Local Love Movement
Sweet San Antonio company ignites inspirational social media movement
"Love is my jam." This may seem like a simple catch phrase, but for Nicole Ahr, a San Antonio teacher turned entrepreneur, it is a simple truth worth proclaiming to her many loyal followers.
Last year, the former Garner Middle School teacher founded The Love Letter Library, an online collection of love letters and love journals, many of which have been transcribed onto cards, glasses, bags, and other gifts available in her online shop.
Ahr's business has also sparked a powerful — and positive — social media movement. Using the hashtag #stopdropandloveletter, The Love Letter Library is rapidly spreading a message of self-love and random acts of kindness.
The hashtag was inspired by a combination of the public's affinity for love letters and the beauty of discovering something wonderful and unexpected in the world. With 14,000 followers on The Love Letter Library Instagram account, the momentum is definitely growing.
"Last February, I wrote a love letter every day and left it in the world for someone to find with the hope that it might inspire change or brighten someone's day," Ahr writes in an Instagram post. "This February I will again be writing a love letter every day and sharing the process here."
A recent example of #stopdropandloveletter was played out at a San Antonio Spurs game. “Several high school students took the cards to the AT&T Center,” Ahr says. “They left the cards in random places. People find [a letter] and are encouraged.”
Another aspect of The Love Letter Library is the Gypsy Journal, a traveling collection of handwritten love letter journals.
“Love letters are written and passed along from person to person and heart to heart until the journal reaches its final page,” Ahr says. “Then it’s returned to The Love Letter Library and turned into a bound paperback book for all participants to have a copy of the final product.”
For loyal fans, Ahr offers subscriptions to The Love Club for $20 per month. Subscriptions include three gifts centered around the month’s theme; the “Love is My Jam” bundle, for example, includes a blank journal, a tote bag, and a pencil bouquet.
With customers in nine different countries and almost every state in the U.S., The Love Letter Library is picking up speed. While everything is available online, you can also find Love Letter items in two local shops, IAMA Coffee House and CommonWealth Coffeehouse.
Follow The Love Letter Library on Instagram for more positive messages and inspirational gift ideas.
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