Postcrossing Blog

João Machado is an internationally known designer based in Portugal. Although his first love is poster design, he began designing stamps for Portugal’s national postal service in the 1980s. Since then, he has designed dozens of stamps celebrating Portugal’s national culture, ecosystems, industries, and aspirations.

Sometime ago, João very generously shared his time and perspectives with Clarisse (aka CStar9) via email and postal mail.

You are internationally known for your poster designs. How did you begin designing stamps, which are at a very different spatial scale?

I started designing stamps in 1987 at the request of CTT – Correios de Portugal (aka, the Portuguese Post).

I made my first stamp for the centenary of the vinyl record. It was a stamp made manually (drawn and colored) without the help of computers.

What are the primary tools you use in your work?

My first work as a graphic designer was illustrating children’s books. I used pastel and cardboard templates that helped me define the shapes of each drawing. I also drew a lot with India ink.

Later, in the 70s, when posters became my great passion, I drew everything manually, using the airbrush, cutouts, and collages.

In 1987, I bought my first computer, but it was only later, in 1993, that I started using it 100%.

You’ve even designed a stamp on cork! Can you tell us about that?

I designed this stamp on ‘cork paper’ in 2007, at the request of Corticeira Amorim, a company that leads the world in this sector. This is the first stamp made in this material for Correios de Portugal, and the production was backed by Parliament.

Cork is Portugal’s only world-leading industrial sector, and the cork and cork tree are national symbols. The tree – which may live as many as two hundred years – is mainly concentrated in the centre and the south of Portugal.

Your vibrant color palette is incredible! Is it inspired by your environment or does it simply exist in your creative imagination?

There are many subjects, places, sounds, images, and even dreams that have obviously had an impact on my color palette and in my way of being an artist. I have always lived in the North of Portugal, next to the river and the sea. The northern region has always been much richer and more prolific in the colors of its crafts. But in a more general way, I am European and this geographic reality strongly influences my personality.

Influences are inevitable when we live in an open society. I’ve traveled a lot and contact with other international designers has been constant. No doubt I was influenced by the impact of Pop Art: I can highlight the influence of Heinz Edelmann, Milton Glaser, and Seymour Chwast. I remember my early works as an illustrator and poster designer were made during the 1960s, listening to the Beatles.

I ended up creating a very unique chromatic code, with vibrant, clean and sharp colors, articulated without any concern for classical correspondence. For example, green does not always mean hope; black does not always mean mourning. The color of the sun or the sea are those that my imagination and intuition decide to choose.

You’ve said in a previous interview that when you approach a design, you try to land on the bright side of an issue. Can you give us an example?

I am by nature a pessimistic and introspective person, but in my work I am always focused on the positive side of the issue.

In other words, even if it is a delicate and irremediable subject, I always try to approach the content of the message in a positive and hopeful way. Environmental issues are examples of what I have just explained.

When did you first see yourself as an artist/designer?

Since I was very little, I had a tendency to draw. When I was 14 years old and went to high school, I remember that my exercise books were filled with varied comic strips, caricatures of the teachers, and other ideas that occurred to me during lessons. I’m sure that at this age I had already decided my future!

When choosing my university career, I chose Fine Arts, which at the time included painting, sculpture, and architecture. I opted for sculpture due to my passion for the three-dimensional and strong drawing components of the course.

Later on in my work as a designer, the impact of sculpture gave me a better understanding of the three-dimensionality and “sensuality” of forms, not just those of the human figure. But the color was missing!

Graphic design gradually appeared on my path. I made the choice to dedicate myself to it, studying, observing, and creating my own language. Now, I was making my own 'watermark’.

You can learn more about João on his website, or through one of the many documentaries and interviews or profiles he’s been featured on throughout the years.

And now, for a very special giveaway! Clarisse is going to send 3 of João Machado’s cork stamps to 3 randomly selected postcrossers. For a chance to win one of these exceptional specimens, let us know which stamp issue(s) from your country you consider to be the most beautiful — maybe one day, we’ll interview that stamp artist too! 😍 This giveaway will close on Saturday, November 1 November 8.

