Postcrossing Blog

Stories about the Postcrossing community and the postal world

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Recently, Paulo and I spent some time in Taiwan, and like any postcrossers out there, our first order of business was to locate nice postcards and stamps. 😍 Who better to recommend these than the local postcrossers? So, I asked on the forum and received quite a few tips from the locals — more than I could visit! One of them came from Ying-Han (aka henna168) who recommended Chu Entry Time, a postcard café! I was intrigued by the idea, so of course we needed to go check it out!

The fun starts outside, even before you get in, because the menu is all displayed in illustrated postcards! One picks the cards featuring the food or drinks you’d like to have, and then take them to the staff inside. The postcards are for you to keep, which is a really nice touch.

A display on a wall shows dozens of illustrated postcards featuring food and prices A hand holds 2 cute illustrated postcards in cartoon style (one featuring lemonade and the other a piece of cheesecake). On the background, the rest of the display can be seen.

One special thing about Chu Entry Time is that you can mail postcards to someone in the future: you write, address and stamp your postcards, pay the fee and then put them on the box of the week you want them to be mailed. And then the staff will mail these for you when the time comes! So in theory, you can pre-send all your friend’s birthday cards for the whole year, or even a few years in advance.

A painted wall holds several wood and glass displays, where postcards are stored. On each one, the timespan of a week is indicated A close up of the postcard displays, where postcards can be seen

It’s not the first time we hear of something like this, but it was the first time we saw a “postcard café” in real life, which was pretty cool. While we were waiting for our drinks, Paulo was browsing some magazines from a shelf and randomly stumbled on one that mentioned Postcrossing. What are the odds, eh?! 😊

Two pages of a magazine are shown, where screenshots from Postcrossing's website are featured. The text is all in Chinese.

There was also a really nice selection of illustrated postcards and other handmade crafts that you could buy, a table with rubberstamps for anyone to just use, and a few friendly cats that came to you for cuddles. It was just lovely all around, and I wish there were more of these in the world!

A wall with hundreds of little cases is shown, each featuring different illustrated postcards for sale

For more pictures, you can check out their Instagram account.

Do you know of other postcard-themed cafés out there? Tell us all about them! 😍

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It can be tough to find interesting and unique postcards locally—maybe you’ve sent them all before by now, or maybe you just don’t live in a very photogenic area. Don’t worry! Every so often, we do a little roundup of boxes of postcards that you can get online, which is a very cost-effective way to get your hands on some lovely designs.

Here’s another 20 boxes of 50 or 100 postcards that we haven’t featured recently.

Postcard boxes Postcard boxes Postcard boxes

I had no idea that some of my childhood favourites were out there on postcards, so that’s my next stop… though that Button Box set is pretty tempting too (every card has a little bit of history about the significance of the pin it displays!).

As always, we’d love to hear any suggestions you have to share in the comments!

PS: This post contains affiliate links. This means that if you buy these postcards on Amazon, Postcrossing will receive a small commission for each sale (at no extra cost to you). Feel free to look for these postcard sets and boxes on your favourite bookstores though — supporting local businesses is always a good thing. 💪

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Stationery Heaven

You know when you enter a stationery shop and your eyes go wide in delight, as if you were stepping into a magical kingdom full of treasures? With so many physical shops closed these days, it’s hard to replicate this feeling… but now and then I get the same thrill of excitement while browsing a shop online, and Stationery Heaven is one of those places!

Nina, who is a postcrosser herself, stocks her online shop with so many kawaii stationery — from letter-writing sets, to washi tapes, stickers, greeting cards… and of course, lots and lots of postcards!

Stationery Heaven has been advertising in Postcrossing for many years now, so you might have already stumbled on their exquisite selection of postcards, featuring tons of familiar illustrators and brand names, like Edition Tausendschön, Art Unlimited, Lali Riddles, Tushita… even postcard books and sets on different topics! Whether you’re interested in art, transportation, reading or mailboxes, there’s really something for everyone’s taste.

