The Mystery Letter Goes on a Road Trip

Elkhorn Slough, CA

The Mystery Letter with that yappy dog

Moss Landing State Beach, CA

The Mystery Letter drives on the 101

The Mystery Letter checks out the view from atop Runyon Canyon in Hollywood, CA

Griffith Park Observatory

Though Carla and I both lived here, it's The Mystery Letter's first time seeing the Hollywood sign

The Mystery Letter explores Santa Cruz

In the mood for some Mexican?

SC Boardwalk

Spending some time with the 'gulls.

And with these guys.

We hope Mystery Letter enjoyed the pier!

We Just Got A Whole Lot Creepier

So my darling friend Carla came to the East Coast for a visit! During her time here, we ventured to Manhattan. Since we were in the area, we decided to stop by the building where The Letter originated from. Here are some photos from our visit.

And while both Carla and I have been slacking at our Letter duties, the next couple weeks promises some new updates. So once again, stay tuned….

Update…. sort of.

Two months have passed. And I’m still waiting for a response from CFW and her sister, HFW.

 

Come to think of it, I’m still waiting for Carla to drop off the letter to CFW.

So if CFW, HFW, and/or Carla are reading this right now, please respond to my email/drop off the letter!

Sorry, no pictures…Only facts.

Here is the email that I sent CFW:

Hello CFW,

First of all, I’d like to apologize if you got totally creeped out
after reading my blog. I’m sure it came off a little stalkerish. My
friend Carla (who ended up receiving The Letter and only opened it
because her initials are CF) and I were completely intrigued by this
letter, and felt we should both find out the story behind it and
return it to it’s intended recipient. That being said, would you seem
to have a good sense of humor about it, so would you mind answering a
few questions?

1. Who sent you this letter?
2. Were there romantic intentions?
3. Why were Santa Cruz Boardwalk tickets included?
4. What is the deal with the Preferred Customers Sock Club Card?
5. Is the sender an art student (because that letter was rad)?
6. Does the sender work for Rangr Studio?
7. Do you still live in Santa Cruz?
8. How long have you and the sender known each other?
9. What is your address so Carla can send you back The Letter?
10. How in the world did you find my blog?

Thanks!

Cheers,

Shanna

And here is her response!:

I’ll reply to what I can – HFW will take care of the rest…

1. My sister sent me the letter. CFW and HFW!
2. Just sisterly love, a lot of magic, and glitter. HFW loves glitter. I think it comes out of her pores.
3. I defer to HFW
4. ditto.
5. she was indeed an art student at UCSC, and won all kinds of fancy awards for her photography, which is mindblowing. she is now a freelance photographer in NYC and works on a number of projects besides elaborate letters.
6. Rangr Studio is my brother-in-law’s architecture firm. That’s him in that picture on your blog. He’s married to my OTHER sister. The sister who sent me the letter was living at his studio.
7. Yes indeed but not for much longer. Moving to NY this summer!
8. All her life = almost 25 years
9. REMOVED FOR HER PROTECTION, Santa Cruz, CA 95060. I can’t wait to get it! Super excited about the socks and infinity rides at the Boardwalk.
10. Jasmit (Rangr Studio) found it and sent it to my sister who sent it to me. How he found it I do not know. Probably he was googling himself or something. HFW will know more.

I can’t believe this magical thing happened! I think it’s delightful. I didn’t feel creeped out, but rather impressed by your gumshoe sleuthing skills.

CFW

Mystery Solved?

On Tuesday, I got an email saying that a certain CFW commented on this blog. CFW, as in the intended recipient of The Letter.
All I will reveal right now is that it is a lady and her last name is White.
What happens from here?
Time will tell.

Rangr Studio

Here’s a little more about Rangr Studio. This is the man that founded the company, Jasmit Singh Rangr:

For a description of the company, an excerpt from their website:

ABOUT RANGR STUDIO

Rangr Studio offers architectural design consulting services for a wide range of projects, including: apartments and houses; resorts and hotels; offices, foundations and archives; galleries, museums, and other institutions; stores, bars and restaurants; furniture design and fabrication.

Rangr Studio’s designs provide inhabitants with a connection to the larger landscape beyond. The design process prioritizes spatial experience over form; the intangible effects of light, space, acoustics, texture, over the solely picturesque effect of sculptural shape. The Studio arrives at a project concept after a careful analysis of site conditions, such as sun position during the seasons, prevailing breezes, view, and topographical conditions. It then executes several designs to arrive at the best spatial solution for clients’ needs. The process involves presenting two-dimensional drawings, three-dimensional renderings, and scale models of the proposed design to clients throughout the development of the project.

Rangr Studio’s designs create a stage for life, profoundly connected to the surrounding environment.

 

They have also been written up in The Wall Street Journal and by Wallpaper Magazine.

 

I’m willing to bet money that it was NOT Mr. Rangr who wrote The Letter.

Carla, I hope you are reading this…..

Big news! BIG news! 

Sangr Studio, is NOT Sangr Studio- it’s RANGR STUDIO! I read the return address wrong!

 

That's an "R", not an "S"

I was hanging out on Google this morning, and I decided to look for anything related to this address. The map function came up, and low and behold, so did a list of businesses that operate out of the building. On that list was none other than Rangr Studio. Rangr Studio! I was floored…

When I clicked on the link for Rangr Studio, a site came up for a legitimate business! It’s not an art student’s faux studio! Under their contact listing, there’s a link to become a fan on facebook. (I must say, they do beautiful work.) 

 

 

This is my facebook profile picture. I hope they see this and immediately feel like they are in The Twilight Zone. And then contact me.

 

 Obviously, I became a fan. I then looked through their fan listing to find some clues about who the recipient of The Letter might be. I found someone with the initials C.W. as well as someone with the initials H.W. 

And that is all I can reveal right now.

Field Trip

I was in New York over the weekend, and decided to visit the address that sent The Letter. Call me creepy, but I felt I had to do it. I hopped the train to Union Square and found 15 W 12th Street. Not to be confused with 15 E 12th Street.

 

Cross over Broadway, silly!

So I crossed over Broadway and there it was! 

 

The return address said “Sangr Studio”, so I expected to find some sort of design firm in a commercial building. Nope. I walked inside and discovered it was a residential building. The doorman, a very nice guy, confirmed this. I wanted to check out the mailboxes for the sender’s initials to find out a full name, but I ran out instead. Maybe next time, when I know what to expect.

Feeling frustrated and confused, I called Carla.

                                                                                                                         

 

But Carla was sleeping. Blasted time zones!

I have since googled “Sangr Studio” and all I get is “Did you mean: sangria studios?”. No google, I did not. 

Here is what I deduced from this dead end. The address is in nice part of the Union Square area, where both The New School and NYU have their campuses. I think that whoever sent The Letter is a student at one of these schools. “Sangr Studio” is their design name (for lack of a better term).

Preferred Customers

 

I hope they bought ankle socks.