To mark Postcrossing’s 20th birthday, PostNL commissioned Gouda‑based designer Sandra Smulders (whose portfolio already includes quite a few Dutch stamps) to create a celebratory stamp. On July 14, the new stamps went on sale — a lively sheet of red‑white‑blue zigzags that hints at both the Dutch flag and the criss-crossing of postcards. We especially like the unique dented pattern on the bottom of the stamp!
We spoke with Sandra about the ideas behind the design, the little details hidden in each stamp, and how it feels to watch her work fly through the mail in all the postcards. :)
- What was your initial reaction when you were asked to design a stamp for Postcrossing’s 20th anniversary?
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I am always happy when asked to design a stamp sheet. Usually, the ideas only come to me once I have delved into the subject, but with Postcrossing, I immediately saw the arrows in my mind’s eye. This ultimately became the basis for the design. So this subject suited me very well in terms of design. I therefore set to work on this assignment with great enthusiasm.
- Can you walk us through your creative process for this stamp sheet — where did you start, and how did the concept evolve?
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I began with two things in mind: a bold zig‑zag arrow pattern and a horizontal sheet with the stamps centered. From there everything clicked into place.
The red‑white‑blue bars stretch across the sheet to form a subtle Dutch flag; rotating the bottom row of stamps 180° let the blue bar span two stamps and stay the same width as the red and white. To add depth I overlaid each bar with grey tints and simple monochrome icons that sum up Postcrossing: paper‑chain people for the project’s friendship, a world map on the blue “water” strip for global reach, and postcards, naturally. Hand‑written‑style lettering fills the remaining triangles, while the “sorting hook” and the value “1” sit opposite each other for balance. A few diagonal guide lines finish the sheet, tying the layers together and giving the design its sense of movement.
- Have you sent or received postcards yourself through Postcrossing, or do you perhaps have a special memory in connection to snail mail that you can share?
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I don’t send or receive cards myself and I don’t (yet) participate in Postcrossing. But I do like to send and receive cards or mail. Receiving mail is so much fun. As a teenager, I had several pen pals and sent letters all over the world. I really enjoyed it when I received a reply. Who knows, maybe I’ll take this up again in the future.
- As a stamp designer, what’s it like to see your work travel the world on thousands of postcards? :)
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It’s certainly very nice that many people around the world will see my work. Even if they don’t know it’s mine. Who knows where my work will end up? And maybe this is a step closer to my international design career.
52 comments so far
Bought them already.
I bought them, not received yet but I am thrilled to put them on my next international cards 😃👍
Hoping to get one, love it!
I received them and I really like the design! Not the font I would have picked but it's a nice choice for the overall idea.
how lovely!
Off course I bought them!!
Very special!
Where can I buy the stamps??
Love the stamp. Thank you for sharing the creative process.
Beautiful 😊
I would like to receive one!
Nice stamp.
I hope some one will use this stamp to send a card me.
As a painter I love the “abstract-ness”!
I like the thought behind the design, but I think on something small as a stamp it doesn't work well. Also, even though I love that in essence it's the Dutch flag, I don't like that the blue part of it is smaller than than the red and white.
To sum it up: I liked the previous two editions of postcrossing stamps from PostNL a little (just a little 😉) better.
I really hope to receive a card with this stamp.
Beautiful!
Waiting for my order to arrive
I can't wait to see one off the stamps on one off the card I will find in my mailbox from you, lovely Dutch people.
I'm born Dutch but live on Vancouver Island, Canada.
This stamp design could also become an excellent postcard or even maxicard from PostNL. Congratulations!
Hello Post-crossers! Anybody want to swap and send me this stamp and a maxi-card. I open to receive messages.
Hoping to get one, I love it!
This stamp is not beautiful.
It would be sweet to get one on a postcard in the future. It's a beautiful and interesting stamp.
It's a nice idea, i like it. I hope to buy them soon and make other people happy with it. Postcrossing is the most nice thing to get people together.
Thanks for highlighting the designer and sharing her inspiration. I hope to receive a Postcrossing stamp on a card one day. Even better, I hope the USPS sees the potential, and I can mail cards using it.
