Postcrossing Blog

Meet dotdotPC (aka Liisa) from Helsinki, Finland. She loves reading, gardening… and studying new subjects!
Here is her Spotlight interview:

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

I’m a Bookcrosser and I found links to Postcrossing site from fellow Bookcrossers’ profiles. Once I followed the link and here I am. I’ve always liked postcards, sending them and just handling them. I work at an archive. In last ten years my job description has changed and administration and digital archives take more and more of my time. I don’t get in touch with paper as much as I used to. I think handling paper in form of pretty postcards comforts me. It reminds me of my childhood and of the years of my early career when my duties were less complicated and I could focus on old paper documents and history.

Do you have any other interesting hobbies?

I already mentioned Bookcrossing. Earlier I was very active participating and organizing local meetings and events but other things take more of my time these days. I’m still quite active, but only via the Internet. My profile is here.

During almost all of my Postcrossing years, I’ve been studying after hours. Years after getting my last diploma, I realized that I know nothing of pedagogy and applied for a year’s course at the University. Now I’m studying after hours again. I have also realized that studying is one of my hobbies. I used to be active in some associations earlier, but I don’t have time for them anymore. Last summer I took a course in genealogy. It’s very interesting, but I have time only to assist my sister in her research.

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

For years I used the Helsinki General Post Office. Architecturally, it represents functionalism of 1930s, my favorite style. Unfortunately it’s not open to public anymore, but you can see a photo of it by Joonas Antikainen here.

Now I use another post office, that represents functionalism, only four years younger and not so grand as the old General Post office. Postoffice 00510 Helsinki is close to both my home and my office, so it’s very practical.

I live in the fourth floor of a small block of flats, with no elevator. So far our mailmen and mailwomen have always been very friendly, whenever they have rang our doorbell for oversized letters (usually Bookcrossing books).

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

I don’t feel good about choosing favorites, as I’ve received so many fantastic and lovely postcards. I decided to show a great card about 1920s Roly Polys. I like the picture, it’s a museum postcard and it’s the very first card to arrive in our new (that is present) home in 2008. It made a new flat to feel more like a home, even if we hadn’t even moved in when it arrived.

What is it your favorite part of the Postcrossing process?

I like whole process. Sending and receiving postcards gives me similar joy now as they did when I started this hobby and I received less cards per week. Many postcrossers send really great cards and write kind and interesting messages.

Receiving postcards is lovely, but yet my favourite part of the process is getting new addresses and choosing cards for others. I’d like to send an individual card to every person, but it’s getting more and more difficult. So many people wish for city views and landscapes, that I must send similar cards to different postcrossers. I also like making my own collage postcards for those who wish for handmade cards.

Is there anything that you are passionate about?

I’m passionate about my work. As a former public servant I’m passionate about the principle of publicity in administration. I like to encourage and advise people to use their right to get information about public affairs. There are other things, too, more connected to my spare time. Gardens are one. I’m not a skilled gardener, but I’m very eager to learn, I usually assist my sister in my mom’s lovely garden. Graveyards are another. Where ever we travel, my husband and I try to visit local graveyard, especialy in our own country.

Hawwa (aka Eva) is from Spain, but currently lives in sunny Morocco. She speaks 5 languages besides her native Catalan – and uses them all to write her postcards in Postcrossing! :) Here is what she had to say:

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

A pen friend from Canada informed me about this project. I look for Postcrossing immediately in Internet, and I thought it was an excellent idea to increase my lighthouses collection and improve my language skills. I tried, I became hooked and I discovered soon that Postcrossing is not only a site to collect postcards but a real community.

Do you have any other interesting hobbies?

I like writing letters in different languages. Sometimes I even dare to send some mail art! I also run a blog (mailadventures.blogspot.com) about my mail adventures. All of you are very welcome!

Out of the post world, my main hobbies are trekking, writing short stories and travelling (I’ve been to seventeen countries so far).

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

I’ve recently moved, so I will show you my previous post office (in Spain). I’ve sent the majority of my Postcrossing postcards from here:

And the currently post office (in Morocco):

Also my current mailbox (a bit boring, as it is a PO Box).

And the graceful mailbox where I send my postcards from Morocco:

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

I have a lot of favourites. They usually remain some weeks on the wall of my study. But I will show you the three kinds of postcards I really love:

JP-208063: I just love amazing pictures and especially when they let you learn about distant cultures.

