BryanaJoyStudio
Announcement
NOTICE: This is the last year of the Letters From The Sea Tower, and the Past Letters Archive will be closing in December 2022 to make space for a new phase of creative work. Inventory for the past letters is limited and some past letters are already sold out, so order soon if you have your heart set on specific ones!
Welcome to Bryana Joy Studio, a shop for vibrant fine art prints and intricately-illustrated old-fashioned monthly subscription letters about the Great Books! If you're looking for my original studio paintings, you can find them in my full shop at www.bryanajoy.com. There are also other subscriptions options available over there for the Letters From The Sea Tower, including auto-renewing subscriptions. [However, Paypal payments are not yet enabled there, so if you need to pay through Paypal, you may wish to continue using Etsy in order to subscribe to the letters.]
Announcement
NOTICE: This is the last year of the Letters From The Sea Tower, and the Past Letters Archive will be closing in December 2022 to make space for a new phase of creative work. Inventory for the past letters is limited and some past letters are already sold out, so order soon if you have your heart set on specific ones!
Welcome to Bryana Joy Studio, a shop for vibrant fine art prints and intricately-illustrated old-fashioned monthly subscription letters about the Great Books! If you're looking for my original studio paintings, you can find them in my full shop at www.bryanajoy.com. There are also other subscriptions options available over there for the Letters From The Sea Tower, including auto-renewing subscriptions. [However, Paypal payments are not yet enabled there, so if you need to pay through Paypal, you may wish to continue using Etsy in order to subscribe to the letters.]
Items
Reviews
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Rose on May 9, 2022
5 out of 5 starsI bought these letters for my mom but didn't realize they'd come all at once. The artist agreed to send them in two different installments which was so nice! My mom is in her 70s and said that even though most of the writing is too small for her to read, the paintings are lovely.
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Tivoli on Apr 24, 2022
5 out of 5 starsI bought this for my sister as a fun gift and she said they are beautiful letters with wonderful details.
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Noelle on May 5, 2022
5 out of 5 starsBeautiful print! I'm an estate planning attorney and talk about life and death all days. It's. A beautiful and cute reminder to live life to the fullest. I have it hanging in my office.
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Olivia on Apr 29, 2022
5 out of 5 starsThe photo does not do it justice! Simply amazing and beautifully done!! Shipped promptly as well :)
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Rae on Apr 23, 2022
5 out of 5 starsWhat a neat thing. A piece of art and entertainment. Thank you!!
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Katie on Apr 21, 2022
5 out of 5 starsI ordered this letter because I remember studying Henry V's speech in school, and I was blown away by how timely and encouraging Bryana's words were! Her artwork is beautiful, too, and I know I will return to this letter again and again when I need a little extra courage. Highly recommended!
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Katie on Apr 21, 2022
5 out of 5 starsThis letter is absolutely beautiful. The artwork is gorgeous, the words are eloquent and thought-provoking, and the kraft envelope and stamps are a delight! The Voyage of the Dawn Treader has been especially meaningful to me over the last year, so I was particularly thrilled to receive this letter. Bryana has announced that she will be retiring the Letters from the Sea Tower soon, so snag a copy of these rays of light before they're gone!
Updates
About BryanaJoyStudio
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The letters are posted using genuine vintage postage stamps and global shipping is free! -
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My monthly illustrated letters are based on literary classics, such as Alfred Lord Tennyson's "Ulysses." -
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A peek at Letter #6, with personal reflections on Antoine de Saint-Exupery's "The Little Prince." -
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I offer a number of small literary fine art prints in my shop at www.bryanajoy.com, such as this Tolkien-inspired set. -
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Watercolor sketches and original paintings are periodically listed for sale in my shop at www.bryanajoy.com.
About the Letters From The Sea Tower
I believe there is transformative power in stories and in beauty; and in a world that's increasingly digital and virtual, I believe in the value of the handmade. This is why, in the summer of 2018, I decided to start creating handmade monthly letters that celebrate art and literature and how it matters for the Great Battle of Our Time, and mail them out all over the world. My aim in creating each month's letter is to produce a work of art that fills people with courage and creativity and to contribute to the revival of beautiful, meaningful, and unique hard-copy mail.
The letters are handwritten and painted by me and then carefully scanned and reprinted in my own home on heavy, archival quality, 100% cotton paper. I personalize them by hand for each recipient and mail them out monthly in an epic old-fashioned envelope with ink stamps and unique postage stamps. The letters are filled with watercolor paintings and sketches, field notes from nature or history or my travels, and illustrated poetry or quotes from my commonplace book. They are designed to be a well of stories and ideas that inspire others to take heart and remember their callings. Because the world is sometimes so dark and courage is what we chiefly need. This work is made possible through the continued support of regular subscribers all over the world. Join them today to get courage and creativity sent straight to your mailbox every month!
The inspiration for the name of this subscription comes from an essay J.R.R. Tolkien wrote about literary criticism of Beowulf. In his essay, Tolkien tells a little allegorical story about a man who built a tower on his property. His friends and neighbors thought the tower was a waste of valuable material, but they didn’t know that the man had built it in order to be able to see the sea. My hope is that these letters will offer a similar vantage-point as the tower in that story, that in the middle of our often dreary and monotonous lives, they will be a reminder of glory and unseen reality and a fleeting glimpse of “Joy beyond the walls of the world, poignant as grief.” My introductory letter, included as a bonus with every first-time subscription, includes a full-color sea-tower illustration along with the full text of Tolkien's parable that serves as the inspiration for the Letters From The Sea Tower.
In addition to the letters, I also create literary fine art prints and occasionally offer small original paintings and travel sketches on my personal website at www.bryanajoy.com. You can subscribe to the Letters From The Sea Tower there too, and auto-renewing subscriptions (something Etsy doesn't yet offer) are available over there.
If you're interested in what I'm working on right now, I'd love to see you over on my instagram page, @_bryana_joy, where I post progress shots, share new pieces, and host frequent giveaways.
Shop members
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Bryana J Beaird
Owner, Maker
I live in the Lehigh Valley in Southeastern Pennsylvania where I make art celebrating the ocean, the birdful world, and the Great Books. I mail out around 200 subscription letters every month, and publish poetry in assorted literary journals.
Production partners
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Giclee Today
Pottstown, PA
My fine art prints are produced by Giclee Today using high-resolution scans of my own original artwork.
Shop policies
Accepted payment methods
Returns and exchanges
I gladly accept cancellations
I don't accept returns or exchanges
Returns and exchange details
Shipping
Because the Letters From The Sea Tower are shipped as first-class mail using vintage postage stamps, I cannot track them once they are posted and I am not able to provide status updates. While I have found that the letters usually reach most locations within two or three weeks at the most, longer delays do occasionally occur. However, if your letter doesn't arrive within a standard time frame for your location, simply contact me and I will happily resend it to you.
Additional policies and FAQs
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