This post is a special one.
As we’ve hit our 4 month mark here in Japan, I’ve found myself missing bits and pieces of home. One thing that brings me a lot of comfort is finding lovely postcards and letters from family and friends back home in my mailbox (Bryson and I have become pros at opening it now after failing 17 times). Something about receiving a tangible letter, package, card, or pictures from someone you love is so special isn’t it? I tend to take my good mail and carry it with me as a daily reminder that I am loved, and that I am being cheered on by my loved ones halfway across the world.
About a month or so ago, I stumbled across a company called Birambi. Birambi is based in the Netherlands and was created by two young women, Elbrig and Nikkie. As our communication these days has become essentially all digital, Birambi is looking to inspire people to reintroduce personal gift giving through sending simple message in a bottle packages.
Each piece ordered online is sent to the pertaining address in a beautiful glass test tube with a cork top, and a personal message from the sender. The piece is beautifully contained in a paper tube with bubblewrap and two openable ends to ensure a safe journey.
The variety of gifts that Birambi offers online is so lovely. You can choose from beautiful gold and silver jewelry pieces, worry dolls, bath salts, candy, tea, illustrations, and even confetti! The list goes on! You can even send a memory stick with 8GB of space for pictures, videos, and other files! HOW COOL IS THAT?!
Did I also mention how incredibly reasonable their prices are?
For my piece, I chose a golden crescent moon necklace. I have a memory from when I was younger where my mother and I sat in our little heated tub on the back porch of my childhood home, and I asked her for the first time about our solar system. It was night time and stars and moon were glowing beautifully. We talked about the stars, the sun, our solar system, and specifically our moon. She told me that “When the moon looks like it is getting bigger, it starts off in the shape of a ‘D’, like Daddy and when the moon grows smaller, it forms the shape of a ‘C’, like Chloe.” I always find comfort in that one sweet childhood memory and have felt a connection to the moon since then.
As I grow older I’ve come to realize how much the moon phases effect me both physically and emotionally. June’s new moon was a moon that brought on big transitions in my life, as well as many other women around me. I fell into a very deep pit of anxiety and soon recognized that I needed to step back and take time for myself, to find my passions again.
- So, I will wear this beautiful piece as a little reminder of home, and of how much I have grown and overcome recently.
- I will hangup my lovely Vancouver map that Elbrig and Nikkie surprised me with on my wall to remind me of my loved ones back home.
- I will treasure the lovely personal note from the Birambi girls.
- And I will use the glass tube as a new delicate vase for my first Japanese Gerbera Daisies (my favourite flowers)!
I can honestly say that I am so happy with this lovely company, and I will be ordering many more message in a bottle pieces for my loved ones across the world. If you’re interested in doing the same, why don’t you have a look for yourself?
xo