Dear Reader,
Before envelopes, before adhesive stickers, before the quiet efficiency of email, there was wax. A small pool of melted wax pressed with a seal. A mark that said: this letter came from me.
For centuries, that small imprint carried identity, secrecy, symbolism, and sometimes even love.
In this week’s post and podcast, I spoke with wax seal artist Kathryn Hastings, whose work beautifully revives a centuries-old tradition of sealing correspondence. [Listen below]
But before we recorded the conversation, I spent the morning with Kathryn at her home in Seattle. We sat at her dining room table making wax seals together while sipping tea and eating mini vegan donuts. There was something fitting about learning this centuries-old ritual in such a simple, quiet way: warming wax, pressing seals, and watching each impression appear like a tiny piece of history. What I especially loved, was that moment of suspense before you lifted the seal from the wax, before the design appears, perfectly pressed into the surface.
Wax seals began as a form of security. They protected documents and letters from being opened in transit. If the wax was broken, you knew someone had tampered with the message. At the same time, the seal itself served as a signature: a crest, an emblem, or an engraved symbol that confirmed who the letter came from.
But seals were never purely practical. They were also expressive.
Families chose animals or symbols that represented their identity. A lion might stand for bravery. An ostrich, surprisingly, symbolized mindfulness and strength. Later, in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, seals became more sentimental. Instead of a shield or crests, people began using images like anchors for hope or forget-me-not flowers for remembrance and love.
In other words, the seal itself became part of the message.
Kathryn first encountered wax seals while traveling. As a teenager backpacking through Italy, she bought a simple seal engraved with the letter K. That small purchase eventually led to a deep fascination with antique seals and the stories they carry.
Today, through her company Kathryn Hastings & Co., she designs wax seals, collects historic ones, and creates exquisite étuis, small ornamental cases that hold sealing tools to press upon the hot wax. The objects feel both antique and modern, as though they belong equally on an eighteenth-century writing desk and beside a stack of today’s stationery.
“What I love about using wax seals is how they remind us that letters are never just about words,” Kathryn said. “They are physical experiences. The act of melting wax requires a moment of pause before sending something out into the world.” In an age when messages disappear with a swipe, there’s something powerful about that small act of permanence.
A seal says: this was meant to last. A sweet reminder that letters were once meant to arrive with ceremony. Today an envelope with a colorful wax seal stands out in our piles of junk mail.
In our conversation, Kathryn shares the fascinating history behind seals and how she came to collect and design them herself. She also holds retreats around the world where people get together to create seals. If they’re anything like the morning we spent together, I suggest you check them out.
With love (and my own étui (a gift from Kathryn) with the stamp of a mermaid since my niece Ruby loves mermaids),
P.S. Have you ever used a wax seal? Or received a letter with a wax seal? Did it make the letter feel more special?
Cave In by Austin Meade. [Warning: This song includes the F-word, but it also includes the lyric: “Handwritten letters, candle, wax seal.”] So, like, I had to use it.
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Felice Cohen is an award-winning author, best known for squeezing big ideas into small spaces—like her 90-square-foot NYC apartment (yes, really). Her books include Half In: A Coming-of-Age Memoir of Forbidden Love, 90 Lessons for Living Large in 90 Square Feet, and What Papa Told Me, with praise from legends like Elie Wiesel and Rita Mae Brown. Her viral YouTube tour has racked up over 25 million views—mostly from people wondering where she kept her shoes. More at felicecohen.com.
