20x200 artist Julia Rothman and Shaina Feinberg for The New York Times
Greetings collectors! Jen here, checking in from scary, smoky San Francisco where I’m grateful to be safe, healthy and (relatively) sane amid all the unprecedented everything that’s happening everywhere. It’s a lot y’all, but I always end up back in the same place: there’s no choice other than to keep putting one foot in front of the other, to do the best I can and to do what I can to support and advocate for the causes closest to my heart.
A near, dear thing that I never expected to become a cause in the first place is our good ol’ United States Postal Service, but here we are. My personal affection for the PO, its stamps and all the goodness they deliver to my doorstep runs deep; as a small business owner, its function as a service is crucial to my company’s survival.
So today, I write to all of you to make sure you read up on what’s going on and ask that you do what you can to support this essential and gravely imperiled entity. Buy stamps. Call your Congress critters. Be REALLY nice to your mail person and any other USPS workers you encounter. Bringing it back to 20x200, along with countless other businesses relying on them, I also ask that you be patient and plan ahead. Things are already taking a lot longer than they used to, and it’s likely to get worse before it gets better.
Like many retail businesses, the holiday season looms large for us year round. Even so, we’ve always waited until early November to unfurl a full-on gifting push, proudly resisting an ever-increasing pressure to keep pace with other retailers by kicking off our holiday marketing earlier and earlier. But, in consideration of All The Things, this year is different. We’re already feverishly putting the finishing touches on a season that will kick off in early October and end weeks ahead of Christmas, Chanukah and Kwanzaa. (Our ordering deadline for art and photography prints, including unframed items, will be Monday, November 30th.) It feels really weird, but it also feels right for right now. And the best part is we’ve got so much cool stuff coming, and I’m excited that you won’t have to wait long to hear all about it.
In the meanwhile, please stay safe and healthy, show the USPS some love and most important of all be sure you’ve got a plan to VOTE. Christmas might be just around the corner, but Election Day is even sooner, and this is likely the most consequential election in our lifetimes.
With art for everyone,
Jen Bekman
