POSTICK - converting things into postcards!
Ever since joining Kickstarter some weeks ago, we've been discovering more and more postal related projects. One that caught our eye is called POSTICK, and aims to help transform regular things, like photographs or flyers into postcards. We'll let Tatjana Buisson, the project creator, explain her vision:
Postcards are "magic little things" indeed and these handy adhesive labels make it easier to turn lots of things into one! The project is quite popular and fully funded already, but until June 19th you can still sponsor it to receive your own pack of POSTICKs. The more people join in and support this project, the easier it will be for Tatjana to get things going - perhaps one day you'll see these neat labels in a shop near you!
Check out Tatjana's other postcard related projects on her website, Postcard Happiness.


55 comments so far
I often see postcards/flyers that are exceptionally smart or well made, but have the backside filled with text, rendering them unusable. Or sometimes a user specifically wishes to receive a cut-out from a local cereal box or some chocolate packaging... stick a label on it, and off it goes! :)
It's not for everyone of course, but they would surely come in handy for more crafty or handmade cards.
I don´t like it. I love it to look for nice postcards at different shops, buy it at if I become a new adress, I look in my postcard-collection and hope, I´ve a suitable card.
That´s a big part for me for postcrossing. Different people like different postcards. And no one MUST send so a lot of postcard that he´ll become a financial problem and means, this cheap idea (like a lot of add-cards) are great.
And if a member has special wishes like special packaging - so I can take a envelope to send it secure, if I would send it to him.
So, I support it :D
there are a lot of postcrossers who say: because i spent money on a proper postcard you must do the same.
then i say: because you love to spent money on a postcard, you do not have to do the same as me.
i love the idea of re-use, towards a greener world. and the fun of sending items that you easely can turn into a happy card, decorated with stamps and what you want. http://www.postcrossing.com/green
here are some examples which i sent or received:
one of my favourite received cards is this one from china
http://www.postcrossing.com/postcards/CN-307934
discussed at douban as is this allowed to sent in china?
postcardboardcard from belarus, including magnificent hare stamps, sent without enveloppe http://www.postcrossing.com/postcards/BY-408935
nine matchboxes turned into a 3D-card http://www.postcrossing.com/postcards/NL-498355 which was a good pleasure to make
from a dutch postcrosser who loves to burn candles http://www.postcrossing.com/postcards/NL-611687
made from a calendar, including the storey of the pictures man from bahama's http://www.postcrossing.com/postcards/BS-605
received 3 exactly the same items within one month! made from cookies number 1 of u.s.a. http://www.postcrossing.com/postcards/US-1678075
complete small novel sent as postcard http://www.postcrossing.com/postcards/NL-1163023
message in a bottle, bought in a shop - not homemade, but a postcard different then others http://www.postcrossing.com/postcards/NL-1159956
russian tree made with sewingmachine http://www.postcrossing.com/postcards/RU-70488
and just one more to complete an atrandomtop10
a kettleshaped card picturing a.. http://www.postcrossing.com/postcards/AU-157567 sent as it is
and the fun is that postcrossing is for all of us loving postcards, despite we have other wishes about cards. the messages on the postcardboardcards i receive are heartwarming, a lot of people discovered the fun of creating something and sending it out. thank you all!
i wish everybody a lot of creativity and good luck for tatjana and the postickproject
p.s. more and more postcrossers love the idea of sending out cardboard turned into a postcard, maybe a good idea to have some in stock so you can sent out directly when you request an address. this one i received from Ana http://www.postcrossing.com/postcards/SI-31079 , which was a happy day to receive!
But I don't like when people use random materials just because its cheaper or they don't bother.
To be used with common sense, I support this idea. :)
It is nice to reach the desire of the member, and normaly not that difficult!
Thanks for sharing the link!!
Personally, I agree with jdtaylor82 and think that the typical holiday town cards are rather boring, but as a few people have already pointed out - there's something for everyone and you can make it clear in your profile what kind of card you would like to receive.
anchorandsing.blogspot.com
Per http://www.postcrossing.com/edit/profile -
"◦You may state which type of postcards you like the most, but you can not make any demands for specific postcards. Your preferences will be used as reference only and not necessarily always satisfied."
I personally have always been satisfied (never disappointed, and sometimes thrilled) with the hundreds of cards I have received (official & forum).
So far in postcrossing I have received three self-made cards and they were lovely. Two of them from young girls still going to school who obviously can’t afford to buy new cards for every postcrosser.
As for the use of a milk carton, I would love to see a milk carton postcard from across the world.
I think it is a good idea for people who sent homemade cards (there are postcrossers who like them and they can always sent to friends and family) as it reduces the change that it get's dammaged during it's travel. That is also the reason why many on the forum are looking for them!!
