Postcrossing Blog

Meet egni (aka Inge) who lives near Lake Zurich, in Switzerland! Over the years, she has amassed a very impressive collection of cat-themed postcards – especially on the Puss in Boots theme, for which she has a special soft spot!

Here is what she had to say:

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

I really don’t know exactly. But I think I found a magazine while travelling by train and read about Postcrossing. It sounded interesting, so I took the paper home and left it on my desk. Later I drew up some courage and signed up.

I was curious if I could multiply my cat and Puss in Boots postcard collection (which I’ve had for many years) through Postcrossing… I always look at the recent postcards page and indeed – many cat cards are sent through Postcrossing!

Do you have any other interesting hobbies?

I enjoy buying and selling on flea markets.

I collect all about Puss in Boots: Books, figures, stamps, drawings, ExLibris … and additionally, I have a collection of cat figures made of various materials from small to large. Unfortunately I had to stop buying new parts – there is no more place in our home!

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

Yes! Guernsey and Alderney and Saint Pierre & Miquelon are places I heard about first when I got the addresses to write to the users. And when I received a postcard from the Fiji Islands I was very surprised, plus it was a cat card!

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

All these pretty cards arrived at the same day. My postwoman Anke has as much fun as I.

I save my cards in an old commode from my father-in-law. My cat Beauty is controlling my work.

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

That’s very hard to do. There are lots of pretty, interesting or curious cards I received. To introduce them to more people, every week one this cards is choosen as 'card of the week’ and shown on the first site of my little homepage www.sammelchatz.ch. From this site, there are many links to my collections presented in different Picasa albums.

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

Oh yes! At first my brother was infected and later a friend of mine, who collects hedgehogs and Santa Claus. After our Regional Daily, Zürichsee Zeitung, published a story about me and Postcrossing, some more people signed up.

What is it your favorite part of the Postcrossing process?

In short: Anything!

It’s fascinating asking for a new address and then study the profile. Great joy to find a suitable card, and then writing more or less in detail to a strange person. And the best part of this process is to read in the Hurray-Mail, that my card pleased the recipient or made his day. And if cards are favorited by other users, it’s a great satisfaction as well.

At last – the thrill of opening the mailbox every day and finding pretty cards from all around the world!

Do you ever idly browse the internet looking for stationery? I know I do… a lot! On one of these research sessions, I ended up in MissiveMaven’s lovely Etsy shop, filled with vintage-inspired paper goods… I was instantly hooked!

Ilona (aka Missivemaven) has been running her shop since January 2011. She uses very old photos or designs that are in the public domain, giving them new life in the form of postcards, notecards and stickers. We were curious about the process and inspiration behind her stationery, and decided to interview her for the blog!

How did you get started doing stationery design?

I have been addicted to stationery since I was a small child. Letter-writing has always been a part of my life, pretty much since I learned how to hold a pencil, and friends and family were great about encouraging that pursuit by giving me gifts of stationery. (Also, my mother forced me to write thank-you notes – an excellent habit to foster!) So, being a stationery addict, I’m always on the lookout for fun items. After I started my letter-writing blog, MissiveMaven.com, in 2008, my list of pen pals and postcard correspondents went through the roof… so I had an excuse (sort of?) to collect even more stationery to further my postal pursuits. I often searched for letter-writing and mail-related postcards on Etsy. I had an idea of what I wanted in my head, and was disappointed when I couldn’t find it… and then I thought, why not design it myself?

Where do you find your inspiration?

I am very inspired by all the mail I receive, and all my wonderful pen pals. I’m also really into “modernized” vintage graphics, so the vintage graphics themselves are a source of inspiration, too.

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

Oh dear. I find that question so hard to answer, because how can I pick just one? If I must pick, I am very fond of the Classic American Postman design, which I offer in postcards, notecards, and sticker seals. With his arms brimming full of packages and letters, he looks so cheery, and his posture of holding out a letter to you seems so full of hope. (Can you tell what a postal mail addict I am?)

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

Classic, epistolary, nostalgic.

