Most cards get read once. They stand on a shelf for a week, then go in a drawer, and the words inside are never looked at again. The words were the point, and they got the shortest life of anything in the envelope.
I wanted to make something that did the opposite. A letter small enough to live in a wallet, so it goes to work with them, into the car, onto the train, and is there on the ordinary Tuesday when nobody is making a fuss of them.
Why a wallet
A wallet is one of the few things people carry every single day without thinking about it. It is also where they reach at the moments that matter: paying for something, finding a card, standing at a till. A letter tucked in behind the bank card gets seen again and again, without anyone having to remember to look for it.
It is also private. Nobody else knows it is there. That changes what people are willing to write.
What to write
You do not need to be a writer. The letters that land hardest are usually short and specific. A few things that work:
- One memory only they would recognise. Not "all the good times", but the car park in the rain, or the night the oven caught fire.
- What you see in them that they probably do not see in themselves.
- Something for a bad day. A line they can read when they are tired or low. "You have got through worse than this, and I was there to see it."
- How to finish. Plainly. "I love you. Keep this."
If you are stuck, write it the way you would say it out loud, then cut it in half.
Who it suits
- A partner for an anniversary, a birthday, Valentine's Day, or no reason at all.
- Couples who are apart because of work, distance or shifts that never line up.
- A son or daughter leaving home, starting university or their first job.
- A mum or dad who has always carried everyone else.
- Someone going through a hard time. A reminder in their pocket that they are loved, for the moment before a bad decision.
How I make it
Keep This is the version I built. You add a photo of you together, their name, a date that matters and your own words, and you see exactly how it looks as you go. There are fourteen letters to start from if you would rather not face a blank page.
It is one sheet of A4. You print it at home, fold it three times with no scissors, and it comes down to 74 × 52 mm, a little smaller than a bank card. It costs £3.99, the download is instant, and nothing is posted, so it works even if the birthday is tomorrow. Your photos and words are put together in your own browser and never leave your device.
Why this matters to me
I lost fifteen years to gambling. What got me through the worst of it was not advice. It was small, ordinary reminders that somebody was still waiting for me. I made this so other people could put one in someone's pocket.
If the person you are writing for is struggling with gambling, the National Gambling Helpline is free on 0808 8020 133, 24 hours a day. You can call it for them, or for yourself.