Postcards help spread the love, raise funds for Pittsburgh-area artists in need

Who doesn’t like receiving a handwritten card or note from a loved one? It’s a special treasure now, as people shelter at home to avoid contracting or spreading covid-19.

Monica Yope and Kelly Sanders, owners of the love, Pittsburgh boutiques in Pittsburgh’s Cultural District and Mt. Washington, have found a way to help people stay in touch the old-fashioned way with their Sending Love postcards.

Customers can purchase postcards on the love, Pittsburgh website, while the storefronts are closed. The pair will transcribe the buyer’s message onto the card, then address and mail it — across town, across the country or around the globe.

There are four card designs available — two are photos of Pittsburgh cityscapes by Morgan Iacovino, the third is Yope’s Warhol-esque pierogie print and the fourth, created by Sanders, is a rainbow arching over the word “Pittsburgh.”

“We’re sending messages of love out into the world,” Yope said. “It seemed like the right thing to do.”

“It was a way of staying engaged but also of giving back,” Sanders added.

For each $2 postcard sold, Yope and Sanders will donate a portion to the PGH Artists Emergency Fund at gofundme.com.

So far, more than 600 Sending Love postcards have been sold.

“We’re getting a super-good response, and people are sending some really sweet messages,” Yope said.

“Today I’ve been filling 20 orders that came in over the weekend,” Sanders said on Monday.