Thank you for this explanation behind the details in the stamp design. I bought a bunch of them as soon as the stamps were released!
Interesting interview, I'm looking forward to receiving the stamp.
One stamp 2 euro!
Hoping to get one, love it!
xoxo
:) :D
Just bought some sheets of these stamps!
We need postcrossing stamps in the US as well!
Great stamp and great lady who designed it.
At first I thought it looked a little bit 'average' but when she explained everything at the presentation of the stamp it made all sense and the stamp became more and more interesting.
I have sent one person the PT-1 card with the Postcrossing stamp....so someone will have a nice surprise in it's mailbox soon ;-)
A very simple and bold design, but still attractive. However, I think the Belgian BPost design was much more fun and better captures the spirit of Postcrossing.
Nice stamp! I appreciate learning more about the designer, their design process, and the meaning behind the design elements. I look forward to seeing the stamp on cards :)
Thank you for sharing the process of creating a fantastic stamp! Some day I hope that the USA will release a Postcrossing stamp. Fingers crossed.
Sandra Smulder's postcrossing postage stamp is bold and attractive. I love the story behind each element designed on the postage stamp.
I don't want to sound mean but when I compare it to the other postcrossing related stamps...the design is kinda boring to me...there are different tastes and I see the work and love that was set into the design but yeah...it's just a little average to me and I would love to see a more eye-catching motif for the beautiful hobby "postcrossing" 🤗🫶🏻
These are very nice designs, but the original ones will always be special as they were the very 1st Postcrossing stamps I saw, and featured images of actual postcards on them!
Thank you for sharing your postage stamp design. I
really love this elegant design.
I hope to receive it someday😍
To be honest, I'm not fond of the design. I did order them anyway...
Interesting interview and nice stamps, thank you! I'd love to see the stamps on Dutch postcards in my postbox someday.
Rather simplistic
Very nice! I like the way the designer used the Red, White, and Blue colors of Postcrossing in a way that also forms the flag of The Netherlands.
Thank you for sharing the interview and insights behind the design process. It’s always interesting to hear about the ideas and intentions that go into a stamp.
That said, I have to admit that at first glance, I wouldn’t have guessed this stamp was about Postcrossing, it felt a bit generic to me. After reading the explanation, the elements do make more sense and I can see how they connect to the theme.
These are beautiful stamps! Congratulations to The Netherlands! :)
I'd love to receive this stamp!
Mmm I see many positive reactions, thats good, but myself, I would have liked, something much more creative, actually I do not like them. that being said, I am not a Dutch patriot, but some windmills or city sights, different kind of bikes we have in the Netherlands, would be more fun , in my humble opinion. Maybe next time better? Anyway enjoy, if you like them, myself I am not gonna buy them...
YES !! Today arrived an official postcard from the Netherlands with this new stamp on it !!
As usual with dutch stamp design lately, also this sheet of stamps is so far fetched and overanalyzed, that people need an interview with the designer to understand what they are looking at. I thought the purpose of communicating by means of a stamp, is to rule out misunderstanding without the need of using words?
This said I still ordered the sheets, received them today. At first glance the overall design and the printing quality seemed not that bad, but unfortunately the waving flag effect of the sheet due to the arrow and the vague silhouettes, for wich I almost needed a magnifying glass to recognize it, is completely lost in the dull rectangular shaped stamps. My favorite is still the 2011 issue. Still I am very positive that PostNL pays so much attention to Postcrossing and I hope that our American Postcrossing friends are rewarded with their very own Postcrossing stamp, hopefully on better removable self adhesives.
I would love to have them on postcard. So if you are from Netherlands send me a card or envelop with these stamps and old Postcrossing stamps if you have them but don't forget to write your address and I will send something good from India post.
Very interesting!
I agree with JonathanBXL, for I also think the Belgian Postcrossing celebration stamps are much more fun!
In spite of the explanation of the designer I don't like the stamps and I don't want to put these stamps on my postcards, so I'm not going to buy them.
Help me out here ( I am new to PostCrossing) To whom do we send the anniversary card to on October 1st?
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