Exotic Correspondence

Last week I was in the mood for chocolate. Just stopping to admire the lush displays of fancy chocolate bars is a treat in itself, virtually sampling each flavor --hot chili, dried cherries, spicy orange, crunchy toffee. Intuitively, I picked up this bar from Chocolove, made in Boulder, Colorado.

Now, this was a very tasty chocolate bar, but what I really want to share is how much I love the design of the label. I didn't consciously notice it at first, but the longer I looked, I saw a letter emerge, with an Almonds "stamp" at the top right and a Belgian Chocolate "postmark."

Looking further, I see how "Chocolove" in the top left is in the return address spot, with the flavor front and center like a mailing label. There's even a faux gold wax seal there, and a poem printed inside.

Now, this seems like brilliantly creative marketing to me. When I looked more closely at the almonds "stamp," I realized how much I love foreign stamps, beautifully showcasing the local flora and fauna. It put me in mind of the Griffin and Sabine books, where each page had an envelope with an actual folded up letter inside to read, or a postcard shown front and back on consecutive pages, each an artistic marvel, a tactile and visual treasure.

There is something so mysterious and exotic about foreign correspondence, a certain allure, as if somehow there's a secret to life there we've been missing. I realize this chocolate bar won't bring me nirvana, but I think they're onto something with the packaging. It makes me want to Google images of foreign maps & pictures, to feel the vastly different expressions of who we are as a species, to appreciate the deeper Mystery living it all.