here did our name come from? Billet Doux is the French term for a little hidden love note which is intended to surprise and delight the recipient. (Ever found a love note taped to the bathroom mirror from your beloved?  Ever slipped a note into someone’s lunch box to remind them you care about them?) That’s a Billet Doux!

My own use of the term stems from childhood. Whenever my mother would see a fuzzy on the floor, or a bit of paper, or a button, or some such object, she would say, “There’s another Billy-do.” Now, my father’s name was Billy, so I always thought she was saying that my father would have to pick it up! (Always wondered why she didn’t think she could pick it up herself!) Years later, a coworker, who was fluent in French, informed me of the real meaning of the term!  This was amazingly funny to me. My mother’s family is remotely French, (My grandmother’s name is Fidelis!) and we can only deduce that the term is one of those “family words” that get handed down thru the generations and then slightly corrupted from their original usage. At any rate, I love this story, and the term, so I decided to name my little stamp company in its honor.