“Letters to Zoë” Jump off the page with this brick and mortar location dedicated to the art of pen-to-paper communication

There is something personal about pento-paper communication that touches the heart.

The sentimentality of letter writing to her daughter, Zoë, inspired Nederland resident Vanlam Nguyen to open a stationary business, “Letters to Zoë,” in Beaumont.

“Electronic communications lose the sense of authenticity, sincerity and the personal touch that exists in letter writing.” she said. “‘Letters to Zoë,’ is a stationery shop that offers all things stationery, ranging from journals and pens to stickers and different types of paper.”

During a road trip, the mother-daughter were inspired by stationary stores in a large city.

Zoë and Nguyen share a deep love for cute stationery and stickers.

“After visiting a stationery store during a big city visit, Zoë came to me and said that she wished we had something like that in Beaumont,” Nguyen said. “Little did she know, I was dreaming of the very same thing.”

Nguyen’s father gifted her a Waterman pen for her birthday and the love for letter writing was born.

It felt like a million bucks, she remembers.

Her father kept a journal growing up, so things were always written.

“I got my fascination with pens from him,” Nguyen said. “In many old-school Asian cultures, feelings and positive encouragement are not the norm.”

Therefore, expressing her feelings into speaking words does not come easily.

“I still struggle with that,” she said. “My father would gift me books, and he would then write his messages inside the cover for me. The books would be self-help or from motivational speakers. So, I cherish his written notes when I do get them.”