Continuing on their tour of the world, last year the Little Mail Carriers visited Terceira, a tiny Portuguese island in the archipelago of Azores. They were warmly welcomed by the local postcrossers, and discovered a land of mystery and delights, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. We’ll let them tell you all about it!

Olá everyone! We tagged along big Paulo and Ana to attend a Postcrossing meetup in the Terceira island, in the Azores. Can you spot it on a map? It’s a luscious archipelago made of 9 volcanic islands, halfway between Portugal and the USA. Terceira (aka, the “third”) was so named because it was the third island to be discovered by the Portuguese.

To kick off the meeting, we were received by Angra do Heroísmo’s mayor, who generously took the time to introduce us to the history of the island and its many stories, both historical and geological. Angra is after all a UNESCO Heritage site, for being an obligatory port of call of the fleets that crossed the Atlantic in the 15th century, and also a testimony to the maritime exploration that allowed exchanges between the world’s great civilizations of the time.

We admired downtown’s architecture, and even met Vasco da Gama, an important Portuguese explorer, who first sailed the sea route from Portugal to India. On the way back from his first voyage there in 1499, his brother got sick and eventually died in Terceira, where the fleet stopped for some time to grieve and recover.

From the geological point of view, the Azores are a very interesting place as they’ve got 26 active volcanoes (8 of which are underwater)! The islands straddle the mid-Atlantic ridge, with 2 of them being on the North American Plate. We could see a lot of evidence of this volcanic origin all around us, on the dark rocks that have been used for centuries in walls and even mailboxes!

We had the adventure of a lifetime when we visited Algar do Carvão, the chimney of a very old volcano — now without lava, of course. Have you ever been inside a volcano? It’s magical!

Volcanic signs are everywhere in Terceira: from sea pools made of cooled lava to sulfur vents that still send off their stinky gases today! One of the most curious uses for the volcanic rocks is to grow wine. The vines are planted among basaltic rocks, protected from the winds by low rock walls. Basalt heats up in the sun and slowly dissipates its heat, sweetening the grapes and giving them a unique terroir.

After learning some geology, we visited a couple of big churches (rebuilt after the devastating earthquake of 1980) and learned about the islands devotion to the Holy Spirit. On the right of the photo below you can see a “Império” (or “Empire”), which are colorful mini-houses used as central points for the festivities of the Holy Spirit.

There are dozens of such Impérios in Terceira, all uniquely decorated. During the Pentecost period, children are made “emperor” for a week with great pomp and circumstance. The processions and banquets involved in the celebrations bring the local communities together and are a treasured part of the island’s heritage.

After touring Terceira, it was time to get together with the local postcrossers to write some postcards to all our friends. The locals were friendly and well-organized, and they put together a wonderful meeting, featuring lots of laughter and the local D. Amélias pastries which everyone loved!

Lots of enthusiastic postcrossers (both from the continent and the islands) attended the meeting, and there was even a special postcard designed by a local artist, as well as a special postmark dedicated to Postcrossing to celebrate the occasion!

We had a great time in Terceira, and are eternally grateful for the hospitality of the friendly postcrossers there! Hopefully we’ll be back soon to explore more of the beautiful Azores archipelago…

Most people have a favourite author from their childhood or teenage years — for many, that might be Dr. Seuss, Roal Dahl or Enid Blyton. Maybe J. K. Rowling or Beatrix Potter? Or perhaps a mix of all of those! If you grew up in Portugal though, one of them would probably be Alice Vieira. Her name is inescapable in any Portuguese adolescent’s life, often featured in school books and “must-read” lists.

To me, her works are linked with a clear memory of this being the first author I read as a young teenager whose books felt “real”. Often, the characters were kids just like us, discovering real life and wondering aloud about the same things we thought about all the time. Alice’s words flow in the pages as the most natural thing in the world, funny and ironic at times, and yet genuine and straightforward. It’s easy to understand and fall in love with — and year after year, new generations of children continue to do so.

So you can probably imagine our surprise when, some years ago, we discovered Alice (aka paisdasmaravilhas) is a postcrosser too, and carries postcards everywhere she goes… often to interviews, where she explains Postcrossing to puzzled journalists! We met her last year, and, very humbled and honoured, asked her a few questions about her relationship with mail. Here she is, in her own words!