Are you a letter/postcard writer yourself?

Voraciously so. It is my greatest, favorite hobby. I’ve been Postcrossing for more than 7 years, I’m a proud member of the Letter Writers Alliance and I write hundreds of letters and postcards each year to friends, family, and pen pals.

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

Thank you Ilona!

You can find Ilona’s postcards, greeting cards and other products at missivemaven.etsy.com. Don’t forget to check out Missive Maven’s blog as well ! :)

In theory, we all know what happens when something goes through the mail: it is picked up, put in crates and boxes, gets sorted more or less automatically, and is finally delivered by the hands of the local mail carrier. If you’ve ever seen a mail sorting center before, you know that there are hundreds of meters of conveyor belts involved, and all sorts of complicated sorting machines… but what does it look like from a “parcel’s perspective”? How many people touch it? How long does it sit around just… waiting?

Designer Ruben van der Vleuten wondered about these things, and instead of sitting still, he came up with a simple solution to solve this mistery: a camera, hidden inside a parcel!

Inside the parcel there’s also a small Arduino circuit, with a timer which tells the camera to film more when the package is moving, and less when it is stopped. The result is the amazing video below:

Pretty neat, huh? Check out Ruben’s page, to see what the parcel looked like from the inside! :)

Writing is great – but why not take advantage of postcards to express yourself in more creative ways? Sometimes a bit of colour or a funny sticker can really make a postcard stand out and bring a smile to the recipient’s face!

Here are some decorating tips that will take your postcard-making experience to the next level:

• The way you write out the words can create a striking effect. Try writing in a spiral, starting from the inner point and circling your sentences around each other… or just arrange the words in a recognisable form, shaped poetry style!

• Draw something on the postcard! Maybe try your hand at a portrait of yourself, the postbox where you’ll post your card or perhaps match it to the image on the front – even if you’re not a great artist, it will at least make for a good laugh!
• Pens, tapes or glue glitter also help make a colorful statement!
• Customize a rubber stamp that is unique to you, and use the cool design to sign off with instead of your name. Or choose from a variety of pre-made rubber stamps to add a bit of quirkiness to your message.

• Stickers! Stickers are fun, especially shiny, fuzzy, and smelly ones! Add a couple to your postcard for a pop of color, or turn your message into a deciphering exercise by using picture stickers to symbolize words instead of writing them out!
• And last but not least, choose the stamps carefully, since they’re an important element of your card! You can try to match them to the card, or just give them a bit of context, like the funny example below:


Got any more fun decorating tips? Do share them in the comments below!

Postcard photos by PostMuse, stamp photo by Donovan Beeson.

Meet drakrana (aka Amit) from India! He’s a doctor in a remote city in the Himalayas, who discovered Postcrossing only a little over a year ago… but embraced with exceptional passion! :)

Here is what he had to say:

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

One day was video-chatting with my friend Olya from Russia when she told me “Hey! See I got postcards!” and I was amazed to have a look at them… I fell in love with the image of a child smiling back to me from that postcard and then I came to know of this wonderful world of Postcrossing..

Despite having the second largest population of world, Postcrossing is relatively unknown in India, having just under 2000 postcrossers. I inquired in my town and Postcrossing was unheard of. I was the only postcrosser in town for 6 months as told by the postmaster… this really pushed me more and more as to why we are not so much aware of this wonderful thing when the rest of the world seems to be looking to find out more about our culture… this is just the perfect platform to do so!

Initially the wait was painfully long as mail is slow here, but my Postcrossing India group which I came across in Facebook kept my morale high, sharing stories how postcrossing has WIDENED their perspective about this world, interesting cards and stories about wonderful people they came across. And once the cards and beautiful words started pouring in, there was no looking back! :) I really can vouch that Postcrossing has been the most amazing experience, just second to saving the life of a dying patient in my life.

