I must say thank you to James of New Victorian Ruralist for introducing me to the work of Sophie Blackall, an Australian illustrator residing in New York…
Sophie takes Missed Connection ads – you know, those kind of sad, hopeful ‘we exchanged glances in Walmart and I knew you were the one’ type ads you see in newspapers all over the world – and illustrates them beautifully.
Her blog is called Missed Connections and I think I have a bit of a massive girl crush on her for just thinking up the idea because it’s really rather wonderful.
From her website…
“Messages in bottles, smoke signals, letters written in the sand; the modern equivalents are the funny, sad, beautiful, hopeful, hopeless, poetic posts on Missed Connections websites. Every day hundreds of strangers reach out to other strangers on the strength of a glance, a smile or a blue hat. Their messages have the lifespan of a butterfly. I’m trying to pin a few of them down.”
*Sigh*
Now let me show you some of the wonderment that awaits…
Polka Dots in the Strand
Saturday, May 21, 2011
-m4w
Ack! ‘Round 7pm or so… I was browsing the shelves and saw you on the other side.
I swear I glimpsed our entire future together in that brief moment.
It was beautiful. And then someone asked you for the time.
I mean c’mon, who doesn’t have a damn time-telling device of some sort these days!
Oh, if only I’d thought of that.
A White Hat of Indeterminate Origin
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
-m4w – 29 (Lower East Side)
I did a really bad job of trying to introduce myself on the subway.
I asked about your white fur hat because I liked it, but then I didn’t know what to say afterward . . .
it was on the F train, from 2nd Ave to Jay St.
Write me if you don’t mind guys that fumble over their words when they’re nervous.
We Passed Each Other When the Sky Was Pink
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
-m4w – 29
I saw you for maybe a second or two. I’ve read missed-connections before and wondered why
people just didn’t say something then and there.
Now I understand…perhaps it’s because the moment is extraordinary; containing a fullness of its own…
and the thought that this person across from me is not a part of my everyday life,
and at any second will disappear, didn’t even occur to me…
it seemed that we were in whatever it was together,
and that sort of connection rarely, if ever, happens between strangers, so my mind was a little slow
on registering that there would be no “some other time”
if neither of us asked for the others phone or email.
Now, hours later, the ripples created by those few tender seconds still gently rock something within me…
and I become a missed-connections poster.
Would you be interested in having tea or going on a ride?
There is a soft wistful quality to her illustrations which suits the nature of her subjects so well. A passing glance, a smile, a 5 second serendipitous moment that could change your life – and who doesn’t love a good romantic story, however far fetched? This is the stuff of romantic novels, people and escapism at it’s artistic best.
To see more of this extraordinary collection, please visit Sophie’s blog, Missed Connections. Even better, if you would like to purchase her illustrations, she has a lovely Etsy Shop here.
they're precious! esp the white fur hat. i'll def visit her etsy shop. beautiful post, Red!<br /><br />michele
Ah, so lovely! I love the wistful theme, it really comes through the illustrations. Another bookmark for me :-) <br /><br />Meera xx