Since I started The Love Lettering Project in 2004, thousands (!!) love letters have been written. I should do a comprehensive tally, but it’s somewhere between 3-4 thousand letters. That’s a lot of community love.

Of course all the letters written and hidden and found are amazing, there are a few that have really stuck with me:

 

The two letters above encapsulate two of my very favourite things about Toronto.

 

This one, written in Kensington Market by a three-year-old, changed how I saw Toronto, a city I’ve lived in for nearly 35 years. Marigolds. I mean, I know that people plant the flower, but until this little guy wrote a love letter to the city’s marigolds, I didn’t realize how many marigolds there are here. And…they’re at the height of a three-year-old. His letter opened my eyes to the city a three-year-old might see, and reaffirmed how many different experiences exist within a single city.

 

This woman had moved to Toronto from Washington, D.C. the day before she wrote this letter. It was such a good reminder to not take for granted how safe Toronto is (relatively speaking…)

 

I’d never thought of looking at the downtown buildings (that are so easy to write-off as boring skyscrapers) like this!

How I love spotting Anser’s faces around the city (and didn’t know the name of the artist until I saw this letter!)

 

Everything about Whitehorse was amazing and exciting — the light! the river! the students! (Did I mention the light?!) Learning what 15-year-olds love about where they lived (especially because most don’t really have a choice in the matter…) was fascinating and enlightening, especially up in the North.

I love learning about other cities through its inhabitants love letters (both above and below…)