstore on the Upper East Side, Manhattan
East Village Postal in the East Village, Manhattan
Bedford Studio in the West Village, Manhattan
Cha& on the Lower East Side, Manhattan
Tarin Thomas in the West Village, Manhattan
Pillow-Cat Books in the East Village, Manhattan
Big Night Greenpoint in Brooklyn
L’Appartement 4F in Brooklyn
BonBon Williamsburg in Brooklyn