andrea209 (aka Andrea) lives in Bielefeld, and is a regular at the Postcrossing Bielefeld meetups. It was there that she first introduced us to her curious hobby: bottle-cap collecting! Her massive collection is now in the tens of thousands specimens, from 147 different countries… very impressive!!
Here is what she had to say:
- How did you come across Postcrossing? What got you hooked?
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It was a family-meeting around Christmas when my sister and her kids told me about postcrossing. And my sister showed me her first postcards from countries I never expected to get postcards from. So when we come home (it was around midnight) I started my computer and signed up right away.
- Do you have any other interesting hobbies?
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My husband and I have a very crazy hobby – we collect bottle-caps. Yes, your are right; these little things you find on beer-bottles, soda, pop or something else. You want to know more? Feel free to look at www.asippel.de. As other Postcrosser support our collection we now have bottle caps from Iran and North Korea.
And I love to paint. More than 100 of my sent postcards are painted ones and I’m very happy about every postcrossing-profile which asks for handmade cards.
- Show and tell us about your favorite received postcard to date, and what makes it special.
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After being a member for some time I find out that I love very colorful cards or paintings by some special artists, like Leonid Afremov (I’m still waiting for my first card) or Victoria Kirdiy. And I love lighthouses and teddy bears. As I received so many gorgeous cards it’s hard to say which one I like most…….
My husband gave me this rack as a birthday present – the perfect place to keep and show my received cards.
- Show us your mailbox, your mailman/mailwoman or your postoffice!
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This is my favorite mailbox. Just next to the shop where I buy all my stamps.
- Have you met any other members in real life?
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Oh yes, I have met a lot of other postcrossers and every time it was wonderful. I’ve attended all four International meetups in Bielefeld (the meeting-point is just 2 km from my home), also meetups in Cologne, Münster and Soltau.
Last year I also organized the first meetup for postcrossers from Bielefeld and surroundings. And since we had so much fun we will meet again next spring!
- Have you inspired anyone else to join Postcrossing or start collections of their own?
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Yes, I have, up to now 4 people. My sister-in-law and her sister and also two ladies I met when I stayed at a rehab in 2010. And 3 of them are still active postcrossers!
31 comments so far
Let me be the first to thank you for sharing your story! I really enjoyed it. It's nice how the bottle caps are displayed, too. :)
Wow! I love that you found a way to display your collections. Thanks for sharing!
wow,very nice.
Interesting spotlight! I love the postcard rack! I never worked out how to display my own bottletops, oh well my son now also collects bottletops, so maybe he will work it out!
nice! I know her from different meet-ups
Nice! Thank you for sharing! Have a nice day! :)
I'll send you your first Leonid (love his colorfull work too:), just send me your adress Andrea!
Hi Andrea,
so this is where they go...
That is amazing. No need for wallpaper and such!
Best wishes
merry Christmas
und einen guten Rutsch ins Neue Jahr.
hi, andrea, impressing site of the bottle cups!!! for sure I'll continue to look after and send to you!! I had enlarged my LP-book-collection in different languages also thx postcrossing a lot!!!! *smile* a nice spotlight!! congrats!! and happy postcrossing for ever!!!
Wow! I love it when people have a hobby that they are committed too. Your cap collection is one very impressive collection! We buy IBC soda and you have all of them already. For sure I will look for some off brands next time I go to the store. I hope to find at least one new one for you! (however, I doubt it with how many you have). Thank you for sharing!!
A very neat way to display your collection of bottle tops! And the rack for postcards is good too :-D Lovely interview!
Interesting story. Thank you for sharing...
Nice story :)
I live 20 mins away from Bielefeld :D
LOVE THAT SPOTLIGHT
many greetings from hamburg :)
frohe weihnachten und bis bald... ;)
Hugs from Hannover :) bis zum nächsten Mal in ser Heide oder in sonst wo :)
Does that hubby of yours come with a single brother, honey?
Lovely to see Andrea in the spotlight. I am happy to have met her twice in Bielefeld :)
Hi Andrea,
great to see you here in the spotlight :) Hoffe wir treffen uns bald wieder! Frohe Weihnachten und bis zum nächsten Jahr in Bielefeld - Claudia
amazing postcard rank!
Another great "spotlight", I enjoyed reading - and looking!
Wow, Andrea! I love your bottle cap collection. Amazing!
From one Andrea to another. : )
Amazing!!!
greetings from Bielefeld to Bielefeld!! ;-)
Wow, I love the postcard rack, your husband is a gem! :-)
it was privaldge to visit your house and see your bottlecap collection at my second or was it first bielefeld meetup.
Great collection and nice presentations! Send me your address, and I'll send you some bottle caps from South Africa. Wilna (tjorras)
Great interview again. Liebe Grüße und Frohe Feiertage Andrea und bis 2014 in Bielefeld. :)
Great collection of bottle tops have you got any from Australia send me your Address and I will try to send you
ome Huggy 41
Hi Andrea I'm a postcrossing painter too. I thought you might like to see this, a work made of bottle caps at Sculpture by the Sea Bondi they look amazing on this scale.
http://www.sculpturebythesea.com/image-gallery/bondi.aspx?Year=2013&Location=Outdoor
Cheers Sue
Nice interview and nice collections! :)
Merry Christmas, everyone! :)
Hi Andrea, thanks for showing us your collection. I too just love that postcard display rack, what a fabulous idea. Must try to get one too! And as far as hand-painted cards, they are the best kind. Personal, artistic and treasured. Well done!
Hi
I enjoy your collection of bottle caps. I have a small collection of caps too
Can you explaine how you glue them?
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