Postcrossing Blog

Oh là là! We couldn’t believe our eyes when we received the latest missive from the Little Mail Carriers… they were in Paris! :D Their host, PetitPilote did a fantastic job of showing them around the City of Light… read all about it below!

Summer is finally settled in Europe: temperatures are very pleasant and the sun shines every day! Many greetings from France!

We arrived at the beginning of July in Survilliers, a small village located 30 km north of Paris. We were really excited because it was our first trip to France! Our host didn’t waste time and organized a mini meeting with nearby French postcrossers.

We all met at Montmartre on a lovely Monday morning and the visit started with some souvenirs shops. We couldn’t miss the local macaroon stand too! The sales lady was kind enough to let us pose into the display case. There were tons of aromas and the pink one raspberry flavored seemed to be really delicious!

Then, following our touristic upward walk on Steinkerque Street, we saw the white dome of the Sacré-Cœur Basilica, sitting at the highest point of the city. This is a beautiful Roman Church built between 1875 and 1914 and this is Montmartre’s most recognizable landmark.

And after the effort, relaxation! We found a table just in front of the Sacré-Cœur, perfect to enjoy the view and finally taste the colorful and yummy macaroons! We wrote a few meet-up cards and then made some pictures with Lauliz, Glumuke and her son Antoine by the monument.

We couldn’t leave the area without wandering the streets to discover the attractive village atmosphere of Montmartre. We took this opportunity to make a quick snapshot in front of Abbesses underground station and its old style entrance from 1900. Also along with the local yellow mailbox!

Our visit of Paris then led us to the Eiffel Tower! Located on the Champ de Mars, the tower was created by Gustave Eiffel for the 1889 Paris Universal Exposition. 324 meters tall, the tower has three levels for visitors easy to reach by lift or stairs.

No tickets needed for us, we found an effortless way to climb up “the Iron Lady”! See for yourself!

Not far from the tower, on the other side of the Seine River to the north, the Arc de Triomphe was waiting for us for a last souvenir picture. Standing in the center of the Place de l’Etoile, this majestic 50 meters tall monument was built between 1806 and 1836 under the authority of Napoleon. And it wasn’t the last time we would see the Arc…

Let’s jump to July, 14th! This is Bastille Day in France, the national day! The day begins with the Military parade with French and invited troops as well as aircrafts flying above the Arc. Other celebrations are organized like popular balls, concerts and everywhere at night, impressive fireworks are displayed!

Survilliers also had its own! We could attend the firework and celebrate, at the same time, Postcrossing 8th birthday!

The following days were devoted to discover our host’s job. She is an air hostess on long haul flights and she decided to take us travelling with her… how exciting!! Want to find out where we’ve been? Check back in a couple of days for the rest of our travelling adventures! :)

Ever wanted to send someone a whale? A bear? Or perhaps a big cuddly moose? We all know how impractical that can be… and don’t even get me started on customs and security!

So I was very relieved the other day when I found out about Green Banana Cards – the perfect postcard solution for the hassle of shipping big animals!

Cute, right? :)

Virginie St-Jean is the designer behind Green Banana Cards project. She started in 2008 with the Mail a Moose design as a greeting card… but eventually realized there was a much higher demand for postcards! So she switched to the postcard format, and has been steadily introducing new animals to her collection since then. You can send 14 different animals across the world! :)

How did you get started doing stationery design?

I love everything that has to do with printed art. However, since it’s an art that’s been declining in popularity with the general public, I thought the best way to go about it was to create something out of the ordinary, so that even people who might not usually buy postcards would be tempted because of the novelty factor.

Where do you find your inspiration?

I have always loved drawing animals, and after spending some time in the Yukon, I was trying to think of a product that I could sell there. That’s how I thought of creating the Mail a Moose design. Most of my designs are iconic Canadian animals, but I’m also inspired by animals that tourists in other countries might be interested in mailing back home. I printed southern US animals like a gator and a manatee recently, and I plan to introduce an Australian animal collection by next summer. I also regularly work on custom orders, such as a Guernsey Cow for the Island of Guernsey, UK and a T-Rex and Mammoth for Canadian Museums.

What is your favourite item in your shop (and why)?

The Mail a Moose postcard is my favourite because it started it all, and because “Mail a Moose” is fun to say!

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

Lighthearted, colorful, cheery

Are you a letter/postcard writer yourself?

Yes, I think everyone likes receiving something fun in the mail since it rarely happens anymore. When traveling, I really enjoy finding special cards to send back home. I also occasionally frame interesting graphic cards for home decor when I find the right ones.

