Postcrossing Blog

Raisa (aka Asato) from Russia loved drawing ever since she was a child… but it’s only in the past few years that she decided to take it more seriously. To practice, she started drawing small characters on the postcards she sends…

… and they turned out great, really brightening up the postcards! :) We were in awe of Raisa’s talent so we decided to ask her some questions about her little drawings.

Your style seems Japanese-inspired… is it so? Are you a fan of anime/manga or Japanese things?

Yes! I read my first manga when I was 22, and it was like a bomb! Since that day I’m a big fan of japanese manga and anime. Moreover, Japanese “chibi” (which means “little”) style is very handful for postcards, and there are a few other reasons. First, there is actually not much space on the postcard for the drawing, especially if you plan to write something beside, so it’s better to draw something really small. A “chibi” is a character with oversized proportions and its big head is a very convenient way to express characters emotions as, literally, there is more space to draw them comparing to a realistic-like character. That makes your character look a bit childish, funny, and really lovely. And this style is not too serious or too complicated and easy to draw.

How do you decide what to draw on each postcard? Do you adapt the theme to the recipient, or focus on what you’re enjoying at the moment?

Of course, it depends mostly on the recipient. Every time I get an address, I start thinking about what to send and what to write… I wish I could send to the receiver some good emotions with my postcard or make it interesting. Drawing helps me a lot, as it’s the way you can easily express your thoughts and emotions or tell something. For example, you can describe in details the national costume, but isn’t it easier to picture it and write few notes? :)

Sometimes people write about their favourite films or books in the profiles, and if I don’t have a postcard that would match them, I can draw a character they really like on the card! It’s also a nice chance for me to share my own favourites, such as “Harry Potter” or “Star Wars” which are so famous. Honestly, I dream to receive a postcard with my favorite characters, but so far, no luck!

What are the member’s reactions when they receive your postcards? Do they appreciate the extra effort?

Thanks to the special Postcrossing’s friendly and kind atmosphere most members write at least “thank you” like for any other postcard :) Some people send long messages where they write how they were glad and excited to see my drawing, some people do not pay special attention to it, some offer to send a card back or to exchange letters. But, any reaction is OK for me, as I don’t want to claim something special back. So long as I enjoy drawing, it’s a pleasure for me! Seriously, I hope just to put a smile on someone’s face.

Thank you Raisa, for sharing your lovely drawings with us! If you’re curious, you can see other drawings on her postcard gallery.

It’s out! We’re happy to confirm that the Russian Postcrossing-themed stamp is now a reality!

Launching ceremonies were held in different cities throughout Russia, and groups of postcrossers came together to send their postcards with the special first day cancellation mark. Olga (aka Kelpie) attended a couple of these, and sent us some photos from the ceremony in Tomsk, where local postcrosser Anna (aka december_anne) did the honors and stamped the first postcard!

Despite the freezing –20°C, there were so many people in attendance that the post office ran out of stamps in one hour! :) Can’t blame the postcrossers though — it’s a really cute stamp, and we can’t wait to see one in real life!

Keep an eye on your mailbox… your next postcard from Russia might feature this special stamp!

Good news, everyone! We’re happy to announce that Russia, the country with the largest number of Postcrossing members, is releasing a themed stamp to commemorate the project on January 27th!

The 23 ruble stamp was designed by O. Shushlebina, measures 37×37 mm and comes in sheets of 9 stamps. Here’s what it will look like:

Quite nice, isn’t it? I think you can guess what it says, even if you don’t know much Russian! :)

To celebrate the occasion, three postcrossers in Novosibirsk, Tomsk and Moscow decided to hold a lottery to offer 60 lucky members the chance to receive a postcard with this stamp and the first day cancellation mark! If you’d like to participate on this giveaway, just leave a comment below saying you’d like to receive one. We’ll draw 60 names by the end of the week, and send your addresses to the members who are going to write you a postcard.

You might find a surprise postcard on your mailbox in a few weeks! :)

Julia (aka mad_madchen) hails from Moscow. She has several drawers full of postcards ready to be sent, and really enjoys choosing the perfect card that she knows will make someone happy! We asked her a few questions:

How did you come across Postcrossing? What got you hooked?