But I wouldn't use them unless it is clear that the receiver like home-made cards.
In the spirit of the project one should try, as best possible, to fulfill the wishes of the receiver.
I've ordered a set as I've not seen them easily available where i am. My husband's family lives quite far away and I think they would be very excited to receive a postcard of my 7-year old son's artwork. :) That's most likely what I'll use them for.
I can see that people's opinions split on the idea itself, so my response to all of those who think that all the handmade cards are just a random junk is, I'm truly sorry you have never found a special little piece of art in your mailbox. It's an other talk entirely if the person simply doesn't put his heart into the postcard, but such emotionless card couldn't be "saved" even if it's the most gorgeous looking store-bought one. Where's the harmony between both the front and the back sides, ha?
BTW, I hate when people start defining what "a real postcard" is supposed to be and so on. Sending and receiving snail mail should never become some sort of a list of rules.
Of course there are a lot of people who love postcards because they're postcards in the traditional sense and that's wonderful.
A lot of us love such initiatives as Postcrossing for different reasons. Some because we like to collect traditional postcards and others because it's a chance to get creative and learn about other countries. I, for example, request hand-made postcards on my profile because I love that it tells me something about the sender and his/her environment. I've received many really special hand-made postcards in the past and I cherish them also for the time and creativity it took to make them. I also like to custom-design postcards according to what people like so that it's really specifically designed for you.
This Postick idea isn't new but based on the amount of support it's getting it's clear that very few people know about/ have access to the labels that are out there. Of course the price that's on Kickstarter is high because it's a campaign that aims to "raise the funds necessary to produce the Postick". It's not an online store, it's a crow-funding site. Once the crow-funding campaign is done the ultimate retail price will naturally be competitive with similar brands.
The bottom line with this campaign is to inspire people out there to start sending postcards again. To spread happiness with the postcard as you'll see in the related projects in this campaign such as http://www.postcardhappiness.com/postcard-happiness-project/. Whether it's with a Postick or a beautiful conventional postcard is irrelevant.
Of course, if this is not the kind of postcard experience you're after it's easy to clarify it in your profile. But if it is, then I wish for you to receive plenty of beautifully created postcards made with love.
Happy Postcrossing :)
Sometimes I change my mind about the postcard I want to send even after I've written the address and ID, or I realize I made some other mistake. In such cases, blank postcards have helped me save the card (by carefully peeling off the written side and gluing a new writing side to the picture side) and send it to someone else. Especially when I spend more money on the card, I would feel sorry to throw it away.
However, I'd never reuse postcards that someone sent to me.
Personnally I really like to get a carefully chosen fragment of the sender's everyday culture. I've received some of those and have always been thrilled.
Didn't know it already existed though, not sure why this needs to be kickstarted then if the same product is already out there?
I support the idea! I am a bargain hunter and I love AD-cards. I've joined group orders where we payed as little as 8 cents per REGULAr Postcard, so some of these "cheap" substitutes as these labels are actually more expensive than "real" cards!
*I* would much rather get an AD card or a handmade anything to match my collection and likes than an expensive card that tells me nothing. The price tag isn't important to me, it's the time and effort the sender makes to send something that fits my likes.
I also love recycling and up-cycling, I do buy blank postcards regularly,b ut they are rather thin.... a self-adhesive version sure would be convenient!
What makes me unconfortable about this entry in the blog is that Postcrossing is being used as a commercial platform of a store - and no, not a pop-up window one, but a store that is encouraged from the site itself. I would say that using the blog for saying "Hey, I sell postcard related products, buy them from me" is definately not a good idea.
The Postcard Happiness Project has posts between April and June 2012. It asks that postcards be sent to five addresses: 1) an immediate relative (father) of the project creator, 2) a couple who have recently retired and are moving, 3) a lady who recently lost her son, 4) a little girl struggling with cancer, and 5) a lady who will soon turn 96.
The Postcards Creative Network has 8 posts, the first one on April 8, 2011, the second on March 1, 2012. One of the posts has 1 comment, the others, as of today, have zero comments.
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I do not invite handmade postcards or photos in my profile but many people send them anyway. I've started throwing away the junk.
But it could be an excuse to send junk.
Not so good when I've spent time, effort and money to get a proper store-bought postcard for use on this postcard site.
Personally, I would perhaps use such labels for my own photos or artwork (although I think it'd be simpler to have them printed in the photo-studio).
As for using Postick for Postcrossing -- it's just a matter of adhering to the specific memeber's wishes what they do or do not like to receive. I had real trouble finding nice postcards with specific themes in my city, for example; it would've been much easier to take one of my own photos and turn it into a postcard - but only if the receiver has no objections to that.
Still, I wish Tatjana luck with the project, it will most definitely have a wide userbase among crafters.