DE-632790: because the funny story about the picture written by the sender. I was laughing the whole day!

NO-34163: It is a handmade postcard and I find it very original. I think it also shows a lot about the sender and his country.

What is it your favorite part of the Postcrossing process?

It used to be choosing the right postcard for every recipient. But now where I’m currently living I have a really limited choice. So now my favourite part in the process is finding postcards in my mailbox and searching more information about the place where they were sent from.

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

Yes, I was really surprised to get a postcard from Tuvalu. I hadn’t heard about this country before! Indeed, I’ve discovered a lot of places thanks to Postcrossing. Postcards have inspired some of my last trips.

Is there anything that you are passionate about?

Two of my strong passions: languages and lighthouses. My native language is Catalan, but I speak more or less five more languages (English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic). And Postcrossing is a good place to practice!

Minna (aka minnasusanne) lives in the Finnish countryside. She loves stones, the Rasmus, and Stephen King's books! Here is what she had to say to our interview questions:

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

I heard about Postcrossing for the first time when I picked up our mail in the end of year 2006. There were great cards from different countries around the world, sent to my oldest daughter who had joined Postcrossing. In a few weeks I joined too! First I liked the idea of getting cards from foreign countries, then the opportunity to improve my language skills. But the best thing I think are the wonderful friends I soon found here.

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

This is our mailbox, done by me and my husband. Finnish postal service delivers mail to 1 km from your home if you live in the countryside like we do. So our mailbox is in middle of the forest along our road to home. It is pretty obvious that I like stones!

Sometimes, I use the postcards I receive to decorate parts of my home:

Do you have any other interesting hobbies?

I like to read and listen to music but I must confess that I’m a serious card addict. I don’t spend much time with anything else. This means that postcards have evolved from a hobby to a profession for me this autumn. Last two years I have been interested in taking photographs and after plenty of dreaming and planning I decided to publish some photos as postcards. That’s how my small-scale postcard web shop Minor Postcards was born.

Lately I enjoy planning different cards with my daughter and searching good motifs from other photographers works – I know I’m a beginner and can’t take photos of the Northern lights or polar bears, for example.

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

It is impossible to pick just one card. Here are some special cards:

A Sandman postcard and John Bauer's illustration because I like dreamlike drawings and the idea to have a matching stamp to a card is great. (But I don’t like the “Postmonster” which damages cards and hope to get my cards in envelopes so stamps don’t actually matter to me).

The paper doll Robin Hood cat card and Sheepworld card because I like “cut out do it yourself” cards.

The Rasmus is my favorite band and you can’t buy cards about them. This Touchnote card was an official RU-1122544 and I appreciate it very much, because the sender really made an effort.

I also love black & white cards and stones and got these from friends. The broken stone heart was my avatar for a while.

And the Help! card is there because I like funny ideas and would love to have that key in my laptop!!

What is it your favorite part of the Postcrossing process?

I like the most about picking the right card for the receiver. I look at their wishlist and try to find something which might be something they would like. It is nice to read Hoorays afterwards and hear how well I managed.

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

This is not actually an answer to this question… but it was a fine surprise to receive the first page from my favorite author Stephen King's book Carrie as an official BR-153331. It arrived a long way from Brazil and got here in good shape, despite the long journey.

Have you met any other members in real life?

Yes, my daughter was the first! I have been to some meetings in Finland and met Finnish members there. I don’t usually go to big meet-ups, I prefer small meetings. I have met some foreign members too, two of them visited my home, and I have visited one Swiss member. And once I made a surprise visit to a German member for her birthday when I was in Germany for other reason. It was soooo fun!! I can say that with some members I don’t only share postcards, I share my life and we really are friends. And that’s amazing!

Nicole (aka Mondkind), from Hamburg, is a regular at the yearly Postcrossing meetings in Bielefeld. She has a fondness for small knitting and crochet projects… and big books! Here is what she had to say to our interview questions:

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

While reading another blog I was aware of Bookcrossing and after looking around for a while, I discovered the Postcrossing website. I was fascinated by the thought of getting mail from all corners of the world and to see places that I did not even know existed. I signed up immediately, and the next day I sent the first five postcards.

When I received my first postcard and read the very kind message, I instantly took a new address and from this moment I knew… I wanted to receive a lot more postcards. I was infected with the Postcrossing virus!

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

One of my favorite postcards is my first one, which came from Riga with kind words on it.