To those out there who don’t know you, how would you describe Alice Vieira?

An old journalist colleague of mine described me as the “activist of optimism”… I think it defines me well. Even in tough times, I always believe things will work out, if we give it our best.

How did you find out about Postcrossing? What made you stay?

I think I might have seen it on Facebook… but the big push to sign up came from my friend José (aka PilotOne). And then, it’s really nice to receive postcards from the other side of the world, from someone who read a book of mine — it happened with a young Chinese postcrosser, who told me that he was going to save my book for his son that was about to be born (and then sent me a picture of the baby!) or exchange postcards back and forth with several others (the last one is a young Finnish lady who calls me “granny”). There are other funny instances as well, such as the time I received a postcard… from a neighbour!

Which part of Postcrossing do you enjoy the most?

It gives me great pleasure is to pick the best postcard for someone. Even today, I was out looking for cute postcards with cats. And I also use the opportunity to “advertise” our own national treasures: for instance, if someone is interested in contemporary art — and they often are — I send postcards with reproductions of paintings by Almada, Amadeo Souza-Cardoso, etc.

Have you always written postcards, or is it more of a recent thing? Who did you write to, before Postcrossing?

Always!!! Since I was a child. And I’ve always insisted with my children to do the same: I have a postcard that I always carry with me, that my son sent me when he was 8 years old, from Coimbra where he was playing at a chess tournament. It reads “Mom: I have nothing to say. Kisses.”
Before discovering the project, I used to send (and I still do!) to a group of friends, some of which I’ve converted to Postcrossing. And on all of my friend’s birthdays as well. And on holidays… This year I’ve already received two happy birthday cards from two Facebook friends, one from Germany and another one from Finland.

What other things are you passionate about?

Writing — and of course, my children and grandchildren.

Thank you so much Alice! It’s so nice to finally see you on the blog! 😊

PS – Coincidently, today is Alice’s birthday… please join us in wishing her a happy birthday on the comments below!

Living in a touristic area can be a bit challenging. While postcards are easy enough to find, they’re usually über-touristy, featuring the beaches and little else. It gets boring after a while… which is why I was delighted to discover Rosa’s postcards on our way back from a trip to the market in Olhão. Turns out, her mom has a little store by the waterfront that showcases local art and products — including Rosa’s gorgeous postcards and art.

We thought it was time we had another post on our stationery makers’ series, and reached out to Rosa and ask her a few questions. Turns out, she’s been drawing ever since she could hold a pencil, and makes more than just postcards! :)

Could you introduce yourself briefly?

I’m Joana Rosa Bragança (but you can call me just Rosa!) and I’m an artist & illustrator based in Olhão, a fishing town in the Algarve region. I love living near the sea! Besides drawing and painting, I also like to spend my time photographing with film cameras, walking in nature, reading, sewing and trying cake recipes. I love mornings, cats, artisanal ice creams, fresh figs and old books.

What inspires you?

I get a lot of inspiration from the people I see, not only the people of my hometown, with their strong characters and looks, but also the foreigners who pass by, who are a lot these days. One of my favorite themes is the beach and bathers, and here I have plenty of “models” to observe! Still, not all my characters are inspired by real people, some of them happen to be really bizarre and come directly from my imagination. I also love to draw all sorts of animals and plants.

Are you a postcard or letter writer yourself?

I used to be, I even had pen friends when I was a teenager… then the internet appeared and made me forget it a little. Nevertheless, I love sending the orders of my online shop inside envelopes full of doodles and postage stamps. Postage stamps are awesome! My favorites are the ones with illustrations or photos of fauna and flora.

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

Dreamy, joyful, ironic.

And could you show us your workspace, the place where magic happens?

Thank you so much, Rosa! You can check these and other postcards and art on her online shop. And if you know of other stationery makers we should check out, let us know in the comments!