About 5 years ago my friend Olga told me about Postcrossing. I’ve decided to join as I like postcards since my childhood. And here I am! :)

Do you have any other interesting hobbies?

I love Blythe dolls. I have 12 dolls in my collection:

Also I collect Alice in Wonderland books in different language and Starbucks gift-cards. And I love cross-stitching.

Show us your mailbox, your mailman/mailwoman, your postoffice or the place where you post or keep your postcards!

This is my P.O.Box 1:

Over the years, I’ve received a lot of questions about it: please confirm your address, it’s too short, are you sure, how do you get it…? I really don’t know how it has happened that I got P.O.Box 1. I think it was a miracle, or luck, or position of the stars, something like that! :)

I have lots of postcards. It was always hard to say the numbers and once I’ve decided to weigh them. I discovered that I have 12 kg of postcards to be sent… yeah, I am mad, I know that! I store most of them in the drawers of my desk:

Show and tell us about your favorite received postcard to date, and what makes it special.

In fact it’s a difficult question because I’ve received a lot of beautiful postcards… I like Atelier Nouvelles Images, Nicoletta Сeccoli, Absolut Vodka, and many others. But my most favourite postcard ever… It’s hard to pick. I think perhaps this one:

In it, I see hope, loneliness, dream, search, aspirations, incompleteness, past and future. Absolutely great!

What is it your favorite part of the Postcrossing process?

All parts are great for me. Most of all I like to receive a new addresses and try to find the perfect postcard for the receiver — especially for “difficult” wishes. And I like to receive nice postcards, with interesting messages and beautiful stamps. I also like to read senders profiles after I register their postcards.

Have you been surprised by any place that you have received a postcard from or sent a postcard to?

I’ve been surprised over travel days. Just amazing example: this postcard from Russia to Greece (1,779 km) was traveling for 346 days! And that was the real traveling period!

Have you inspired anyone else to join Postcrossing, or met any other postcrossers?

Yes! My friend Eugene saw a post on my Livejournal and signed up to Postcrossing, and my son is a postcrosser as well. Sometimes we both go to meetups here in Moscow.

BlackDrago (aka Natalie) hails from Sevastopol, in Ukraine. Besides being an avid postcrosser she’s also a devoted photographer and a Star Wars fan! :)

How did you come across Postcrossing? What got you hooked?

It was a post in my friend’s diary on journals.ru. I have always been attracted to something unusual… and what can be more extraordinary than paper postcards in the age of electronic correspondence? And then it turned out that this is a very interesting process, you can see a lot of interesting postcards, stamps, read the people who live on the other side of the planet Earth.

Do you have any other interesting hobbies?

I’m interested in the Star Wars universe – I am the administrator on a site and forum dedicated to this world. I translate short texts and beta-read works of other authors. I like to assemble plastic models of the real and the fantastic vehicles. Photography. Cross-stitching. Sometimes I even manage to find some time for all these things… sadly there are only 24 hours in a day!

Show us your mailbox, your mailman/mailwoman, your postoffice or the place where you post or keep your postcards!

This is Post Office from which my postcards often hit the road:

Show and tell us about your favorite received postcard to date, and what makes it special.

I think that almost all of my cards are favourites!

What makes them special? It’s the fact that someone took the time to read my profile and tried to pick up the card in accordance with the wishes, and wrote something just for me.

I have favorite authors as well, for example, French artist Severine Pineaux. She has a very beautiful dragons and cats.

And if we talk about the subject of cards, there is a series of “Darth Vader and Son” that I really like:

Have you met any other members in real life?

Yep. I participated in postcrossers meetings in Sevastopol and in Yekaterinburg (Russia, Ural), when I was there on business. This is in Sevastopol:

And here we are in Yekaterinburg:

Is there anything that you are passionate about?

Sevastopol.. I really love my city and his great history. It is really my passion and obsession. Sevastopol has always been a military city, the base of the Black Sea Fleet of Russia. I hope that he will once again be such, and not turn into just a resort.

Warships standing in bays and covered with morning fog is one of the most beautiful sights I can imagine.