Making Mail, the movie about mail art that was started by a Kickstarter campaign last year, has just been released and you can watch it online! It’s one hour long, and filled with mailart loveliness and inspiration.
Don’t you feel like grabbing your crafty supplies and some old magazines to dress up that plain envelope? Go for it! :)
Once again, Postcrossing is dressing up for the holidays, and in the spirit of the season, we’re partnering up once more with Deutsche Post to make your postcards work for a good cause! Without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, we’re proud to announce that…
Doesn’t that sound nice? If you’re in Germany, all you have to do is keep sending postcards! If your December postcards are registered before the end of February 2015, you’ll be contributing to this cause.
And though only postcards sent from Germany count, there’s always a receiver in every postcard exchange – so each time a card from Germany is registered, the recipient will be indirectly contributing to this donation as well!
To make things even more interesting, there will also be some nice prizes for the participants:
Stiftung Lesen is a German non-profit organization, working to increase literacy – especially among children and adolescents. They promote reading through several different activities, such as the “My first letter” contest.
So… what are you waiting for? If you’re in Germany, grab a pen and your stack of postcards and stamps, and start writing! The more cards you send, the more you’ll contribute to this cause – and the more chances you’ll have of winning a nice prize! :)
PS – As always, we respect your private information and will not share it with any company without your express permission. The full details of this campaign can be read here (German only).
I still remember sending my first letter to Santa. I was in kindergarten and hadn’t learnt how to write yet… so I decided to draw my wishlist instead! And, lo and behold, Santa did reply a few weeks later, letting me know he had gotten my letter and would see what he could do about it — I was beyond myself with excitement! :)
I stopped writing letters to Santa some time ago, but remained quite fond of these traditions that make holidays special. So today I wanted to pass along the links to Christmas Post Offices around the world, which many of you have been sharing with us on our Facebook page.
So far, we’ve heard of special services in:
Pass them on to parents of small children — or help the little ones write/draw their own letter to Santa!
If your country has a special service for the holidays which isn’t featured here, just post the link in the comments and we’ll add it.
Since Postman Pieter’s post last month was so popular, we’ve decided to officially open the blog to more postal workers. We want to know about the trustworthy men and women who sort and deliver your mail! What is it like for them, to work for the post office? How different is the job these days? And do they enjoy postcards as much as we do?
Deb (aka iphoto) from Australia asked all of these questions to her postwoman — who is also called Deb! :)
Postwoman Deb has worked for Australia Post for 32 years. She has been sorting the mail at the Pacific Fair Shopping Centre for the past 4 and before that Deb was a “postie” (delivering mail on a push-bike and walking with a backpack), a night sorter, a retail shop counter officer and a delivery centre admin. She and our Deb (iphoto) share many morning smiles while going over the quips and quotes on the many treasured postcards that go “down under”!
When I first started with Australia Post all mail procedures were a lot more manual, there were very few female posties and many more people were still sending letters and postcards. Things are more automated now with most people emailing each other instead.
When I first noticed that Deb (iphoto) was receiving frequent amounts of postcards I actually confirmed with her that it was ok for me to read them… they often bring a smile to my day and I find them interesting and insightful!
When Deb (iphoto) and her treasure Wayne travel they send me a postcard for my office wall. Occasionally when friends travel overseas, I find a joyful account of their travels in my letterbox at home when I get home from work — always a pleasant surprise!
YES! Postcards have always provided an insight into other countries with their scenic snapshots & candid descriptions from travelers. Postcrossing postcards are a little different in that the sender actually lives in the country of origin, so they give a first-hand report of life in their country.
Over the three decades I’ve worked for Australia Post I’ve heard all manner of complaints and compliments…
As a postie, the most common catch cry from customers was “ I don’t want it if it’s got a window” (here in Australia, envelopes with “windows” are probably bills) usually followed by a chuckle!
And when I worked in administration at a delivery centre we often received phone calls from customers complaining that their postie was riding across their lawn (on the council nature strip) and they’d like them to get off their motorbikes and walk to the letter boxes. Most posties were delivering to over 1,000 letterboxes, on their designated runs, so getting on and off their motorbikes was an unreasonable and impractical request!
However I would like you to know the majority are grateful for the service and as a postie in particular I would return from my daily delivery rounds at Christmas with gifts of gratitude which included chocolates, wine and many home made delights :D
That you Deb & Deb, that was really nice!
Do you know a postal worked who deserves to be featured on the blog? Send us a message and we’ll send you a list of questions for you to use! :)
Guy Atkins has been collecting postcards for years, especially from the Edwardian era. This was the golden period of postcards, which were then at the height of their popularity. With up to 6 daily mail deliveries (imagine that!), many people used them as we use Twitter or text messages these days — just to say “I’m thinking about you” or to convey some practical information (“I’ll arrive on the 10am train”).
It’s not so much the pictures on the postcards that capture Guy’s curiosity — instead he prefers the fascinating messages they hold. It all started when he was browsing an antiques market in London, where he found a perfectly boring postcard, sent on 21 December 1904 to Miss Emerson… which hid a very intriguing message. It said:
“Come home at once, all is forgiven. We have not had any news from father. There is heaps of m – – – y waiting for you to spend. Surely after that you could not stay away.”
One cannot help but wonder… what happened? What did Miss Emerson do that needed forgiving? And did she stay away or go back home?
I guess we’ll never know. And yet, the thrill of that mysterious message stays with us, and it stayed with Guy as well, who decided to collect other such intriguing postcards from that time. He has just launched a book with 100 of his best cards, appropriately titled Come Home at Once.
We’ve had this book for a week or so, and I have to say, it is delightful. Perfectly sized, filled with mysterious messages that just draw you in and make you wonder. Some are funny, others shocking, some just confounding. Many don’t seem to say much at all… until you note the strategically positioning of the stamp, hiding a whole other layer of meaning. Some… well, we’re still trying to figure them out!
In order to promote his new book, Guy and his publisher have generously offered to give away 10 copies of the book to 10 lucky postcrossers! It’s like an early Christmas treat! :)
For a chance to win one, all you have to do is leave a comment below. And if you have any tips on how one could make the message on a postcard more intriguing, do share!
Good luck everyone! Check back on this post around this time next week for the winners (randomly picked by Paulo’s number generator, as usual).
