Last week, our friend Iris sent us the link to the videoclip below, which brought a big smile to our faces. The song is a little balad called 'I won't give up', by Jason Mraz.

The tunes are nice, but what really caught our attention was the amount of stationery displayed in this clip! It's full of old-school envelopes, stamps, cancelation marks and postcards!

Doesn't it make you want to write someone a love letter? What are you waiting for? :)

PS - German and/or Chinese users can see the video here or here.

I discovered these postcards on a random blog some months ago and their simple and sweet illustrations drew me in instantly. They're made by Tasmanian designer Holly Webber. Holly spends her days doing freelance graphic design, and running the market, a popular seasonal market which gives local artists and designers the opportunity to showcase their wares.

Below are her answers to our interview about her lovely stationery line.

How did you get started doing stationery design?

For as long as I can remember (right from when I was a crafty kid!) I have always created my own cards. I officially started producing them in my second year of University when I began selling my photographic artworks in a local art gallery. As a graphic designer I spend a lot of time on the computer, constantly communicating via email. Email communication seems to have become the norm, but this always feels very impersonal when it's with friends and loved ones. It's very quick to send an email, but it's just as easily gone, and yet it takes literally a few minutes to write a postcard, bring a smile to someone's face and they can keep as a little piece of art on the fridge or wall. So early this year I started creating my range of illustrated postcards titled Letterbox Love - an easy way to say hello, without the formality of regular greeting card.

Where do you find your inspiration?

Baking! I love to bake and often deliver my baked goods in friend's letterboxes which we refer to as 'letterbox love'. Cupcakes don't tend to travel so well in the post, so I thought a whimsical illustration of one would be a good substitute. The heart balloon came about after I decided to actually call the collection letterbox love - I love the idea of post being delivered by a hot air balloon - how fun would that be to have a flying pig dropping a note into your letterbox! ...Oh, and that's my cat Coco peeping out from the basket of one of the balloons. As far as my design aesthetic goes - I love Scandinavian design for it's clean lines and a good use of white space.

If you could define your style in 3 words, what would they be?

clean / whimsical / fun

Are you a postcard or letter writer yourself?

I had pen pals as a kid and do still write letters to some friends now, and I'll always send postcards when I'm on holiday.

Can you show us a picture of your studio or workspace?

I thought I'd include a typical view from my desk...my cat Coco draped around my laptop - apparently iphones make good pillows, ha!

You can find Holly's postcards at hollywebber.bigcartel.com.

For the second post of the Stationery makers series, we've talked with Liz, from dicky bird. We found her online shop by accident, but were immediately drawn to her fresh and eye-catching illustrations. Her collection of greeting cards put a big smile so big on our face, so we knew we had to feature her on the blog :)

Liz started her stationery business a year ago, but says that it was years in the planning in her head! She creates the illustrations on her Mac and then the cards are printed in heavy uncoated paper, for a muted and slightly textured feeling.

Below are her answers to our interview.

How did you get started doing stationery design?

I worked in Graphics for 10 years, so I knew a fair bit about print production, design and marketing. My love of bold colours and simple shapes led me to illustration and, later, the creation of ‘dicky bird’.

Where do you find your inspiration?

Oh, in so many things – nature, 50s and 60s patterns and textiles, Dick Bruna, Japanese life, Mid-century design and all things Scandinavian. I take a lot of photos and sometimes I get ideas that way. I also love living in London – there are so many interesting things to see and do – odd little museums, galleries (huge public ones and small independent ones), beautiful parks and quirky shops.

If you could define your style in 3 words, what would they be?

simple / graphic / positive

Are you a postcard or letter writer yourself?

I'm definitely a card writer. Not keen on the phone at all! I still love to send and receive things in the post - it's so much nicer.

Can you show us a picture of your studio or workspace?

I work from home on a laptop, so my workplace can be the kitchen table or the sofa!

You can find dicky bird's greeting cards at dicky-bird.co.uk. Liz also writes and shows bits of inspiration at dicky-bird.blogspot.com

This week on the blog, we start a series of posts about the people behind some stationery brands that we've seen and liked. We hope to keep it up more or less regularly!

On this first post of the series, we've talked with Anna, from Lila Ruby King. Anna is an Australian native living in Athens, who divides her time evenly between her illustration work and jewelry making.

She started selling eco-friendly stationery in 2007, under her micro-label Lila Ruby King. Her postcards feature hand-drawn patterns of birds, twigs and other curious objects, printed in different types of recycled paper. They're sturdy and slightly textured, almost begging to be touched! And each postcard includes a small playful drawing on the back side - which is a nice little detail :)

We were intrigued by her unique style and asked her a few questions.

How did you get started doing stationery design?

It all started when I first moved to Greece, I needed cards to send home to family and friends for birthdays and Christmas and that sort of thing, but the range here was very uninspiring, and so I started to make my own.

Where do you find your inspiration?

Most of my inspiration comes from the natural world, every day there is something new to learn and discover which is amazing! I've also got some new pieces I'm working on, that are inspired by the nature and animals featured in the fables and folk stories of Europe.

If you could define your style in 3 words, what would they be?

Simple, playful, natural.

We couldn't agree more! You can see Anna's stationery collection and other products on her Etsy shop.

If you enjoyed this feature (or not so much), give us some feedback in the comments below! What would you like us to change, or what would you ask the stationery makers?

Present&Correct is our kind of stationery shop: filled with tastefully handpicked goods from all over the world, ready to brighten up any desk. Updated weekly with sophisticated items & retro finds, you'll find that every single notecard, rubber stamp or set of masking tapes is a temptation.

Going through a bit of nostalgia? They have original telegram envelopes, old-fashioned library stamps, or kitschy postcard sets in funky popcorn bags.

Or perhaps you'd fancy something a bit more modern? Try this Stamp Sheet Wall Planner, the Stencil greetings card or the unexpected Chalk Clipboard.

To write this review, I spent hours going through the selection and trying to narrow my wishlist to just a couple of items to order. The checkout was quick & efficient, and the goods arrived within the same week (they're based in the UK, but ship worldwide).

First, let me show you the Giant Button card, which is a cute letterpress card on the shape of a button, in a white envelope. The reverse of the card simply says "You're as cute as a button". How cute is that? Perfect to cheer someone up - instant smile guaranteed!

Then, we have the Russian doll card. This is a very clever card, where the successively smaller matryoshkas are folded into the larger ones. Even the envelope is pretty neat! :)