Most envelopes are boring white encasements for their contents, opened and tossed without having really been noticed. Occasionally, though, an envelope makes you stop and marvel. The other day a white envelope from Gardner Plumbing in Culver City, California, arrived in my pile of mail and had that effect. The address ran along the lower left edge. I knew the envelope contained a check from Joseph Gardner, a client, but that's not the real reason I looked and looked and looked at it and smiled.
Most envelopes pass through multiple hands before being opened by recipients.
Postal workers certainly need plumbers, and Gardner undoubtedly sends most of these envelopes within his service area. In offices, several employees see each piece of mail. On kitchen tables in homes, friends and relatives glance them at. Gardner's strong message turns a necessary item into a mini- billboard. I especially liked the way it didn't scream the guarantee, as it would have if placed in big letters across most of the left side of the envelope.