Virginie kindly offered 5 packs of her wonderful postcards to give away – each pack features the complete collection of 14 different animals! :D For a chance to win a pack, visit Green Banana Cards' page, and leave a comment below, telling us which one was your favourite animal. We’ll randomly pick 5 winners this time next Saturday. Good luck!

As many of you know, MOO makes pretty printed things… like cute business cards, stickers and our favourite, postcards! They’re great, and have often partnered with Postcrossing in the past, giving away lots of lovely presents on our giveaways.

So, the minute we knew we were going to the UK earlier this year, an idea sprung to mind… weren’t MOO headquarters located in London? We’re always curious of knowing how things work behind the scenes – could they perhaps show us around and introduce us to Little and Big MOO?

Turns out, yes they could! :D Giddy with excitement and barely containing our smiles, we were shown around MOO headquarters by Simon Goble, MOO’s Head of Brand Communications, who took the time to explain how everything works and patiently answer our many questions. And of course, we brought the Little Mail Carriers’ cousin around for the tour… below is his report of the day!

Hello from MOO’s lovely reception area in Shoreditch, London! Can you spot me up there? :)
Boy, were we excited to be there… I couldn’t wait to meet Big MOO and see some postcards being made!

And what do you know, there are actually not one but two Big MOOs (aka, their printing machines), to cope with all the demand for postcards and business cards! The two digital offset HP Indigo presses are lightning fast and can print up to 68 four-colour A4 pages per minute!

They even let me take a peek inside… wow! So this is where the action happens…

All around MOO’s sunny warehouse, which takes their complete ground floor, people were focused on cutting, wrapping and packing orders for shipping. Huge mail bags lined a wall, ready to be picked up by their mailman.

Everything is done with productivity and waste reduction in mind. For instance, if an order consists of different products which aren’t all simultaneously ready, the ones that are finished earlier are put in color-coded bins while they wait for the other parts to be finished – this way they can be shipped together, saving on shipping costs! Smart, right?

Meanwhile on the upper floors, everyone was hard at work making sure everything is running smoothly and every single customer is happy. MOO was founded in 2004 and has since grown to be an award-winning company which employs 90 people in London, and in the US.

What makes people want to work at MOO? The perks include a birthday cake on your birthday, joint lunches on Fridays, fussball tables…

… and a fully stocked breakfast pantry! :D

In the end of the tour, there was still enough time to pop around the corner to MOO’s new shop on Boxpark. Here, MOO products are shown in clever displays so that clients can have a close look at them before ordering online. The shop is exquisitely done, and feels like stepping inside a real website, complete with sliders and menus! Here’s Simon pulling a menu to show us how it works:

I tried it myself, but I’m afraid I was a bit too light for the job…

And of course, this being just like a website, there’s a cookie policy as well (conveniently spelled out on a cookie jar)!

Thank you Simon for showing us around! I can’t wait to go back someday – and show it to other postcrossers! :)

YAY for MOO!

Come meet Dorthe, who lives in Aalborg, Denmark. She likes perusing random shops for postcards wherever she goes… don’t we all? :)

Here is what she had to say:

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

I saw an article or interview where someone mentioned bookcrossing. But after reading a little more the word Postcrossing caught my eye. After checking the Postcrossing website I forgot all about bookcrossing.

I sent my first five cards and when the first cards started to arrive I was hooked. Luckily the first cards was from Europe and did’t have long to travel, so I didn’t have to wait a long time. The first cards were from well known countries like: France, Finland and the Netherlands. But my 6th card came from Moldova, and that surprised me a bit. Here was a chance to get to know some countries that I knew very little about.

Do you have any other interesting hobbies?

Not sure if it is a hobby, but I can’t visit a new city without trying to locate where I can buy some postcards. Usually I find cards in bookstores or at the postoffice here in Denmark, but sometimes I find a random store and is lucky. Most cards up here are the usual touristcards, the artmuseum have some artcards, but other than that there isn’t much to choose from.

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

Our last postoffice here in Aalborg, a very beautiful old building. I buy most of my stamps online though (the selection is better there).

My – not so interesting – mailbox is right in the middle.

I keep my cards in albums. When I started Postcrossing I had several countries in one album, but now I have several albums with just one country, and Germany and USA has 2 albums each.

Cards to be sent out are in boxes like this, they fit perfectly to the “normal” size postcards.

What is it your favorite part of the Postcrossing process?

Of course I like receiving cards, but the sending process is just as important. I get a little bit disappointed when I get an address and the profile is blank. I like to read the profiles and look through my cards to see if I can find the perfect match. Sometimes I can’t and I have to take a chance, but if there are some info it is easier to choose.