Stationery Heaven selection

And now, for the best part! Stationery Heaven is offering a mix pack of 10 postcards to 5 lucky postcrossers! 🎉 Pretty neat, right?

For a chance to receive one of these packs of postcards, visit the website and leave a comment below, telling us which postcard (or series of postcards) is your favorite of all! Sounds like deceptively simple task, but be warned — you will lose yourself in the middle of a postcard wonderland…

And the winners of this giveaway, as chosen by Paulo’s random number generator are… rosyhayley, isalovestheocean, Birte777, taniaj78 and rubber_ducky! Congratulations everyone, thank you for your enthusiastic participation!

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It’s been a while since we last had a giveaway on the blog, and this is an exciting one!

But first, a question: how do you carry your postcards around? Over the years, we’ve seen people make do with imperfect solutions to transport their postcards, sticking them along with stamps inside a book, re-using flimsy envelopes or paper bags or just haphazardly throwing them in their purses and praying for the best. We always cringe thinking of those fragile corners…

Maike and Wiebke (aka, the Papersisters) experienced these annoyances too, and decided to take action by creating their own Papertraveler in order to solve the recurring problem of how to safely transport postcards. The Papertraveler is a sturdy and smooth folder, made of two pockets with space for 50 postcards, plus 2 inserts for stamps, stickers or other small paper items. They’re crafted from a tear-proof and vegan material, sewn together, and wrapped in place by an elastic band.

Papertraveler by Papersisters

Don’t they look neat? I’ve been using mine for a few months now, and can attest to its sturdiness. It’s just big enough for most normal sized postcards, but also compact, so it doesn’t take a lot of space in a bag. I keep mine stocked with plenty of stamps and some favorite postcards, just in case. 😊

And now, the part you’ve all been waiting for: Papersisters is offering two lucky postcrossers a Papertraveler, along with their handy Pentraveler companion plus a bunch of postcards!

For a chance to be one of these lucky winners, visit their website and then leave a comment below, telling us which postcard (or series of postcards) is your favorite. This won’t be an easy task, as there are many nice postcards there, with popular series featuring the Life of a Postcrosser, German themes, Personalities, Mail topics, or the Happy Postcrossing series…

Papertraveler by Papersisters

So have a look through their website and let us know which ones are your favorites in the comments below — if you win, some of these will be included in your new Papertraveler! Don’t forget to check back here next Saturday for the winners (randomly picked by Paulo’s script, as always).

And the winners of this giveaway, as chosen by Paulo’s random number generator are… picquick and MiddLin! Congratulations everyone, thank you for your enthusiastic participation!

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We know, we know… the blog has been a bit slow lately, as we’ve been busy with other tasks. In the meantime, here’s a brilliant giveaway to make up for it — enjoy!

Do these postcards look familiar? 😍

papersistershappypostcrossing

If so, you’ve probably heard about Papersisters! Although the company only started a couple of years ago, its eye-catching designs have swiftly conquered the hearts of many postcrossers around the world.

Sisters Wiebke (aka Namibia13) and Maike (aka jofemapa) are both enthusiastic postcrossers, and this passion turned into the creation of postcards and the opening of their own shop. Their range includes nicely illustrated postcards about different regions of Germany and their typical things, the country series featured above, stamp collages (my favorite!), and others for special occasions. They also do cute Postcard IDs or weather-themed rubberstamps to personalize your cards, as well as a few other goodies!

Germany

And now, for the best part! Papersisters is offering a pack of 12 postcards to 4 lucky postcrossers, plus one rubberstamp prize for an extra winner! Pretty cool, right? For a chance to receive one of these prizes, visit their website and leave a comment below, telling us which postcard (or series of postcards) is your absolute favorite!

But be warned, choosing from so much goodness will not be an easy task…

papersisters Airmail

Good luck everyone! Don’t forget to check back here next Saturday for the winners (randomly picked by Paulo’s number generator, as always).

And the winners of this giveaway, as chosen by Paulo’s random number generator are… amandam718, tandrj, Tufta, Allison_b216 and svoboda999! Congratulations — and thank you everyone for your enthusiastic participation on this giveaway!