In an age where everything from playing sports to making friends has become digitalized, James D. Hirschfeld ’08 is introducing a novel concept to the electronic world: elegant e-mail invitations. Unlike existing e-vite programs, Paperless Post aims to save money and paper while maintaining the same quality of a written invitation.
Paperless Post, “interactive stationary for a modern world,” brings together the refinement of paper invitations (remember those...come in an envelope? Pretty cursive writing? Delivered by a postman? No?) and the efficiency of online communication. With the ability to choose everything from themes to fonts and paper type, users can indulge in their creative sides, adding garlands, satin-esque ribbons, and other ornamentation as they please.
“When you receive a Paperless Post, you literally feel like you just received a piece of mail. It is that authentic and real looking,” recipient Marie B. Devine ’03 writes in an e-mail.
The idea stemmed from a personal need that exposed a void in the market. While planning a friend’s 21st birthday party, Hirschfeld realized that he didn’t have the time or money to buy nice invitations. After teaming up with his sister Alexa H. Hirschfeld ’06, James launched Paperless Post.
Although still young, Paperless Post is already growing. It is more than choosing snowflakes on cream paper—it is about “organizing formal social behavior without sacrificing formality,” Hirschfeld says. On the Web site, users can keep track of events, manage RSVPs, and even see who has opened the invitation already.
In planning a private dinner, Mackenzie B. Smith ’09 was grateful for having an attractive option when she needed to reach people online, “especially on campus where everyone is on blackberries all the time,” she says.
The site will be revamped and relaunched in January. In the meantime, users can set up accounts and begin channeling their inner Picassos. It may not be the same as holding an elegant, be-ribboned envelope in your hand, but it’s a start.