I only use real stamps (the stickers kind is all we have now). They can be small artworks or show a part of the history, and I know most postcrossers like this.

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

I have a lot of favorite cards, it depends on so many things. Cards I thought was a bit strange at one time, can be a favorite now, and some I started collecting can be a bit forgotten until I look in the albums again. A favorite can also be if there is a good story to why the card is chosen or if I can relate to it somehow.

I am not really into cards with animals, but this card (FI-114108) was the second i got, and I am pretty sure I had the same look on my face as the boy, when the mailman didn’t have any cards for me at the beginning.

The German Chronikcard (DE-903878) is a newer favorite of mine. Most of them are from Germany, but I have one from the Netherlands and one from Russia too.

FI-1218777 is an example of my autumn favorites, I love the beautiful colors. Together with NL-86067 it also shows close-ups/strange angles. I like seeing things a bit different.

Multiples has almost been epidemic this last year. The cards came out of nowhere (well almost) and I have seen them on several wishlists. RU-969229 with trees are one of the best I have so far. The last card: EE-117167 from St. Petersburg, with the beautiful bridge in sunset. I am still waiting for that beautiful sky when I am taking pictures.

Have you inspired anyone else to join Postcrossing or start collections of their own?

I am not sure if anyone has started postcrossing, but I have told several people about it. Especially when I am in a new shop and buys 30–40 cards at one time. The salesperson often looks at me like I am crazy (I probably am a bit!), but when I start telling about postcrossing, they often says it is a great idea.

I think my father is a bit interested too. When he and my mother plans their holidays, he always check with me if there are any interesting sites he should buy cards from to me. They have helped me a lot with my Unesco-site collection.

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

Yes. I have learned the location of many countries since I started postcrossing. I knew most countries in Europe, but the exact location was not always my strong side. And countries like Kazakhstan, Northern Mariana Islands, Åland Islands and Azerbaijan was probably not countries I ever thought of sending or getting mail from.

I have also been surprised over traveltimes. The only card I ever received from my own country (the sender doesn’t live in Denmark anymore) should travel 55 km. It took 4 days! I have also received a card from USA, it was sent on a Friday, stamped in the afternoon. It was in my mailbox Monday morning. It wasn’t even from one of the major cities like New York or Los Angeles.

Have you met any other members in real life?

I have met with Gogge1 and Christa several times. We try to have a minimeeting once or twice a year in different cities (so we can stock up on cards).

And at the meeting in Copenhagen, September 24th 2011, I had a chance to meet several International postcrossers and Danes too. It was some fun days together with Lotty, Levisia, Christa, dollart, Gogge1, Gforp, IreneK, Mikis, Giorgis, Miss Maple. I think we were a few more, but I cannot recall the names.

If you’ve ever been to the U.K., you may have seen bright red cylindrical objects around town. These pillar boxes are the U.S. equivalent of the free-standing blue arch-like mailboxes (and should not be confused with pillarboxes, which are the black bars that appear to the sides of a movie image that wasn’t formatted for widescreen). Although they’re more common in the U.K. or in former nations of the British empire, versions of this special red post box can also be found in other countries, such as Japan or Portugal.

Pillar boxes started to appear in 1852, twelve years after the first adhesive postage stamp was introduced. Before then, citizens would have to take their outgoing mail to the nearest letter receiving house or post office and personally deliver it to the postmaster after purchasing a stamp. Although they were initially proposed in 1840 by Sir Rowland Hill (who thought they would “add greatly to the public convenience”), it wasn’t until 1852 that the first pillar boxes were erected in the Channel Islands. It was a successful trial, which later spread with their implementation accross the mainland.

The boxes varied slightly from one area to the next, as each District Surveyor gave their own specifications for the design. You can find the most unique-looking ones that were made early on, when they included things like octagonal pillars, fluted columns, vertical slits instead of horizontal ones, and different coloring. The construction of pillar boxes was standardized in 1905, generally made of cast iron and in a cylindrical shape.

There are three distinct parts of a pillar box: the cap, which sits on the carcass and is bolted down from the inside, the door, which is hinged and displays the Royal Cypher of the reigning monarch, and the carcass, the main body that produced down below ground level, giving stability to the pillar box. Over 150 designs and varieties of pillar boxes, and their cousins, wall boxes (mail receptacles that are set into a walls), have emerged, though not all have survived.

Next time you’re in the UK, or any other country that sports these postal beauties, look a little closer and see if you can guess what time period it was erected (check out this page for some clues on the Royal cyphers)!

For a more in depth look into the history of these boxes, check out “Well adapted for a purpose…”, a really neat post from the British Postal Museum’s blog.

Happy pillar box spotting! :)