Postcrossing Blog

A looong time ago, we shared some tips about postcard sets that were available online. They’re cheap, great quality and quite handy when you need a bit of variety… or for when your local bookshop has run out of nice postcards! :)

Lately, we’ve seen a lot of new and exciting editions on the market, which means it’s time for a fresh roundup! The choice is rather overwhelming, so to narrow it down, we decided to focus on reasonably priced boxes of 100 postcards. Here are some of our current favorites that we thought you might like:

• House Industries 100 Postcards
• The Art of Pixar, Volume II: 100 Collectible Postcards
• The Impossible Project Spectrum Collection: 100 Instant-Film Postcards
• Live the Life You Love Postcard Box: 100 Hand-Lettered Postcards

• Sibley Backyard Birding Postcards: 100 Postcards
• Postcards From Puffin: 100 Book Covers in One Box
• Postcards from The New Yorker: One Hundred Covers from Ten Decades
• Paris versus New York Postcard Box: A Tally of Two Cities in 100 Postcards

• From the Desk of Jane Austen: 100 Postcards
• Doctor Who Postcards from Time and Space (our absolute favorite!)
• One Hundred Writers in One Box: Postcards from Penguin Modern Classics
• The Art of Classic Comics: 100 Postcards fom the Fabulous 1950s

Typography goodness, photos, magazine covers, illustration, children and grown-up themes… there’s something for everyone, and they’re a steal! :)

Got any favorites of your own? Do share your tips in the comments!

While the Little Mail Carrier’s jet set around at undisclosed locations, their cousin has been busy attending meetups and getting to know postcrossers from all over the world! :) Here’s a brief recap of the last few months on his tour:

Hello everyone! This past August, I was in sunny Helsinki, meeting lots of nice European postcrossers! We did a fun scavenger hunt around the city, found lots of Moomins and Angry Birds, tried some Finnish delicacies and hopped on a ferry to beautiful Suommelinna island. I really wanted to see the inside of a Posti postbox, and managed to get myself stuck in the process… children, please don’t try this at home!

I then jumped on a plane and landed in Baltimore, which was super exciting! We’re all big fans of The Wire and Hairspray at the Postcrossing HQ – so I felt right at home :) Cspt organised a wonderful meetup at Stone Mill Bakery Café. It was a lot of fun to meet new postcrossers from the other side of the pond… and the cookies were delicious! :D

After that, I took the boat back home, as it was time for another Bielefeld meetup! I knew a lot of the people there already, from past meetups, so it was nice to see them all again! As usual, I’ve dived into pools of candy, signed lots of postcards, and marvelled at the beauty of Autumn in North-Rhine Westphalia… but this year I also got to greet the postman, greeted the animals at the delightful Olderdissen Animal Park and visited Modern Times, a local postcard distributor who gave a special tour just for postcrossers!

It’s been a blast! :)

Meetups are lots of fun, and completely organised by the members themselves! Curious to meet other postcrossers near you? Check out the list of upcoming events, or create your own! :)

October 9th is World Post Day!

On this date, the world celebrates the hard work and social contributions of all the postal services… so don’t forget to thank your mail carrier for the wonderful job they do! :)

Across the world, post offices are celebrating this special day in many different ways! To help you celebrate with them, we’ve done a little research and compiled all the information we could find in this page:

Check it out to see if your own postal service is doing something special – you might be surprised! If you know of any other activities taking place on this date that we’ve missed, just leave a comment below.

But that’s not all! This year we also wanted to do something special, and so we’ve invited our advertisers to join the celebrations! Many of them accepted the challenge, and created special offers for postcrossers! So if your stock of postcards is running a little low, now would be the perfect time to re-stock… enjoy!

Here they are:

BuyMeCard – 10% discount for all postcards and stickers

Promocode 02ZWIYOF3NUO . Website is in Russian only.

Cardcetera – 15% discount + 4 random customers will get a free pack of cards

Promocode pcmailday2013.

Heidin Korttipaja – 15% discount

Promocode POSTI. Website in Finnish, ships to Finland.

Kaartfanaat – 20% discount on orders above €25

Promocode WPD2013. Website is in English, Dutch and German.

Mark Stempel – 20% discount on all postcards

Promocode WorldPostDay. Website in Russian only.

Minor Postcards – 20% discount, minimum order €10

Promocode wpd13. Website in English and Finnish.

MOO.com – 15% discount on all postcards

No need for promocode – just use the link above.

Natuurlijkefoto.nl – 15% discount

Promocode worldpostday. Website is in English, Dutch and German. Ships to Europe only.

Nederlandse ansichtkaarten – 15% discount on all postcards and postcard sets

Promocode WPD2013. Website in Dutch, ships only to the Netherlands.

Paper Postcards – 15% discount

Promocode WPD2013. Website in Russian only

PostCardPress – 20% discount

No need for promocode – just use the link above. Website in Russian and English.