Here are some other postcards I like:

KG-564 is one of the postcards with the smallest postcard ID I have ever received.

RO-30290 shows the famous Dracula castle! I love many other postcards, like for instance JM-722 or ZA-13315.

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

Any postcard is a surprise for me. When I open my mailbox, I never know what is inside, how many cards are there, where are they from, who was picked to write me. But it is always a special surprise when a card comes from a far away country or a country from which I hadn’t received a card so far!

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

This is my mailbox.

This is an album I’ve made for very nice postcards and stamps.

And here’s my postbox, and a wine box where I store my postcards to send!

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

Yes, my son Loris joined Postcrossing, too. I think it’s a good way to improve his English and he likes to get nice postcards.

And perhaps the owner of a lovely small shop – he was surprised because I bought so much of his very nice postcards… I told him about Postcrossing and he was very excited and curious. And perhaps he is now already one of us… :)

Have you met any other members in real life?

Yes, of course. I’ve attended the international Postcrossing meeting in Bielefeld twice, and several other meetups in Germany. Some here in Hamburg, two times in Berlin… I’ve even organised a mini-meeting in my house!

I am happy because I’ve developed some really great friendships developed through Postcrossing.

Do you have any other interesting hobbies?

I love to read historical novels and detective stories. I have a weakness for thick books. Rebecca Gablé is one of my favourite authors. I enjoy knitting and to crocheting small things. I am too impatient for large projects!

Bonnie Jeanne (aka PostMuse) hails from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and is passionate about snail mail, mailart… and postboxes! :) Come discover more about her on this Spotlight interview.

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

I discovered Postcrossing via Bookcrossing. I have been exchanging postcards most of my adult life, 30 plus years. When the Internet came about, I joined lots of online postcard groups, and that was fun, but often the exchanges were between the same group of people. I love the randomness of Postcrossing! I think that is the thing that most attracted me to the site.

Do you have any other interesting hobbies?

I sew, and I do a lot of mailart. I also love to travel and visit museums, especially little known museums, like the National Watch and Clock Museum in Columbia, Pennsylvania. I’m also a backyard birdwatcher and enjoy the constant chatter of the birds while I sit on my patio and write postcards and letters.

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

The mail chute is at work and I love using it. I only work three floors up, so I can actually hear the mail hit the bottom :)

The photo close-up (left) of my open mailbox at home is taken from the front. You can see how the back is also open so that in the winter I don’t have to go out on the snowy road to get my mail. A lot of people outside the US also don’t realize that we can leave our outgoing mail in our home mailbox for the mailman to take away. I leave LOTS of mail in my home mailbox.

The photo on the right shows my home mailbox in the spring. I do decorate my mailbox for seasons. In winter, I’ll string twinkling snowflakes on it and add a few other festive details. At Halloween it had a giant black spider with purple twinkling lights.

This photo shows postcards of my home mailbox inside the same postcard… very “meta”! :)

The metal mailbox is my post office box, where most of my incoming mail goes. I do get some mail at my home mailbox, but it is safer to have most of my mail go to my post office box … it is always dry, plus it is close to work, so I can get my mail before lunch and enjoy it while I eat.

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

My favorite postcards are pictures of the sender’s mailbox, even if it is only a mailslot. Some of the recent ones I’ve received are NL-1247688, DE-1267457, DE-1251668 and TW-455583.

Sometimes people write on the back of regular postcards that their mailboxes are not cute or interesting enough for a postcard. But, I think ALL mailboxes are beautiful. They are our connection to each other, even more so than email because you can hold snail mail in your hand.

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

Oh yes! A former coworker is now quite involved. As are my two oldest grandchildren. I help them with the project because they are only 5 and 3, so too young to write postcards. And I ramble on to whoever will listen about Postcrossing, at any opportunity :)

What is it your favorite part of the Postcrossing process?

My very favorite part of the process is when I get an address of someone who welcomes mailart because I LOVE to make postcards.

Is there anything that you are passionate about?

I am passionate about snail mail. I send about 40 or so pieces of mail a week and I love the connecting with other people. Somehow political/cultural differences don’t matter when one is writing to another about some shared interest, like fountain pens, or beekeeping, or novels, or the cute little bird that sat on the back of my patio chair and sang me his life story.

Thank you so very much for listening to me my Postcrossing story! And thank you very much for this wonderful site.