Postcrossing Blog

Lately, Japanese Gotochi Cards are becoming quite popular and sought after among postcrossers – so we thought it would be fun to tell you a bit more about them here on the blog. Read on!

Gotochi cards are designed and released by the Japanese Postal System, and each one of them represents a place in Japan – hence the name 'gotochi’, which means 'local’. They showcase Japanese symbols (which might be local dishes, costumes, monuments, landscapes, etc.) on a national and regional level, in a brightly coloured and fun cartoon.

Gotochi cards have a couple of unique features that make them special. First of all, they are not perfect rectangles, but in fact take on the shape of their picture. Also, each card not only has a cartoon picture on it, but also the name of the place that is depicted in the image. Every prefecture has multiple cards, which might be one of the reasons that collecting them has taken off and became such a popular hobby!

Some of the most famous Gotochi postcards include Kyoto’s Geisha’s and Ibaraki’s melons. You can check out the whole collection of cards on the postcard collection site.

Hope you enjoyed discovering the Japanese Gotochi cards! Which one is your favourite? :)

Note: While they are super-cute, please bear in mind that they are also more expensive to send than normal postcards – and so it is hard for Japanese postcrossers to send a lot of them.

Many Postcrossers and postcard lovers from all over the world have been devout fans of Diddl the Mouse for quite some time now. You may be wondering who Diddl is and how he was created… well, fear not – we have all of the answers right here for you!

Diddl the Mouse was created by German artist Thomas Goletz in 1990. Goletz had always loved to draw and create new characters and after studying as a graphic artist, he was doodling one day when he came up with Diddl. Of course, the first Diddl was a little different than the mouse that we all know and love today. The very first Diddl was a larger kangaroo with no name. He had on Diddl the Mouse’s famous overalls, but other than that, he was pretty different.

After playing around with this eccentric kangaroo character, Goletz transformed him into a jumping mouse, who was smaller and could fit inside of coffee cups and pieces of cheese. Goletz gave him the name Diddl, because he wanted something cute and short, and he liked the goofy sound that Diddl makes as it rolls of your tongue. Diddl is defined by his kooky sense of humor, fun-loving nature and jumping behavior. He has very large ears and large pink-soled feat.

Goletz began working with stationery and toy manufacturer Depesche to mass produce cards, calendars and many other things, all featuring Diddl. Goletz also created friends and relatives for the mouse, including his girlfriend Diddlina. Today, Diddl and his friends are some of the most popular cartoon characters in Austria, Germany or Switzerland. In the Netherlands, Diddl’s many adventures are featured in a monthly publication called “Diddl’s Kaasblad”.

You can learn more about Diddl and the rest of his friends on the Diddlmania website.

When I discovered Singaporean Art director Alynn Teo’s postcards, I was suddenly… hungry! Food-related postcards are my weakness – I can’t seem to resist them! (plus, she has a pack featuring just eggs…)

Everyday at 3pm, Alynn takes a little break from her freelancing projects to have a snack, which she photographs prior to eating. She has been doing this little ritual since 2009, and in November 2010, she decided to turn it into a business, by printing her own stationery line and selling it on her Etsy shop, one little journey. The result is a series of minimalist yet mouth-watering postcards.

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

How did you get started doing stationery design?

Artistry is the main motivating factor. I got hooked onto designing daily use items such as jewellery, toys and stationery since young. It is mostly a pastime kind of affair in between projects from my main line. While browsing Etsy mid last year, I started serious planning in turning my pastime hobby into real business.

Where do you find your inspiration?

Everywhere! Travel, day dreams, everyday objects, tea & coffee, my daily 3 p.m. breaks. I believe things that we see, love, experience are nested somewhere in our subconscious and they surface at the least expected moments to inspire us.

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

The Simple Things

Are you a letter (or postcard) writer yourself?

Yes, absolutely! And love designing them too. i think it is one of the most sincere way of showing your love for someone.

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

You can find Alynn’s postcards at etsy.com/shop/onelittlejourney.

We’ve discovered Irwin Terry’s wonderful blog by accident, but were instantly captivated by his passion and dedication to illustrator Edward Gorey. As his works are featured in so many postcards, we invited Irwin to write a post about this famous American artist. :) So tell us Irwin, who was Edward Gorey?

Edward Gorey (1925 – 2000) was an American illustrator, writer and humorist who lived in New York City and Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Mr. Gorey wrote and illustrated over 100 books, illustrated hundreds of books for other authors, provided the animation for Mystery! on PBS, and won a Tony Award for the 1979 Broadway production of Dracula. He was also a postcard aficionado, promoter, and a postcard collector. From an early age, Mr. Gorey created and sent interesting correspondence to friends and family, much of which was embellished by hand.

In 1976 he created his first set of postcard images titled The Broken Spoke which appeared in Sports Illustrated and was also published in book form. He went on to create and publish sets of postcards with themes ranging from Neglected Murderesses to Scene de Ballet. From 1984 to 1996, Mr. Gorey created a special annual post card for National Post Card Week. When designing postcards, Edward Gorey took the nom de plume of Dogear Wyrde, one of the many anagram names he created.

Due to his signature style of drawing and amusing images, many of his illustrations have been used as postcard images. Today, the best place to find/purchase Edward Gorey – illustrated postcards is The Edward Gorey House museum in Yarmouthport, MA. The gift shop at the museum sells over 50 different postcard images as well as books of postcards created by Mr. Gorey.

For more information on Mr. Gorey, his postcard images and his work, you can visit my Edward Gorey collecting blog.

If you have ever seen an Anne Taintor postcard, mug, or greeting card, you would know. Her website tagline is, “Making Smart People Smile Since 1985”. Taintor takes classic photographs and old-fashioned drawings and adds clever words to them, in a newsprint style. For example, her very first piece used an old picture from a National Geographic magazine photo. The photo shows a businessman type wearing a pressed collared shirt, shorts and dress socks. He is with two women in classy dresses and they are standing on a balcony overlooking some exotic location. She clipped out the newsprint worlds, “intellectuals gone bad.” It was funny and offbeat and spawned many more creations.

How did Anne come up with her kooky collages? According to her website, it was 1985 and Taintor had suddenly gone from a stay-at-home mom to being the sole breadwinner of her household. She needed to make money – and fast. She went to a career counselor, where she was asked what skills she had. Her response? “I can make collages.”

She started from there, cutting out magazine photos and making collages. She clipped the words and added them, poking fun at society and gender roles. She even started typing her own words instead of simply cutting them from magazines! She was told to give up many times, but Anne persevered. Her style is defined by clever and witty observations of images from the past that many people would simply have taken at face value, but she turns the image on its side and points out the hilarity of the situation!

Today, Taintor is well-known and her many classic creations make people chuckle all over the world. You can find more of her work on Amazon.com, as well as in gift shops and greeting card stores everywhere.