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

My field work is in a hilly area where mail services are not very good in terms of speed/surity of delivery so when I started getting mail first, the postman was quite confused… he even stopped by just to ask me why was getting THESE THINGS and where from. I explained to him and he was so surprised! He said this is something great to do, as I will know what most don;t know of in terms of people and places. He also told me that, in a way, I am helping him by contributing to his salary (again something which stuck me deeper in Postcrossing when I realised that it affects so many people in its own way).

This postbox just outside my house, and I use it for posting cards.

I store my postcards in my drawer at work as I can’t wait to see them! Whenever I’m pressed with work and tense they give me freshness of thoughts and the chance to smile when I am surrounded by the sorrow and pain of my patients :)

I have a postcard walll hanging in my room opposite to me at work where I keep some cards which make me feel good and I keep changing them as I keep getting more . official postcrossing has opened door to swapped cards as well so I have a lot of cards now.

Now my next aim is to get such a wall for every wall of my house. its much better than paint! :) It makes concrete walls come to life and talk to you, when we come back from a harsh day of work.

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

My favourite postcards, well each postcard has a story… some are fav coz of pictures, some coz of words and some coz they come from places or have something which affect us deep down. I too have such share of cards.

On the left, a self-made card from Telenn in the Netherlands, a user who later gradually turned into a wonderful friend and now I am visiting Europe first time in my life and would meet her as well, and visit a lot of europe as now europe doesnt feel far and unknown now. thanks to wonderful people who I met through postcrossing

And on the right is a card from SimilliMom who favourited a lot of my sent cards (and later became a friend) sent this to tell me that a doctor is too occupied with work and so should have some moments of happiness. And it reached me at one such time!

On the left, the card that made me realize that I am in love with wild cat family and I now collect them a lot. And I also fell in love with trains. This card, I got in an exchange, as a thank you card for sending an official postcard.

Card from a Milena- who I came across when I favourited her cards, and she sent me this card telling me a lot about her country and its people.

What is it your favorite part of the Postcrossing process?

The moment I hit the “Request address” button, and the small pause before the address pops up… is THE most addicting part of Postcrossing! Who will get a part of my life? Who in the other part of world will soon know that “a Amit Rana” exists, someone who was non-existent for me just a moment before… that moment of surprise is what makes this project such a wonderful experience.

And then the “Congratulations, Your postcard IN-xxxxx arrived” moment… the heart goes for a spin and we just can’t stop ourselves from looking and finding out what the receiver felt about the card! :)

Do you have any other interesting hobbies?

I am a photographer by hobby, someone who just tries to find meaning in everything, animals inanimate objects, the beauty of nature and just anything which can express feelings.

I’m also a trekker, just going for nature walks and lucky too as I live amidst the beautiful Himalayas. Being in a busy profession, I seldom get the chance to go out and travel, but Postcrossing has made up for that deficiency: it takes me to the other end of world in a moment. As getting postcards isn’t so easy in India and I sometimes get strange looks when I inquire for cards… I decided to print the pictures I captured as cards. Soon enough, the people at the Indian Postcrossing group were asking me if they could use some of my images to print as postcards as well – that was a great moment, because I felt that my photography hobby was of use to my felllow countrymen!

Is there anything that you are passionate about?

I am passionate about the spirit of One World… the spirit of realizing that even if there are differences in customs, lifestyles, values, we all have the same feelings. We are all curious as to who the people are in other parts of world unknown to us, unseen and unheard of… its the same spirit which makes us happy when we get a card from an exotic location, which keeps someone already having over 6000 cards in his account write to me “Hey, I am so glad to write to you, never been to India but want to see Taj Mahal once before I die” This… SPIRIT is what I love and it keeps me going.

I am passionate about spreading happiness and positivity. As a doctor, we are taught to fight disease, but in my years of practice I have realised that we are just supporters. Everyone fights from inside and so believing that we’ll be ok makes us heal a lot faster than any medicine in world can do.

And if a piece of paper has the courage to survive hundreds of hands, travelling thousand of miles in different modes, escaping rain, storms, traffic jams and who knows what… Shouldn’t we be re-assured that we’ll endure everything in our way and deliver the messages we have within us… aren’t we postcards as well, spreading happiness and changing lives? :)