This is our 100th Postcrossing spotlight, hurraaay! :) In order to celebrate, I thought I’d hijack the post and interview myself, for a change. That seemed like a good idea at the time, but turns out, these questions are actually hard work to answer, and it’s taken a while to finish it… Anyway, Hi! I am Ana (aka meiadeleite), I come from Portugal and I wear the hat of community manager, here at Postcrossing.

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

There was once this quiet boy who wouldn’t stop nagging me with his idea of “making a website where we could randomly send postcards to other people and they would send postcards to us”… (I mean, weren’t MY postcards enough for him?! *humpf*)

He bugged me to do a logo for this website of his, and then one day, dropped by with a very cute (but ridiculously overpriced) postcard, and told me “Here you go – this will be the first card from Postcrossing! Let’s go register it!”

We tested the website a bit more, sending postcards back and forth between the two of us, and then proceeded to bully all our friends into signing up. Many of them did — we still know all the first members by name. I guess the rest is history!

Looking back, it seems unbelievable now, but that first year, I only sent 20 postcards (Paulo sent 11!). We were poor students…

Do you have any other interesting hobbies?

Not sure this qualifies as a hobby, but I’ve been keeping an irregular blog for over 10 years now, about our adventures around the world. Traveling, eating and analogue photography are some of the things I enjoy the most, so the blog features a lot of that.

Also, two years ago, I started filming one second of our days, every single day. It has turned into a way to stay in touch with our friends, but also a way to remember our days as time goes by. I love the result and cherish the short monthly videos immensely.

I’ve also been known for being a compulsory list-maker, and I especially like the 101 things in 1001 days format… though I usually pack so many complex items into my lists, I tend to end up running out of time to finish them!

Truth be told, my problem is that I’m interested in so many things: stationery, how-things-work, cookery, languages, traveling, science, knitting, paper crafts… if only days had more hours in them!

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

Here is my mailbox:

Ahah! :) Does that count? I don’t have a proper mailbox at the moment due to a frustrating moving situation. All my postcards have been stored in boxes for months now — very sad indeed.

I have, however, just finished this year’s Month of Letters, and have been posting my postcards and letters all over Portugal’s southernmost region:

What is it your favorite part of the Postcrossing process?

My favorite part is definitely the sending. I try to make the postcards special, and give some use to my ever-growing collection of washi tape, stickers and rubber-stamps… I aim to make every postcard different and special… though most of the time I just ramble about my day.

On my profile, I list a few of my favorite things (à la Sound of Music), and ask the senders to share theirs with me. Some do — it always makes my day to read about other people’s favorite things on the postcards they send me! :)

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

I remember one day receiving postcard DE-1 on my mailbox, the first postcard ever sent from Germany and thinking… who is this person?! Do we know them from somewhere? How did they find out about the website?

Since then, a lot of postcards have surprised me! It’s not so much the place they come from though — more about the stories they carry, and the adventurous Google searches they trigger!

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

Yup! I’d like to think I’ve inspired quite a few people to join Postcrossing with all the blabbering I do about it for newspapers, TV, radio stations… or anyone who will listen really!

One year ago, I even stepped on a stage and delivered a TEDx talk about the project in front of 700 people… a very scary but rewarding experience. My most recent convert was a post office clerk who was wondering why I needed to buy so many stamps… :)

Have you met any other members in real life?

YES, lots of them, from all over the world! Everywhere we go, we try to either attend or organize a meetup to meet the local postcrossers. I’m always surprised at how postcrossers are the nicest people! And of course… they always know where the best postcards are to be found! :)

Is there anything that you are passionate about?

There are 2 things always on my mind: Postcrossing… and food! Not necessarily together, unless they’re these delicious cookies our friend C. did some years ago:

I’ve always liked letters, postcards, stamps and mail art… so when Postcrossing slowly started to taking over my life, it felt almost natural. I love that my days are spent helping hundreds of people worldwide experience that spike of joy when they open their mailbox and discover something there.

Though if you ask my family what I’m passionate about, they’ll shout “EGGS!”… and I’m afraid it’s true. I love food and cooking in general (the whole nose-to-tail), with eggs being a special obsession! :)

Most of all? I love the quiet, geeky boy who wouldn’t stop nagging me about a website where people could exchange postcards…