| THE EPISTOLARIAN |
I remember breakfast at my grandparents’ house. They had stacks of plates. You couldn’t just bring a plate or a bowl to the table; everything needed at least one plate underneath, in case something spilled, and underneath that was a placemat, in case something spilled from the lowest plate.
At the center of the table was a Lazy Susan with all the extra things we might need for breakfast: marmalades for toast, salt and pepper, and a small pitcher of fresh orange juice my grandfather and I had made from oranges growing on the trees in their yard. If you wanted something, you didn’t need to get up. You spun the little table and it came to you.
My high school had Lazy Susans too. I never thought much about the name. It wasn’t until I went back for my twentieth reunion that I noticed how funny it was.
Lazy Susan.
Who was Susan, anyway? I doubt there was ever a real Susan behind the invention. The history of the name is murky, and revolving tables existed long before anyone seems to have called one a Lazy Susan. But I like to imagine she existed.
I imagine Susan with a large family. Every morning she brought the marmalade to one person and the butter to another. Someone wanted salt. Someone else wanted pepper. A child needed another napkin for sticky hands. Her husband wanted the cream. An elder wanted just a little more coffee. And one morning Susan thought, This is ridiculous. I’m exhausted.
So she put everything they might need on a revolving platter in the center of the table. There. Everyone could reach everything. Susan sat down.
I imagine the family staring at it. Blinking twice. Oh, Susan. She’s sooooo lazy. She can’t even be bothered to walk around the table and serve us anymore. What a Lazy Susan.
Had Susan been Edward, I suspect the family would have congratulated him on his ingenuity.
Efficient Edward.
Which brings me, unfortunately, to me, more a Susan than an Edward. This week I am interviewing someone who might come to our house and help a little each week. I feel guilty that I need help.
This is embarrassing to admit. I want to be able to do it all. Which is strange, because I am, after all, something of an evangelist for leisure. I am a full-time working artist though. I have two children. My husband works full-time as well, and does a great deal of the housework, often more than I do.
Still, I see the perfect Instagram pantries with flour decanted into matching jars, the Pinterest homes incapable of clutter or suffering. At the grocery store checkout, a magazine assures me that keeping a home is actually Real Simple.
I love beauty, but this is more than wanting a beautiful house. I have a difficult time resting when my surroundings feel chaotic. I notice the pile of clean laundry in the living room, the ever-increasing pile of projects in my creative space. When a room is put back in order, I feel a physical peace.
Other people seem able to do it. Except, when I actually think about it, I don’t have a single friend whose house looks like the houses I see online or in magazines. Not one.
And yet somewhere in my mind that impossible house became the normal one, and my actual house, the one containing four actual people living actual lives, became evidence.
Messy. Disorganized. Lazy.
Lazy Susan.
When I say I am getting help, I am only talking about four hours. Four hours a week (?!) There are 168 hours in a week. For 164 of them, we will continue managing our own lives exactly as we do now. For four of them, another person will help put things back where they belong.
And I have managed to make those four hours mean something about me.
I wonder how many of us do this. We look at the clean laundry in the living room or the creative projects strewn across a large table and decide that the mess is telling us something about ourselves. But couldn’t it just be a mess, without meaning? Couldn’t getting help be just as ordinary?
I think about my grandparents’ breakfast table now. Nobody praised the Lazy Susan for being efficient nor criticized its efficiency as lazy. Nobody talked about it at all.
We ate breakfast. My grandfather told old stories and poured the orange juice we had made together. And if someone wanted the marmalade, they gave the table a little spin.
It came to them.
Mark your Calendar
I've decided to make my weekly live sessions more predictable and with specific topics; so that you can plan ahead of time to attend. Of course, I will also post the recording if you are unable to make it at the live time. Each Monday at 9am Pacific (12pm Eastern), I will lead a live session. The upcoming live sessions and topics are:
- October 5th - The Artist’s Space: Order, Clutter & the Creative Mind
- October 12th - Behind the Pages: The Making of The Handwritten Life
- October 19th - Away, no session
- October 26th - 10 Wax Seals I Would Never Sell
- November 2nd - Holiday Correspondence: What I Send, Seal & Gift
New Moon Release
This week on October 7th, I will do a preview of the newest penny. It will become officially available to the public on Saturday, October 10th, but for those who own an étui (1st Edition, 2nd Edition, Kitty Book Pawn or Persephone Pawn), I will send a private email with a hidden link on Friday, October 9th. My guess is that everyone will want this penny; so do keep an eye out.
The Memo Press Bow Seal
This past week, Alice Edwards of Memo Press and I did a live session. We shared our philosophy on art and letter writing, and also unveiled The Memo Press Bow (only 2 remain). You can watch the live session here.
The Memo Press Bow makes its debut on the Kathryn Hastings & Co. website. Future availability and restocks will be offered through the Memo Press mailing list and shop in London.
| The Memo Press Bow |
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| Collect Here |
The Persephone Penny Pawn
The Persephone Penny Pawn is a small Étui created to hold a single Hastings Penny. Each comes with the exclusive Persephone Penny, a design available only with the Pawn and not offered separately. Those who collect the Persephone Penny Pawn will be on the early access list to the newest penny this week alongside the other étui collectors.
| The Persephone Penny Pawn |
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The Persephone Penny Pawn
| Collect Here |
Check Out the Replay of Unveiling the Awaited Persephone Pawn Reveal:
Missed the reveal? Step into the moment when the long-awaited Persephone Pawn was unveiled. Watch the replay and discover the story, symbolism, and intricate details behind this special new addition to the collection.
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| Watch Replay Here |
The Handwritten Life Arrives THIS Month
PRE-ORDER • SHIPPING END OF OCTOBER 2026
At the end of October, the first copies of The Handwritten Life are beginning to find their way into the world.
For this special first edition, I’ve reserved 150 copies to be signed by hand and accompanied by a Crescent Moon seal made especially for the book.
The seal will be entered into the Collector’s Register, and when the 150 are gone, the design will be retired. There will be no second run.
I love the thought of these first books carrying a mark that belongs only to their beginning. The Crescent Moon has appeared before in my work, and it returns in the final chapter of the book, making its way through the story before becoming part of this first edition.
If you would like one of these first 150 signed copies, pre-orders remain open through my website.
| The Handwritten Life: Signed First Edition + Limited-Edition Seal |
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| Pre-Order Here |
Collector Wax Seals You Might Like
Explore Kathryn Hastings’ collection of Collector Wax Seals, inspired by the art, mythology, history, and symbolism of the past. Each design is thoughtfully crafted as a small work of art, made to be collected, treasured, and passed down through generations.
Discover More Collector Wax Seals Here
The Second Generation Helix Edition
Thoughtfully crafted for those who appreciate exceptional craftsmanship and timeless correspondence, each Étui is destined for a discerning collection.
Secure yours while this limited edition is still available.
| The Hastings Étui |
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Étui Borders You Might Like
Discover the Étui borders that are still available to collect, each featuring its own distinctive design and character.
Just Two Hastings Pennies Remain
Only two Hastings Pennies are still available. Each was crafted in a limited quantity and, once sold, will not be returning.
If one has been on your list, now is the time to add it to your collection before these final pieces are gone.
With love,
Kathryn
