DeThistle & Ink is a 12-month snail mail subscription built around the real WWII love story of our grandparents, Gordon Gibson and Mary MacLean. Each month, a new mailing arrives at your door containing letters, photographs, recipes, and more — unfolding their story one chapter at a time.scription text goes here

Your first letter mails within 1–3 days of your order. Every letter travels the old-fashioned way — regular USPS mail, in a stamped envelope — so there's no tracking number, just the anticipation of real mail. First-class delivery typically takes 2–5 business days, which means your first envelope should reach your mailbox within about a week of ordering.

After that, the rhythm stays the same: each month's letter mails within 1–3 days of your billing date, and arrives the same way. If you chose The Full Story (our one-time payment option), your letters follow monthly from your original order date.

If a letter ever seems lost in the mail, write to us at hello@thistleandinkletters.com and we'll make it right.

You'll receive 12 mailings total — one per month for a year. After the 12th mailing, the story is complete.

No. Your subscription ends automatically after your final mailing. You won't be charged again and there's nothing you need to do.

Letter by Letter is billed monthly at $11/month. The Full Story is paid all at once for $121 — equivalent to one month free — and is still delivered one mailing per month over 12 months.

Monthly subscribers can cancel at any time. Annual subscribers are billed in full upfront.

Absolutely — this story was made for sharing. Simply choose the gift option in our shop and enter your recipient's shipping address at checkout. After your purchase, you'll be able to download a printable gift card to hand them or send by email, so they'll know something special is on its way. Their first mailing ships right away, and the story unfolds from there.

Gordon Gibson and Mary MacLean were our grandparents — children of Scottish immigrants who grew up in Los Angeles. They met at a dance on Catalina Island in the summer of 1941, and spent the next three years writing to each other as Gordon served in North Africa, Italy, and France. Their letters, photographs, and mementos are the heart of Thistle & Ink.

The story is real and true — Gordon and Mary were real people and this is their actual history. The letters included in each mailing are fictional but grounded in real documents, photographs, and the actual timeline of their lives. Think of it as their story, told the way it was first lived.

We're Anne and Meg, Gordon and Mary's granddaughters. This project is our way of sharing a story we've always believed deserved a wider audience.

No problem — the story can follow you. Just email us at hello@thistleandinkletters.com with your new address before the 10th of the month, and we'll make sure your next mailing finds its way to your new mailbox.