Woman Finds Unusual Way to Keep Handwritten Notes Around ‘Forever’ (Exclusive)

Most people keep their handwritten letters quietly tucked into drawers or shoeboxes in hopes of keeping them safe, afraid of losing the sentimental gift as the ink fades.

However, Karina Black, a ceramicist and founder of COSA, found a way to turn paper scraps into something far more lasting. 

Through her signature work, The Eternal Note, the 27-year-old from Southern California transforms notes from loved ones into sculptural ceramic keepsakes designed to outlive the paper they came from.

“I never set out to become a ceramicist — it started with curiosity and the feeling of coming home to something I didn’t know I was missing,” Black tells PEOPLE exclusively. “What began as a creative outlet has turned into the most personal, meaningful work I’ve ever done.”

As a former social media and marketing strategist, Black spent eight years helping brands find their voice. In late 2021, she began making ceramics as a side hobby, and within three years, it quietly overtook her life. 

“By November 2024, it became my full-time job,” she reveals. “It was one of the scariest, most life-shifting decisions I’ve ever made – but also the most fulfilling.”

Black’s entry into clay came by way of her sister, who encouraged her to start making her own props after she struggled to find the right ones for photo shoots. “A few weeks later, she surprised me with a wheel and a 25-lb. bag of clay,” she recalls. “I fell in love instantly. I started spending every spare moment in the studio.” 

Though she never ended up making photography props, she came up with the idea behind The Eternal Note while trying to think of meaningful gifts for Valentine’s Day.

“I had been making my custom script café mugs and wanted to create something more personal – maybe a mug set with lyrics of songs you sing with your partner,” Black explains. While playing with font ideas, she had a breakthrough: what if the stencil came from human handwriting?

She tested the idea with a note from her husband and sculpted a clay slab to mimic a piece of paper. “When I peeled it off, I gasped,” she says. “I knew I had stumbled onto something really special.”

That moment, however, unlocked something deeper. Having lost her father five years prior, Black was reminded of the notes she still had tucked away. “Paper mementos that feel like time capsules,” she describes. “I realized this was a way to preserve those things forever – in a form that could last for generations.”

There’s an intentional contrast in her work: fleeting words captured in a material built to endure. “I’ve always loved that ceramics can freeze a moment in time,” Black explains. “It’s such a lasting material. If cared for, it can live on for centuries. There’s something beautiful about turning a fragile piece of paper into an object that feels solid, sculptural, and permanent.”

The process itself is meticulous. Clients send her a scan of their letter, which she digitizes and turns into a stencil. Then, the clay is shaped and textured to resemble soft, imperfect paper. 

“Once the clay is dry enough, I stencil the handwriting onto the surface using underglaze. Then I go in by hand, painting, carving, and refining the lines so that every detail from the original note is preserved.” 

Each piece is fired twice and takes about four weeks from start to finish. Certain notes have touched Black long after they’ve been glazed and delivered.

“There’s one that I think about often,” Black shares. A woman had saved a letter from her partner, written in a ramen shop in Japan just before he moved overseas. “She kept that little note for seven years. It had the restaurant’s Japanese logo on the bottom, like a timestamp,” she recalls. “I’m a hopeless romantic, so that one really stayed with me.”

The reactions to her finished products, Black says, are often emotional. “People have told me it moved them to tears,” she reveals. “Some keep it by their bed and read it every morning and every night. That’s what makes it all worth it.”

Since one of her videos went viral, demand for The Eternal Note has surged. “It reminded me how deeply people crave connection and memory.” 

As for what’s next, Black dreams of expanding COSA beyond the studio by offering workshops and in-person experiences to those interested in learning how to create soulful pieces. 

“At the heart of everything I make is the idea that beauty and memory can live in the everyday,” Black tells PEOPLE. “Whether it’s a handwritten letter or a quiet object on your shelf, I want each piece to feel like a small reminder of what matters most.”

Credit: dotdashmeredith.com