For some reason, we have a real craving to send you a small tin of hand cream.

Or a pencil. Or a tape measure. Or a couple of Aspirin. Or …

Because we spend much of our days researching the ephemera of technology (paperless office! cloud computing!), we like to set aside time to connect with the people we know in some tangible way too.

Three times a year, Macktez sends to friends and colleagues a piece of actual mail — like with an envelope and a stamp and everything. In the winter and the fall we include an odd trinket you might like, and in the summer we fund a creative project with our annual Summer Stipend.

The whole process has become something we do as a Team and enjoy immensely. Just selecting an object to include may take place over several freewheeling meetings. Reviewing Stipend applications is a balancing act of aesthetics, politics, and alternative voting schemes. We even stuff the envelopes together at our Team meetings.

For the sake of historical preservation, all of those mailings also have a life online. You can explore below to get an idea of what we mail out. But until you sign up for our mailings you won’t really know what it’s like to open a small envelope and have a flat piece of cheese slip into your hands.

Visit these pages for our latest mailings:

• Chinese New Year
• Summer Stipend
• Holidays