PostcardShop – 15% discount

Promocode Postcrossing

PostcardWorld.eu – 20% discount + a free extra postcard

Promocode PARTY

Postzegelerop – 20% discount + Vintage Dutch postcardset free

Promocode Post. Website is in Dutch only.

The Postcard Store – 20% discount

Promocode PCSWP20. Ships worldwide, but check details here.

Zazzle – 65% discount on all postcards

Promocode POSTCROSSING.

All these offers will be valid through the end of October 9th (on the westmost timezone). Pretty fantastic, right? Happy World Post Day everyone! :)

Ever wanted to send someone a whale? A bear? Or perhaps a big cuddly moose? We all know how impractical that can be… and don’t even get me started on customs and security!

So I was very relieved the other day when I found out about Green Banana Cards – the perfect postcard solution for the hassle of shipping big animals!

Cute, right? :)

Virginie St-Jean is the designer behind Green Banana Cards project. She started in 2008 with the Mail a Moose design as a greeting card… but eventually realized there was a much higher demand for postcards! So she switched to the postcard format, and has been steadily introducing new animals to her collection since then. You can send 14 different animals across the world! :)

How did you get started doing stationery design?

I love everything that has to do with printed art. However, since it’s an art that’s been declining in popularity with the general public, I thought the best way to go about it was to create something out of the ordinary, so that even people who might not usually buy postcards would be tempted because of the novelty factor.

Where do you find your inspiration?

I have always loved drawing animals, and after spending some time in the Yukon, I was trying to think of a product that I could sell there. That’s how I thought of creating the Mail a Moose design. Most of my designs are iconic Canadian animals, but I’m also inspired by animals that tourists in other countries might be interested in mailing back home. I printed southern US animals like a gator and a manatee recently, and I plan to introduce an Australian animal collection by next summer. I also regularly work on custom orders, such as a Guernsey Cow for the Island of Guernsey, UK and a T-Rex and Mammoth for Canadian Museums.

What is your favourite item in your shop (and why)?

The Mail a Moose postcard is my favourite because it started it all, and because “Mail a Moose” is fun to say!

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

Lighthearted, colorful, cheery

Are you a letter/postcard writer yourself?

Yes, I think everyone likes receiving something fun in the mail since it rarely happens anymore. When traveling, I really enjoy finding special cards to send back home. I also occasionally frame interesting graphic cards for home decor when I find the right ones.

Virginie kindly offered 5 packs of her wonderful postcards to give away – each pack features the complete collection of 14 different animals! :D For a chance to win a pack, visit Green Banana Cards' page, and leave a comment below, telling us which one was your favourite animal. We’ll randomly pick 5 winners this time next Saturday. Good luck!

Do you ever idly browse the internet looking for stationery? I know I do… a lot! On one of these research sessions, I ended up in MissiveMaven’s lovely Etsy shop, filled with vintage-inspired paper goods… I was instantly hooked!

Ilona (aka Missivemaven) has been running her shop since January 2011. She uses very old photos or designs that are in the public domain, giving them new life in the form of postcards, notecards and stickers. We were curious about the process and inspiration behind her stationery, and decided to interview her for the blog!

How did you get started doing stationery design?

I have been addicted to stationery since I was a small child. Letter-writing has always been a part of my life, pretty much since I learned how to hold a pencil, and friends and family were great about encouraging that pursuit by giving me gifts of stationery. (Also, my mother forced me to write thank-you notes – an excellent habit to foster!) So, being a stationery addict, I’m always on the lookout for fun items. After I started my letter-writing blog, MissiveMaven.com, in 2008, my list of pen pals and postcard correspondents went through the roof… so I had an excuse (sort of?) to collect even more stationery to further my postal pursuits. I often searched for letter-writing and mail-related postcards on Etsy. I had an idea of what I wanted in my head, and was disappointed when I couldn’t find it… and then I thought, why not design it myself?

Where do you find your inspiration?

I am very inspired by all the mail I receive, and all my wonderful pen pals. I’m also really into “modernized” vintage graphics, so the vintage graphics themselves are a source of inspiration, too.

What is your favourite item in your shop (and why)?

Oh dear. I find that question so hard to answer, because how can I pick just one? If I must pick, I am very fond of the Classic American Postman design, which I offer in postcards, notecards, and sticker seals. With his arms brimming full of packages and letters, he looks so cheery, and his posture of holding out a letter to you seems so full of hope. (Can you tell what a postal mail addict I am?)

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

Classic, epistolary, nostalgic.

Are you a letter/postcard writer yourself?

Voraciously so. It is my greatest, favorite hobby. I’ve been Postcrossing for more than 7 years, I’m a proud member of the Letter Writers Alliance and I write hundreds of letters and postcards each year to friends, family, and pen pals.

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

Thank you Ilona!

You can find Ilona’s postcards, greeting cards and other products at missivemaven.etsy.com. Don’t forget to check out Missive Maven’s blog as well ! :)