Postcrossing Blog

We first saw Kehvola's cards on a pop-up postcard fair organised by the Finnish Postcrossing Friends Association in Tampere, and I confess I was instantly smitten! It’s no secret I have a sweet spot for illustration, but their playful style and daring colour palette was what got me hooked.

At the time, I sent the postcard on the right to a booklover friend, and stocked on others… though I’ve been very reluctant to part with them!

At the time, we talked a bit with the owners, Veera and Timo, who were staffing their booth at the fair, and Timo agreed to answer a few questions for the blog. So ladies and gentlemen, here he is to tell us more about Kehvola!

How did Kehvola get started? Could you tell us a bit of the story behind it?

Veera (my wife) had previously worked as a store manager in the Finnish National Gallery’s museum shops. There she noticed that there are no nice Helsinki cards available. She started the company and asked the nearest and the cheapest illustrator (me!) to draw a set of Helsinki postcards. This was just four years ago.

We’re fascinated by how coherent your collection is — despite being illustrated by different people. How did this group of illustrators get together? And how do you choose the themes for your pieces?

We are illustration fans and we’ve been very lucky with our artists. So far everybody we’ve asked to join us had said yes. I think our illustrators all have something in common yet they all have their own distinct style. Our illustrators have all illustrated children’s books and are capable of creating narrative pictures with strong sense of atmosphere.

Illustrators are free to offer their own ideas but most of them prefer clear orders from us. I myself think what I would like to draw (this could be an old bike or a rubber boot, a big bookshelves, elvis, tiger or an apple pie) and then consider with Veera would somebody be interested in such a card. If we like the idea enough we print it anyway.

If you could define Kehvola’s style in 3 words, what would they be?

Narrative, colorful, warm.

Are you letter or postcard writers too?

Always when travelling. I love bookshops and museum shops and browsing through their postcard selection. Writing a postcards in a cosy pub or cafe after a long day of walking is an essential part of my traveling.

Could you show us your studio, or the place where the magic happens?

Here’s a picture of Kehvola’s "headquarters”, where I also do the drawing:

Thank you Timo, that was lovely! Besides their shop, you can also find Kehvola on their Instagram and Facebook pages.

Oh! And now for the best part: Timo kindly offered a set of postcards to give away to one lucky postcrosser! For a chance to win it, check out Kehvola’s shop, and leave a comment below, telling us which design or designs were your favourites. We’ll randomly pick a winner by this time next week, and announce it on this post. Good luck! :)

Welcome to July! To enter our anniversary month on a celebratory note, we’re starting it with a great giveaway sponsored by Natuurlijkefoto.nl — a friendly website that is perfect for postcrossers who love nature! :)

Run by professional photographer Arnold Voordewind, Natuurlijkefoto specialises in nature photos, including animals and landscapes, with special emphasis on the Dutch ones. His photos are stunning, so it’s no surprise that the postcards are such high quality and so sought after!

Natuurlijkefoto is offering 3 sets of postcards to 3 lucky postcrossers! Here is the 3rd prize, with 10 postcards:

The 2nd prize consists of all those postcards above, plus these 10 below…

And last but not least, the huge 1st prize winner will get aaaaaall those postcards above, plus these ones as well:

Fantastic, right? For a chance to win one of these sets of postcards, visit Natuurlijkefoto.nl's website and leave a comment below, telling us which series of postcards is your favourite! From animals to mailboxes, boats to lighthouses, we’re sure there’s something you’ll find exciting there!

Good luck everyone! Check back on this post next saturday for the winners (randomly picked by Paulo’s number generator, like always).

PS – Until July 8th, Natuurlijkefoto is also offering a 20% discount on all orders above €20. Use the discount code “weekendgiveaway” during checkout to claim that offer.

Every few years, we make a new roundup of postcard sets that have shown up online. The offer is usually interesting, good quality, affordable and perfect to introduce a bit more variety to anyone’s stash. The last time we did this was in 2014, so let’s see what is new since then!

We’ve narrowed our picks to reasonably priced sets of 100 postcards — and there’s a good amount of them to showcase. Here are our favourites, in no particular order:

• Women in Science, 100 postcards
• Little Miss 100 Postcards
• Keep Fresh Stay Rad Postcard Box
• Cookery Postcards from Penguin: 100 Cookbook Covers in One Box

• Bibliophilia: 100 Literary Postcards
• Animal Box: 100 Postcards by 10 Artists
• Curious Feast: 100 Postcards by 10 Artists
• Long May She Wave: 100 Stars and Stripes Collectible Postcards

• Mid-Century Modern: 100 Postcards of Iconic Designs
• British Library 100 Birds: One Hundred Postcards
• Cyclepedia: 100 Postcards of Iconic Bicycles
• Marimekko: 100 postcards

Personally, we have the Cookery postcard box and I can’t wait to check out the Curious Feast… I bet you can spot the pattern there! :) But there’s something for everyone — from biking to design, animals or flags, so do check them out when you need some extra cards.

And if you have any tips of postcard boxes you think postcrossers would enjoy, let everyone know in the comments!

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!

Remember the World’s Smallest Postal Service (and their fantastic DIY activity kit) which we mentioned here on the blog some years ago?

Lea Redmond and her company have been busy creating lovely new things in the meantime, and we’re here to tell you all about one of their more recent ventures — a book of letters which you write to yourself, to read in the future! 😍

The “Letters to My…” are a series of themed books, each containing 12 paper time capsules (which are a set of 12 aerogrammes bound together in a hard cover). There are several themes to choose from, from letters to your “older and wiser” self, to your baby, mom or dad, grandchild, the bride…

On the Letters to My Future Self for instance, each letter features a prompt such as “things you never want to forget” or “promises you made to yourself”. As inspiration strikes, you write down these memories or pieces of advice on a letter, which you then seal with a special sticker and save for when the right time comes. We’ll let Lea show you how it works:

Each aerogramme is beautifully designed and the thoughtful prompts encourage us to sit down with our thoughts and plans for a little while, inviting reflection and appreciation.

We’re truly enamoured with this simple yet genius idea. Wouldn’t they make perfect gifts for snail mail lovers? We think so too, which is why we’re super excited that Lea’s company Leafcutter Designs shared some of these with us — so we can share them with you guys!

We have 2 copies of Letters to My Future Self to give to two lucky postcrossers who answer the following question in the comments: If you could write one short piece of advice to your future self right now, what would you tell yourself?

Good luck everyone — remember to check back on this post around this time next week, to know whether your name was picked by Paulo’s random number generator. And a big thank you to our generous friends at Leafcutter Designs, for sponsoring this giveaway! 😊